In a world where timelines are noisy and attention is scarce, summits have become one of the most reliable — and overlooked — ways to break through the clutter.
In this Strike Marketing Summit preview, Fernando Labastida sits down with Darrell Vesterfelt, VP of Growth at Mighty Networks and co-founder of multiple large-scale online events (including one with 180,000 registrants). Darrell explains why summits are his favorite top-of-funnel strategy across industries — SaaS, creator businesses, physical products, agencies, and more.
More importantly, he breaks down the psychology behind why a well-structured event can fill your funnel in one shot… even if you're a startup launching to crickets.
Why summits work (according to Darrell):
1. They break the norm.An event with multiple expert speakers stands out instantly in a crowded feed. When people are scrolling through endless micro-content, a summit feels like a high-value destination.
2. They overwhelm with value.As Darrell says, you want attendees to think:“If they give me this much for free, what happens when I pay them?”
3. They activate networks — without spending a fortune.Even a 200-person summit can outperform a 10,000-person one if the goal is targeted leads, not vanity metrics.
4. They work for SaaS, creators, founders, and service businesses alike.Darrell has run successful summits for everything from homesteading courses to software platforms.
5. They build trust faster than any other marketing move.Summits compress connection, authority, reciprocity, and community into a single strike.
Whether you’re launching a new startup, releasing a product, or building your personal brand, this interview shows exactly why an event might be your most leverage-rich move.
Darrell’s Session at the Strike Marketing Summit“Why Most Startups Launch to Crickets — and How One Summit Can Fill Your Funnel Overnight”📅 December 11, 2025⏰ 5:00–6:00 PM CST🔗 https://summit.strikemarketingsummit.com
What you’ll learn:
Why summits break through noise better than any single-topic event
How Darrell generated 180,000 registrations
Why value-overload is the #1 persuasion lever in event marketing
Why small summits can outperform massive ones
How to use a summit to launch a company, a product, or a category
The difference between “attention” and “activation”
Why success depends on the end goal, not the audience size
Ways to use summits for SaaS, creators, agencies, and physical products
Chapters
00:00 – Why summits break the norm00:26 – Darrell’s biggest summit successes
01:31 – Why events fill funnels at every scale
03:02 – The psychology of attention & value
04:46 – Reciprocity and value overload
05:39 – The School of Traditional Skills case study
06:07 – 10,000+ attendee summits at Mighty Networks
07:28 – Small vs. large summits: what counts as “success”
08:46 – Closing & Summit invitation
Get full access to Startup Strike at strikemarketing.news/subscribe