Most of Web Summit’s startup stalls are grouped together by industry but there are also Partner Startup Islands, many of which are designated to a specific country (or city, in the case of Dublin). Presumably these are places whose governing body is partnered with Web Summit.

A startup being grouped with their own industry vs. their country’s Partner Startup Island seems like it would give meaningful benefits and drawbacks.
Generally startups grouped with their country have very little in common with their neighbours. That means it’s easy for them to stand out, even if they’re doing something that many other startups and Web Summit are also doing.

For example, this Italian metaverse project wouldn’t be even slightly notable if it was grouped with other Gaming, VR & AR stalls because there would be three identical stalls within a few meters, all trying to pretend that they’re not doing the thing that this startup is completely open about doing.
The Partner Startup Islands also group Alpha and Beta startups together, meaning that even though startups won’t get as much opportunity to network with their own industry, Alpha startups likely get to hear from Beta startups who’ve already made it through the stage of securing initial investment.
I’m curious to find out whether it’s easier or harder for startups in Startup Partner Islands to connect with investors – I suspect some investors are interested in an industry while others are more interested in a location.
Which group are more prevelant? Or do most investors make their way around most of the stalls, regardless of where they are, by merit of not being tied to a stall themselves?
My new Keys-To-Go 2 has run into the same fault as the first one, by the way, and this time Venue MOT’s cloakroom can’t be blamed.
Perhaps I type more aggressively than I realised.