The Web Summit may be only weeks away but the company behind it is still expanding.
The events firm that runs the Dublin-based tech event, which takes place on October 30th and 31st, is adding 10 jobs. The company, which began with three people, already employs 35.
The firm is also responsible for organising a number of other events both in Ireland and overseas, including the F.ounders event in New York and the London Web Summit.
The annual Irish event has grown from a few hundred people in a hall to more than 7,000 attendees in just a few years. The Web Summit’s Daire Hickey said more than 6,000 tickets had already been sold for the event. Originally the target had been 7,000, but the event is now expecting as many as 8,500 people to attend.
He said the number of Irish attendees had also risen, although a high number of foreign visitors are expected for the event.
The company has also established a partnership with accommodation site Airbnb, which recently opened an office in Ireland, in a bid to make more affordable accommodation available to attendees. The deal will see anyone who registers as a host for the event with Airbnb get $100 in travelcredit, while Web Summit attendees will be given a discount on their booking.
Confirmed speakers for the Web Summit include Google Ventures' Kevin Rose, Tony Hawk and Waze's Di-Ann Eisnor.
Box founder Aaron Levie is also attending, along with AOL's Tim Armstrong.
Plans for the event include the ringing of the Nasdaq opening bell at the Web Summit, the first time that trading on the US stock exchange has been opened from Ireland. The Web Summit joins Facebook’s offices as one of the remote locations from which the bell has been rung.
