5 things we learned at FHundeD Live

Looking for investment? Prove that your idea can solve a pain point

FHundED Live’s first talk of the day surrounded the subject of investment. Here, the panel guests stressed the importance of knowing your target market and understanding the people who will buy your product. However, the most important point? Knowing how your product solves a pain point for customers. 

For event promoters, this one is easy to put into practice. Let’s say you’re a promoter in your local area, you have a decent-sized venue that could be used for a range of events, yet the people of your town or city don’t feel like enough is happening. Those people are your target audience; the lack of events is the pain point. 

This talk focused on start-up businesses looking for seed funding. Traditionally, businesses looking for this type of funding are at the idea stage. However, the advice still applies. No matter what type of funding you’re looking for, having a clear idea of the things you provide to the people who are buying tickets to your event will stand you in good stead when it comes to looking for that cash boost to get to the next level.

Use customer insight reports

Another valuable insight of the first talk was the use of customer insights. 

This was a point raised by Par Equity’s Senior Investment Manager, Sunny Nagi. He told us that investors want to see whether founders are targeting and understanding the people who will buy, which is more sound advice for people in the events industry. 

If you’re running an event, a customer insight report might look like a survey which asks attendees questions about safety, booking policy, accessibility and equality. So, devise a series of questions around these topics, create a survey and share it across your social media and newsletter channels. 

Once you’ve received feedback, look at how you can implement the results into your event. Your attendees will be thankful that you’ve listened to their concerns, strengthening your relationships and creating the conditions for a long-running event series. 

See the gaps in the market

The next talk focused on scaling your business. In the events world, a lot of promoters are looking to get to the next stage, expand their reach and continue to host successful events. 

But the tricky part is often how? 

We heard great advice from David Hammond, CEO of Chiptech, who told us that it’s crucial to know your market and see the gaps that arise, which ultimately allowed him to help further grow the company. 

Now, Chiptech is a company focused on digital telecare solutions, but David’s methods can be adapted to the events world. Let’s say you run an electronic music event brand that’s looking to expand. You might do some research into popular sounds and find that a genre of music doesn’t have the type of representation in the clubs. That is the gap in the market that could help your brand grow, reaching a new audience in the process. 

Prioritise shared values when scaling up

As FHundED Live progressed, we were treated to more insights around the topic of scaling up your business. 

In the fourth talk of the day, titled ‘Elevate Enterprise’, Code Galaxy’s Mary Speakman told us that when you’re scaling your team, it’s imperative to find the people who can do the things you need while you focus on crucial aspects of the business. Mary went on to tell us that shared values are key and that you can work together to enhance your audience. 

So, if we take the example in the previous section, it could be that you hire some experts in the genre you want to target. They could bring with them a knowledge of the particular scene, contacts and trust, leading the talent side of the expansion while you focus on securing deals with venues. Both parties have shared values, working together to get your event brand in front of the audiences you want to expand to. 

Predict the trend before it happens

FUSE’s Michael Gibson spoke on the same panel at FHundED Live, raising an intriguing point. He told the audience that when looking to scale up, it’s important it is to understand the market before the trend comes along. 

But how can event promoters put this into practice?

It’s about keeping on top of news in your industry. If you’re running a club night, ensure you’re clued up on the latest happenings, attending the relevant conferences and reading the newest statistical data. Don’t rest on your laurels. 

Similarly, listen to your team. They can provide insights in places where they have specific expertise. So, if they come to you with intriguing ideas on potential new trends, listen and see how you can explore them.