Skift Take

The future of meetings and events will become the present when event planners get their teams actually focused on the future and on the same page, which these startups aim to do.

seedlingsLast week, Skift wrote a brief manifesto for the future of meetings and conventions, an industry that still lacks a cohesive vision for where it’s headed.

We decided that the future of these events hinges on three main pillars: community, collaboration, and content. Separately, they’re nothing novel. But together, they lay a strategic road map that will add immense value proposition for attendees. Facets of event management that should be second nature by now, such as community engagement or efficient real-time collaboration among planners, are not as practical as it can be.

This week’s five startups are part of the next generation of global events and conferences, seeking to help event planners with key elements of their jobs from connecting them with suppliers to helping them analyze social media engagement throughout their event.

Expotor connects exhibitors with suppliers, such as booth assistants, lighting services, caterers, or interpreters, etc.

>>SkiftTake: If you’re planning a conference or event around the world it’s not always easy to know who the best suppliers are in a particular region or who you should work with. Expotor at least helps you connect some of those dots.

Event Collab is a software as a service solution that helps event planners manage their events, from task assignments to schedules, etc.

>>SkiftTake: The real-time collaboration feature for Event Collab gets to the heart of ensuring everyone in the event planning process is on the same page, which is crucial for any event.

Eventswide is a marketplace for conferences happening in Asia. It eventually plans to help with event registration directly from its site.

>>SkiftTake: This could help attendees find events they were unfamiliar with. But with so many event planners using different softwares for event registration, Eventswide needs to make sure it can accommodate all of them.

Eventup is an event venue marketplace in the U.S., featuring more than 10,000 venues and service providers nationwide.

>>SkiftTake: We like that Eventup lets organizers search for venues based on attendance and budget, as anyone who plans medium-sized conventions, for example, knows the struggle to find appropriate venues in certain cities.

Thinkwall helps event planners with digital social media displays at conferences. It offers audience engagement tools and analytics for planners.

>>SkiftTake: An event that doesn’t draw attendees’ attention to social media is, for all intents and purposes, a failed event in 2016. A solution that makes the social conversation more visible and accessible to attendees equals a smarter conference for everyone.

For all of our SkiftSeedlings coverage, check out our archives here.

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Tags: skiftseedlings, startups

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