Ben’s List 19
Didn’t see it coming. But COVID-19 was the Napster moment of the event industry and it goes beyond event organizers.
Also see more startups coverage: /startups/
Hotels are now partnering with virtual event platforms to offer hybrid solutions to event planners. On the outside, it looks like a clever move to ensure that smaller groups can gather in person at hotel venues and enjoy the full online experience with state of the art audiovisual setups.
I could imagine VR holodecks using conference rooms at hotels as well in the near future.
What’s not so cool is that it’s another lock that will force both planners and venues to give away big amounts of data to the platforms. It happened 10 years ago with booking.
This week we also cover community, newsletter, DeepTech, music and a SaaS case study from Sacra. A typical week at Selected.
SaaS
Calendly: The $4B DocuSign of Scheduling
“Calendly is currently on track to pass $100M in ARR by summer 2021. If they do, they’ll have hit that milestone 3 years faster than the similarly-capital-efficient Zapier and more than 4 years faster than the now-$40B+ DocuSign.”
Community
How My Paid Community Made $5K in Its First Week
Routines vs Rituals
Fake versus Authentic — The Gauntlet has been Thrown: Critical Thoughts to Build a Strong LinkedIn Network
“Is it possible the quest for authenticity and the surge in (deep) fake news have a relationship? I now have new evidence to support the fact that they are entirely linked and we should be even more aware of this duo of words as we look to build our network and reputation. And, it should definitely be enough to change the way you approach your Linkedin network building.”
Newsletter
14 Free Newsletter Referral Reward Ideas
- sparkloop.app/blog/14-free-newsletter-referral-reward-ideas :: Louis Nicholls
Hospitality
Hyatt Hotels CEO on new digital platform to assist in hybrid conferences
Or how the hospitality industry continues to lose it to platforms, first on bookings, now on events.
- cnbc.com/video/2021/05/05/hyatt-hotels-ceo-on-new-digital-platform-to-assist-in-hybrid-conferences.html :: CNBC
DeepTech
The five questions investors need to ask deeptech startups
“How you summarise and communicate your value proposition when dealing with complex technology speaks volumes to investors. Can you succinctly explain what your product is and why it’s special? If you’re compelling when talking to us, we will have more confidence you can do that when talking to potential customers (some of whom will be non-technical), new hires, and future investors.”
Music
Why fanbases need to be networks, rather than channels
