Welcome back to another episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast!
This week Jeff, Caleb, and Matthew talk with Jonathan Kazarian, founder and CEO of AccelEvents. AccelEvents is a virtual events platform that is perfectly suited to help businesses host their flagship events in a COVID-safe manner. In this episode, you will hear about the benefits of transitioning to virtual events, how to scale quickly with a global virtual team, the future of virtual events in a post-pandemic world, and much more. Listen in to hear about how your business can benefit from pivoting to the virtual world!
Shownotes
(1:16) Introducing AccelEvents
(7:03) The benefits of transitioning to virtual events
(12:44) Setting up a virtual event through AccelEvents
(14:11) How virtual events favor tech employees
(16:26) Scaling quickly with a global virtual team
(18:02) Price structure and how sponsors benefit from virtual events
(22:56) The future of virtual events post-pandemic
(24:25) Jonathan gives advice to his younger self
Links
Quotes
“One big trend that we’re seeing…is that these events that used to take three, six, nine months to plan in person and were crazy expensive, now through our platform, these event organizers can take that event and they can repurpose and reuse a lot of the content and bring that community back and re-engage that community every month or every quarter and build those deeper relationships.” (7:20)
“You learn best by taking the hit in the face with a two-by-four, because you know the kinds of things you won’t do again. And some of those, I think some of those life lessons are the things that define good leaders. If you could do everything right and you’ve kind of lived an enchanted life, when the first big obstacle comes up you have no idea how to deal with it.” (25:40)
The All-in-One Virtual Event Platform
From wearing masks in public to take-out-only restaurants, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic seem endless. Sporting events and concerts were postponed and canceled, and many businesses pivoted to working from home. While one could wax on how long society will feel the pandemic’s effects, it seems clear that large gatherings of people, including business events, will not be around for the foreseeable future.
Throughout the pandemic, many companies have adapted their business model, meeting the newfound needs of a socially-distanced world. One of these companies is AccelEvents, a virtual events platform aiding businesses to continue with their workshops, conferences, and expos.
Jonathan Kazarian co-founded AccelEvents with Zach Hagopian six years ago. They originally built AccelEvents with the hopes of creating a mobile fundraising platform that allowed for silent auctions and raffles to take place digitally. As their business grew, clients asked for new features to provide a more full-service solution to digital event organization. This put the company in a prime position to adapt and provide a necessary product in the spring of 2020.
As Jonathan and Zach saw the world start to shut down and transition to virtual and remote workplaces, they jumped at the opportunity to emphasize the aspects of AccelEvents’ virtual events. Now, they offer a full-service virtual event solution for any business that is missing out on their in-person fundraisers, expos, and conferences this year.
While the pandemic sparked the evolution of workplaces and events, Jonathan projects that companies will see the benefits of technology and eventually move to hybrid events rather than returning to exclusively in-person events when it is safe to do so.
The advantages of virtual events are not difficult to see. From a more extensive audience pool to saving money on planning and transportation, virtual events make quite a bit of sense for all types of businesses. Companies will be able to retain these benefits in the future by hosting hybrid events, or in-person events that one can also attend virtually.
“One big trend that we’re seeing…is that these events that used to take three, six, nine months to plan in person and were crazy expensive, now through our platform, these event organizers can take that event and they can repurpose and reuse a lot of the content and bring that community back and re-engage that community every month or every quarter and build those deeper relationships.” (7:20)
While there are numerous advantages to virtual events, new struggles appear as well. For instance, networking and making connections is largely in the nature of in-person events such as expos and conferences. These are primarily negated when the events are attended remotely, but AccelEvents hopes to provide solutions for these issues. Within its platform, attendees can enter networking lounges, which allow them to discuss and connect over different topics. Attendees can also join live video forums to network and discuss topics in-depth.
While the pandemic has forced people to make countless changes to their lives, some things have evolved and changed in ways that will push the boundaries for society’s betterment.
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