Interview with Aleix Gheorghe Founder and Director of AW Summit 

In this issue of CamLife Magazine we sit down with Aleix Gheorghe Founder and Director of AW Summit in this exclusive interview. 

 What did you do before you founded AWsummit? 

Well, at my very beginning I was having some studio business when I was only 24. That was back in 2004. The studio wasn’t a great success, but I’ve developed a passion for the industry and discovered the affiliates side. So then I was a self-educated designer/programmer -affiliate from 2006 until late 2011 when I opened NightProwl Studio.AW Summit started 3 years later in 2014. As a fun fact, I also had running 2 other startups, one in tourism and the other in the air-conditioning industry.

 So, Alex, you are the founder and CEO of Aw summit. How long ago did you start AWsummit?

Like stated above, it started in 2014. Actual 2014 was the only year when I’ve organized two editions of a summit, the first one in February, attended only by studios only, and the other one in June.

What is inspired you to start AW Summit? 

I was traveling a lot at the end of 2013 exchanging thoughts, experiences and promoting one of my projects with other studio owners from Romania. Having all those discussions I had a real sense that a gathering of studios could be possible. I mean in live-cam oriented forums and communities the idea was already floating for many years, but no one had the courage to try it because of the possibility of failing. Before that, I was attending my first ever international event, in September 2013 in Budapest -at The European Summit, and I must recognize, once more, that it also had a big impact on my thoughts.

What obstacles did you have to overcome to make the AWSummit the success that it is today?

Lost a lot of money in the first place, by investing in the event itself and in traveling all around the world to promote it, but also by neglecting the businesses I was already running. I had some personal life difficulties as well, as everything is time-consuming nowadays if you want to succeed, but I won’t enter into details about this. However, I’m quite an optimistic guy and I like to see the bright side of the story, that I made a lot of new friends all over the world and helped the international live-cam business, that I honestly love, to grow. Really grow. I am very proud of what I had accomplished.

Putting on a Show like Aw summit must be a huge undertaking. So how much time and planning goes into putting together a show like this? 

The show itself it’s not that difficult to plan and execute. It takes some time, but it’s not that difficult. However it requires a lot of traveling, a lot of discussions, you need to encourage people to give you all the negative feedback they have, listen, learn and fix any problems. You need to be present at all international events, to keep in touch, to gather ideas. It’s a full-time job, 365 days per year.

What do you think the audience will be at this upcoming Aw awards ceremony? 

In the last 2 years, we sold all the 370 available tickets and still had demand for more. This is why we added 48 more seats at the balcony. The plan is to change the location next year if we will have the same high demand this year as well. We were the first show broadcasted live over the internet, and every year we had hundreds of viewers watching the show live, and more than 15.000 -for each edition -looking at the recording. We are still building the brand, it is still young, we still learn new things, but preparing for the next step, a big one, to stream the show on a US-based TV Network. That day, from my point of view, will be a huge success not only for AW Awards but also for the entire live cam industry.

We here at Cam Life Magazine believe that the live Cam industry is more than just a business it is a community, what are your thoughts on this?

I think the community is the perfect word and I agree with that. Some people go too far by comparing the industry with a family. Sure, every family has its own difficulties, arguments, fights, reconciliations -if we really need to use that word, we can have explanations. But “community” it’s a different word and I agree with it.

 Alex as one of the Live Cam community’s top influencers where do see the live Cam community in the future? 

Top influencer? Thank you for the kind words, but I’m kind of an introverted and introverts can’t really be, by definition, influencers.I think the demand for live-content is increasing constantly. The only thing that is changing is the reason why people access live cam sites. If it all started more than 20 years ago out of curiosity, to discover new things and actually explore the internet, now I see a clear balance change and a high demand, from the members perspective, towards a social life substitute. However, the content is not there to cover the demand. Most of the models offer adult-oriented content and not much of a social-life substitute, not too much non-sexual interaction going on online nowadays. I see that most of us spend time online and at work and less time with family and friends. Once you observe that you will understand that the need for online sexual relief is there, and it will keep being there 2000 years from now, but there is also the demand for a social life substitute, for that camgirl that can listen and understand their online friends. I think that is the future. However, if your question refers to or includes the technical future, I think that sky is the limit.

I’ll be honest with you Alex I have not made it to Aw summit yet, but I find myself daydreaming as I write my desk about attending Aw summit in the future.

What is your relationship like with the event’s sponsors?

Difficult to reply. With most of them, I have a great relationship, even friendship. However, when talking about the AWSummit, every sponsor is equal to me, no matter of the status of the relationship, because being fair and treating everybody equal is the only way to succeed and provide a quality service. Sometimes you forget a banner, misspell a name during a presentation or any other mistakes, that happens to us as well, as we are humans, and the sponsors are not happy about that. Fortunate that didn’t happen too many times to us, and when it did we apologize and human beings and did all our best to fix whatever the problem was.

How important is it to work with other influencers like yourself in the live webcam community putting on a successful event? 

