MARCH | TECH
What does it take to launch
an event tech start-up?
The events sector, much like the world at
large, is increasingly tied to technology
Words: Stuart Wood
42
W
e are living in an
interactive age of event
apps, drone shows and
augmented reality, where cutting-
edge tech is used to wow audiences
and keep them engaged with an event
– even beyond the handful of days
they might spend camping in a field.
Some impressive tech stories have
passed through the pages of Access
in recent months, like the opening
ceremony of the 2018 League of
Legends World Championships,
which used AR to combine real and
holographic singers on a 2000sqm
stage covered in screens.
We’ve seen Boomtown making
use of cutting-edge display tech to
create an immersive post-apocalyptic
narrative, which festival-goers were
invited to explore.
And we’ve seen a number of
companies racing to capitalise on
cashless and blockchain technology,
particularly in ticketing – a sector
which has undergone a massive
upheaval in the last year alone.
But how do companies break into
this thriving and creative area of
business? The event tech sector can
sometimes feel like it is dominated by
a few big players, while those entering
it for the first time fight amongst each
other for recognition.
To investigate, Access spoke to a
selection of event tech companies of
varying sizes, to hear how they got
started, what did and didn’t work,
and what advice they would give to
others.
The SME: Venue Search London
The first company we spoke to was
Venue Search London, which offers a
venue-finding service in the Greater
London area for parties, conferences,
exhibitions, product launches, dinners
and more.
VSL was set up in January 2014 by
Dominique Gill, Sam Gill and Sarah
Kay, as a start-up with five employees.
Now, it has 26 full-time employees
working from its Central London
headquarters.
When asked if the event tech
sector is a difficult one to break into
for start-ups, Dominique Gill says:
“As with any industry-specific B2B
technology, the barriers to entry are
far smaller than in B2C. A great idea
that is well-funded from the outset
has a good chance of success, as long
as the funding includes a launch
budget that Is sufficient to fully test
the market.”
For VSL, that money came from
a £150,000 fundraise using a Seed
Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
SEIS is intended for very early-stage
companies, allowing individuals to
invest small annual amounts, and
receiving a 50% tax break in return.
That early money funded the initial
development of the VSL website,
which is its main portal to business,
as well as marketing and salary costs
during the launch phase.
Gill says: “Smaller companies,
especially those that are owner-
managed like our own, are better
incubators of new ideas since they