Events provide a platform for the entrepreneurs, bringing them in connection with the biggest and brightest minds, leaders, government bodies and business leaders of the era and helping them grow and build their own venture. One such event, Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018, powered by Hubilo was an outstanding chance for young minds and thriving ideas to come forward and showcase their product, and gain a fresh perspective and a ray of hope which will make them startup leaders one day.

In the era where entrepreneurs are given a great chance to express their ideas and implement in the form of a start-up has thrived and provided opportunities to several people across the globe. Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018 is a platform provided by the Government of Gujarat to let the brainy minds of the current age to display their brilliant ideas to the world, interact and meet with several dignitaries.

The startup revolution is a huge industrial revolution drift which involves the latest tech innovations, leadership skills and most importantly the way of representing the ideas in front of Business Leaders, Investors, and Policymakers and so on.

With the largest tech startup summit of the year, Hubilo was handed over the event-tech part of the summit which included the major features Event Website, Event Registrations, Event App and Event Networking Platform.

This event from an entrepreneurial view was a chance to display the contribution that could be used in the betterment of the country; involving minimal cost and maximum advantage.

A glimpse of Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018

While at the event, one could really see the vibrant colors and innovations of the startup ideas that the exhibitors came up with. The first day of the Summit witnessed the inauguration by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijaybhai Rupani opening the doorway to the young and bright startup ideas. Following which the attendees were welcomed by E-Mitra, The First Humanoid Robot of India.

Many great minds and leaders of the tech industry like C.P Gurnani, MD of Tech Mahindra, Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President of NASSCOM and so on, delivered their keynote address speech to the audience; discussing the advancement in technology, the growth of startups and development of skills.

— Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit (@vgstartup) October 12, 2018

The day started off with a huge crowd scouting through the exhibition halls, where the exhibitors showcased the inventions and innovations of all kinds for the betterment of India at Gandhinagar. Simultaneously, many plenary and knowledge sessions had started off with the speakers from across the globe speaking and sharing their ideas, learnings, and struggle in the industry.

The sessions ranged from Artificial Intelligence talk to the discussion over Smart cities; from building up a sustainable ecosystem to Women-centric solutions. The pitching sessions also started where exhibitors were given a time span of about 5 minutes to pitch their startup and ideas to the investors.

One of the Grand thought in this summit was to host a Grand Challenge competition wherein all the startups who wish to register may enter and the shortlisted candidates will have a session in front of the jury and finally, the winners of the Grand Challenge will be announced. 

Although the registrations of the Grand challenge closed before the Summit commenced, the attendees and the Jury got to see the mind-blowing amazing startups ideas. The Winner for the same was awarded a sum of INR 30 lacks. You can find the list of the winners here.

The rest of the 2 days were also followed by sessions by Official Dignitaries and well known & established authors and technological & industrial contributors.

Major General A.K. Channan speaks on the theme of Maritime and Military intelligence at The Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit, 2018.#VGStartUp pic.twitter.com/vm2Z5ObVIJ

— Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit (@vgstartup) October 12, 2018

Hubilo’s Contribution to Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018

Hubilo being the event tech partner was completely provided with the responsibility of handling the technology requirements of the event. With Hubilo’s services already seen at the very first Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2016 where the first version of the event app was launched; the event organiser’s team were indeed pleased to let Hubilo handle the event tech part again.

Event Website and event registrations were also a major tech part of the Summit. The event website was the most basic requirements listed which included the event information section, schedule of the summit (bifurcated as per the sessions and timings on all 3 days), the grand challenge zone, integrated networking platform, roadshows details and the list of speakers. 

The networking platform enabled the attendees, speakers, and exhibitors be a part of the community especially created for the Summit to interact amongst themselves and to connect using the features provided within the app.

The grand challenge registrations and the normal registrations and ticketing were also handled by Hubilo’s dashboard wherein different ticket types were created for attendees, speakers, visitors, and exhibitors. Jumping on to the event app, the entire event app was customized for the Summit as per the requirements provided. Let’s have a look at some of the special features of the Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology 2018 app:

1.Scan QR Code: A special feature that was provided to all the attendees, be it a speaker or an exhibitor can install the app and get their QR code scanned at the entry point. 

With an individual app and personal login through social profiles, the entry at the event was made hassle-free. Not only this feature helped attendees get into the event but also check-in into a various session that they were attending.

Since the event footfall was in thousands, this feature simplified and accelerated the process at the entrance of the event venues.

2. Schedule: At any event where exhibitions and stalls are displayed, attendees come asking for a brochure or a map that can ease their task of finding a particular session room, meeting room or exhibition. With Hubilo’s event app, the Summit made this task entirely virtual, providing a paperless schedule uploaded on both website and the app.

The schedule was listed down day wise then further broken down into Hall wise sessions will their timings. This really helped out the people to figure out which session to attend. Along with the sessions and their timings, the list of speakers was also included in the same.

