TBQH, we’re still recovering from Philly Tech Week 2019 presented by Comcast.

It ended a full three days ago, true. But its previous eight days of learning, celebrating and collaborating — check out digital agency Grue and Bleen’s “Why I Love Philly” website compiled by PTW Kickoff Festival attendees — were a lot. In a good way.

The biggest day of them all, though, was Introduced, Technical.ly’s one-day conference encapsulating six of our reporting tracks (Access, Business, Civic, Creative, Media and Sciences; Dev was taken care of by the previous day’s Dev Conference).

Read on for some of the biggest lessons from the day. But first:

Gritty.

Just Gritty.

Ugh. Stuck at a lame conference all day. #PTW19 #Intro19 pic.twitter.com/JH9va3DcFP

— Kristen Fitch (@switchfitch) May 9, 2019

One surprising tidbit we learned from his marketing team’s panel: Gritty originated as a … pigeon?

“There’s really no animal that can define what a Flyer is…” so while the @Gritty mascot was in development they referred to it as a pigeon “because a pigeon is the animal that represents Philadelphia.” #ptw19 #Gritty

— Stephanie Farr (@FarFarrAway) May 9, 2019

It’s important for brands to craft a “community” of its consumers.

How? By being receptive to their feedback, meeting them IRL at meetups and the like, building a social media brand (say, via LinkedIn videos, like entrepreneur Liz Brown) and being “fearless” when asking for critique.

https://twitter.com/juliezeglen/status/1126506345467744256

Leadership often happens before preparation.

Per a stat shared by corporate finance exec Dave Bookbinder, senior director of CFGI, people are put into management roles an average of 11 years before they get any training on how to manage well.

#PTW19 #intro19 – Interesting fact. Average first time that someone is put into a management role? 31. First time an employee gets training? 42.

Op: leadership is something that can be learned. For something so critical we can do better. Note: management != leadership.

— Tom Leaman (@tleam) May 9, 2019

Startup founder life is all about being OK with being uncomfortable.

ClearMask’s Allysa Dittmar shared the story of her transition from a secure, full-time job to cofounding the Baltimore realLIST company that created a full-face transparent surgical mask that’s designed to improve visual communication. Entrepreneurship is naturally unsettling, given the risks involved, she said — and too much comfort might mean something isn’t right.

“In the startup world you have to be uncomfortable.” Closing out #intro19 with talks on resilience from founders around the Mid-Atlantic, @allysadittmar discusses the transition to full-time with Baltimore-based @the_clearmask #PTW19 pic.twitter.com/gXQESQah0x

— Technical.ly Baltimore (@TechnicallyBMR) May 9, 2019

Overconfidence is overrated. Courage is not.

Brilliant advice brought to you by the young people of Hopeworks Camden’s panel, “Entering the Tech Field: Diversity in the Workplace After the First Year.”

Reminder: esports are very, very here.

N3rd Street Gamers CEO John Fazio talked about the growing industry’s accessibility on his panel with Philadelphia Fusion heads Tucker Roberts and Joe Marsh.

During our #eSports panel, @jfaz said "Companies that can lower the barrier of entry to eSports & harness the infrastructure we’ve seen in traditional sports is essential, that's what excites me.” #PTW19 #Intro19 pic.twitter.com/uDXRDrhvvR

— Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs (@LIFT_Labs) May 9, 2019

Reconsider your company’s perks if you can’t up salaries.

How flexible is your work-from-home policy? Are there professional development opportunities? How transparent is the pay scale? Can you extend your parental leave policy for both parents? (Here are some other approaches to consider.)

https://twitter.com/juliezeglen/status/1126519841064660992

Diversity. Makes. Us. Better.

If all teammates think alike, where does innovation come from?

“You cannot innovate with all like-minded people.” -Matt Gillin, cofounder and CEO of Relay said during The Next Big Idea panel @ #Intro19 #PTW19 pic.twitter.com/zD8dxQGxj0

— Technical.ly DC (@TechnicallyDC) May 9, 2019

Phew. Time for a mental nap. See you next year during PTW’s 10th anniversary, friends.