I know what you mean by influencer. However every attendee is for me an influencer, models, and studios look up for the cam sites and other company representatives. For them, they are the main reason they attend, the influencers. Companies come for other companies, for the affiliates, for the models or studios. For them, they are the influencers. Having big names on your list, companies or individuals is important as well and can create a lot of traction and add even more value to the show.

I’ll tell you, Alex, all of the pictures and videos that I have seen of past years AW summits I am really impressed the images look like they are taken out of an episode of lifestyle and the rich and famous? 

Thank you again for the kind words. Everything is possible only based on finances, on the companies supporting our event with sponsorships, with huge budgets for the parties that they pay, it is possible because of the ones buying their tickets. Everything is possible when you have so much support, so I really need to thank them for the opportunity given to organizing such an event.

You must feel proud that AWAwards has become known as the live Cam community’s most glamorous awards ceremony?

I really spend a lot of time and energy on the awards gala. Awards galas in general, not only in our industry are kind of boring. So the idea and the concept was to change that, to add fun elements, artistic elements, singers, to have something special for our industry. So yes, I am not only proud of the achievement, but also to see that others found inspiration, and there is nothing bad or shameful in that, in our show.

How much business gets done at an event like Aw summit?

I only heard rumors of very big transactions, even changing the ownership of big companies and other big contracts. And I really mean big! But a big business is also for the model building connections, exchanging experiences and information with other models, connecting with the cam sites they work on, and doubling or more their income when they go back home. That’s also a big achievement for that particular model. But that is actually the nature of the show, creating connections, making business, evolving, making business. After that, we can drink and celebrate during the parties.

Tell us a little bit about the business opportunities at an event like AW summit? 

Unlimited opportunities, not only for cam oriented businesses but also for traffic companies and more. Some of the new brands, in traffic included , developed the idea of a new product , a new feature for their website or app -during the AWSummit , by connecting with other professionals , experts or consumers of their products , no matter if the consumer is another company, a studio, a model or an affiliate . You can only evolve by attending events and connecting with other people from the industry.

What kind of model focused events and activities will there be at this year’s event?

We have 3 new things: The Business Incubator, where start-up companies can pitch to investors or other companies , then we have the Affiliates Meetup, where we expect more than 150 good affiliates -not the most amazing number but a good start for our first Affiliates edition , and the AWCampus -where from noon until 6 PM the models will have both fun and educational events .

Tell us about your team? 

I was hoping you are going to ask me about them as well, as they really put a lot of efforts and I don’t deserve to be in the spotlight by myself. It’s all heart! I feel every day they like what they do, they put a lot of passion and efforts into it. I think everyone knows Roxana by now, the Event Director. She’s with us for almost 2 years now, but I was teasing her to join our team much before at her previous mainstream job. Actually, Roxana is the only one in AW that didn’t apply for a job and was invited to have a place in my team . Then we have Elena, in my team since 2010, 8 beautiful years already. She’s not in the spotlight, at least not as much as she works, as she does most of our administrative stuff. Then is Andreea-Madalina, taking care of different tasks, but mostly being in charge with our AWNews.com product. We have some outsourcing services with us, such the amazing Thomas Skavhellen and his Bowtie Digital agency, taking care of our marketing campaigns, and that’s about it! Not a huge team, but all heart, and that overcomes anything else.

Alex tell us a little bit about the awards ceremony itself? 

Actually, we are going to have two ceremonies in 2018, one for the executives such as Business Man or Business Woman of the year, Creative services, Marketing services and so on, and then we will have on a different day the AW Awards gala as already everybody knows it. From the spectacle point of view, it will take the viewers into the future. I can’t go into details, you need to be there or at least to watch it online, hope you will be amazed. As for the show hosts, the EXECutives awards will be hosted by Stefano, and the AW Awards will be hosted by Stefan Muhlbauer and Mia Saldarriaga.

How did you choose the location for Aw summit?

Having a new location in 2018 I can answer with a little bit of humor: hope I’ve chosen the location with great inspiration. The previous venue hotel was having only 120 rooms and we had a huge demand every year, so we needed a bigger one to accommodate as many as possible. We actually tripled the rooms by moving to the new hotel. If we are still talking about rooms, the previous hotel had 2 presidential suites and we had demand for more presidential or executive suites. Now we have more than 20 to cover the demand. But moreover, we needed more space to accommodate all the 1000+ expected attendees.

What as one the Cam community’s top Influencers what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs starting out?

Understand the ecosystem you are trying to be a part of. If you don’t understand your affiliates and their needs, the models or studios and their needs, if you don’t understand your partners, and moreover if you don’t understand your customers and their demands, then you are doomed. So before jumping into investments, jump into learning the ecosystem you want to be part of.

Thank you so much Alex for taking the time out of your busy schedule to sit down with us here at Cam Life Magazine and good luck to everyone this year’s  at Aw summit Thank you, Bender , thank you as well for the opportunity given by this interview . Meanwhile don’t forget our dates , June 5 to 7 in Mamaia , Romania . Thank you!