3. Networking: The utmost praised and appreciated part of the event app was the Networking section provided in the app. It was a collapsible menu with the options provided:

– Attendees: In the attendees sub-section, all the list of attendees (including investors, exhibitors, visitors, and speakers) were mentioned which can be checked by other attendees as well.

– Chat: this was indeed the most useful feature for the attendees wherein they could chat with other attendees, request for meetings, have a discussion about their business ideas and startups and the technological growth in the country.

– Meetings: It was a module specially designed for entrepreneurs to meet investors or exhibitors or other entrepreneurs. 15 min slots were provided wherein they could decide where to meet as well.

4. Participants: A section intended to be kept for the benefit of all who were attending the Summit. A list of investors, investor companies and other companies attending the Summit were mentioned so the attendees can effortlessly connect with them.

5. Business Cards: To make the Summit completely paperless, business cards feature was also provided. To simplify the hassle of going up to every stall and exhibition and discussing and learning about their startup ideas was a bit tedious task for the attendees. So, the attendees could easily select the type of profiles they are interested to connect with and send out the business card on the app.

6. Way Finders: For a Summit spread out in such a massive ground with 3 exhibition halls and hundreds of stalls and exhibitions in a single hall, it was a tough task for an attendee to find his/her way to specifically listed tablespaces. 

This is where the Way Finder came to the rescue. Just enter the name of the stand you are at and the exhibition you want to visit next, and the Way Finder will direct you there.

Apart from these amazingly built features, one could also browse through the list of attendees, which all organisations partnered the event, browse through the event feed, upload pictures, browse through the gallery and so on. Notifications tab was also in the app so the attendees can have a look at what session will be held next and where! In short, be notified with all the updates.

Along with the event, the event’s website and event app was also promoted using social media platforms, to aware the audience who might not be accustomed to using just a single app for the event to just have a look at the pros of the app and use it well for your own comfort at the event.

Hubilo also provided an on-site support team for any app or tech related queries, helping the attendees and exhibitors with any issues that they came up with on the venue. While the on-site team was busy with their work, event organisers, as well as event attendees, appreciated Hubilo’s event app and the features provided within. 

The major advantage of the event app was leveraged by the exhibitors who found this as a great opportunity to meet up with investors using our custom build networking section in the app. They were not only able to chat or fix up meetings but also find a way to market and grow their products and to have a way in the industry using valuable guidance and resources.

Learnings from the Event:

1. On-site exploration- In a mega-event like Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018, an on-site experience was a great learning. Seeing people taking interest in the event app and asking for guidance did boost our enthusiasm. Like a cherry on top, Hubilo got some amazing feedback for the creation of a customized app like VG Startup.

2. Paperless Summit is the future for event tech- Going paperless is not a cup of tea even if we are in the tech gen now. People struggle to change their ways and adapt themselves to something new. The goal was to go paperless and display the future of events industry using event tech tools like event app, event website, and event networking platform. 

The Summit was focused completely on technological solutions being developed and how entrepreneurs use the advent in tech to boost their startups. Admiration did help Hubilo’s team to encourage themselves and keep providing their services for happy clients. After all, tech is the future.

3. Networking is the key to entrepreneurial success- One of the key reasons for which entrepreneurs or exhibitors attend an event is to share their ideas or to talk their business strategies with an investor to gain an insight or their help to grow themselves into a fully-functioning MNC. The journey from an idea to a startup and further on to a well-developed organisation is full of challenges which can be overcome by building networks at such events.

The event feed provided attendees with a glimpse to what all was going on and where while the event app helped exhibitors and investors to mingle, chat and set meetings. For entrepreneurs, this event was full of golden opportunities; with a proper selection and discussion, leading to fruitful results.

4. Pre-uploaded Event Schedule makes the event hassle free- Event Schedule is a feature which made browsing the sessions, talks, networking sessions a lot uncomplicated. Rather than running around across the entire event venue and searching for the sessions going on in each room, attendees already had access to the Session name, the room in which they were being held along with the Hall Number. 

In addition to this, which speaker was going to talk on what topic and what sessions were also mentioned. The speaker’s profile could also be viewed with their short descriptions.

5. Promotion helps startups grow- Event promotion using social media platforms and push notifications in the event app helped attendees know what is inside the Summit. Exhibitions and stalls were crowded with attendees and investors where the exhibitors were busy showcasing and explaining their products and marketing them. 

While still in the crowd, the event marketing team took snapshots and flooded the social media platforms, tagging the Summit’s official page and the exhibitor’s stall to grow their presence in the market.

Events really are intended on exploring, showcasing and networking. Attendees love to experience something new and unique at any event they visit. 

There might be few attendees who are already familiar with the concept of event apps but in a startup summit where the maximum users are entrepreneurs, this event app was of great advantage, giving them a space to chat individually, connect with people of their arena and help them as well as others grow.
 
Learnings from events can surely be put to better use in the next event. For Hubilo, this event was a boost in their confidence and their services.

Have your own event experience to share? Something that you think might help other planners learn from?

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The post Takeaways from a Mega Startup event: Hubilo at Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018 appeared first on Hubilo Blog.