Loopd has been voted as the winner of the #IMEXpitch competition, the second annual showcase of up-and-coming meetings technology companies held at IMEX America in Las Vegas yesterday.
Loopd helps meeting participants exchange contact information and content, and organizers to gather rich engagement and traffic data through a wearable beacon badge and App.
It also works independently of Wifi availability which was a major factor in it being chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, all event technology industry experts. Each finalist in this techno ‘battle of the bands’ vied for victory by delivering a live pitch to the judges and an audience of more than 60 attendees at the show’s Inspiration Hub.
#IMEXpitch enables event technology start-ups to showcase their products at no cost to an audience of event professionals while giving IMEX America attendees the opportunity to learn about new event technology products. Following its successful launch last year, the competition attracted crowds of people keen to discover the technology hotshots of the future.
The other finalists were:
1. Brojure – a Digital Proposal and Communication application for meeting and event planners.
2. Lasso40- captures e-signatures and electronically checks-in your attendees at your events.
3. LiGo – is a face-to-face networking tool that enables participants to meet the right people at events.
4. PheedLoop – an event engagement tool that gathers actionable data and analytics.
The shortlist was selected from a total of 26 companies that entered this year’s contest.
The panel of judges included: Greg Bogue of Maritz Travel; Brandt Krueger of brandtkrueger.com; James Morgan PhD, CSEP Event Tech Lab; Julius Solaris, Event MB and IMEX Group’s Miguel Neves, CMP.
The winning product is set to benefit from publicity across IMEX America media and PR channels as well as free of charge exhibition space on the Technology Pavilion at IMEX America 2016.
The winner of last year’s inaugural competition, Speecheo, which offers a speaker effectiveness app, has been making the most of its complimentary booth at IMEX America this year. Since winning the award, the company has attracted investor interest and has been accepted into one of the best startup incubators in Paris.
Julius Solaris commented “The attention on event technology in the industry is unprecedented. Our commitment at EventMB is to foster innovation and give a chance to innovative start-ups to showcase their technology. The role that IMEX has in giving such a platform for recognition is inspiring. IMEXpitch has become the de facto event to learn about innovation in the industry.”
“So many great entrants were in the mix this year and it was certainly challenging to choose,” said Miguel Neves, IMEX’s Senior Online Community Manager. “Luckily everyone in the industry is a winner because there are a lot of great technology options out there to make meetings more engaging, plugged in and manageable for meetings professionals and delegates.”
“I’m really excited to win the #IMEXpitch,” said Loopd CEO Brian Friedman. “Engagement is getting a lot of attention at IMEX America and that’s really good to see and hear. IMEX is different from other shows as the event technology companies exhibiting here are really the cream of the crop.”
