During the second annual Event Tech Live Las Vegas in May—a North American offshoot of the 10-year-old Event Tech Live London show—about a dozen technology products aimed at business-event planners vied for top honors in the 2024 Launchpad Competition for start-up companies.
A panel of three judges, all of whom have more than 15 years of experience in the business-events field, evaluated the products from emerging firms for their innovative features, applicability to planners’ needs, and ease of use. Specifically, “we focused on which ones provided the most useful solutions to the industry—how beneficial each would be for its intended target market—rather than judging primarily on innovation,” said Cecilia Lavin, global strategic growth director for Evessio and a Launchpad Competition judge.
The one start-up that stood above the others this year: Recordly.ai, a product that produces instant audio transcription for real-time and recorded sessions in more than 100 languages through the use of artificial intelligence, plus A.I.-generated summaries shortly after a session ends. To ensure correct context and nuance in each language, the product also employs human oversight; customers can choose the level of human oversight they desire for a given event.
Recordly.ai “provides a simple interface and easy user experience, which can change the game for many event professionals” who need to capture session content across several languages, Lavin noted.
Two other start-up tech products were chosen as finalists in the Launchpad Competition. The first was RoomRite, a resale marketplace for hotel-room blocks. Event groups who expect to have excess room inventory and are concerned about potential attrition fees can list excess guest rooms 60 to 120 days prior to an event. Then, other groups can book a minimum of 10 rooms in that block at the selling party’s contracted rate. Those resold rooms count towards filling the original room block, although hoteliers may add stipulations to a resale listing, such as a minimum food-and-beverage purchase.
“This is a proactive tool that addresses an underlying missed opportunity, especially for larger events that could have significant additional costs due to unused guest rooms,” said Lavin.
The other finalist was TEPS, a full-service event platform that addresses current challenges for planners in Africa and other up-and-coming economic regions “by providing an easier user experience and a more cost-effective alternative for events in their region,” Lavin said.
