Dubai-based tech startup Eventtus raised an undisclosed amount of investment in a round led by existing investors Algebra Ventures. The last round Eventtus closed was in 2017, raising $2 million.
Like many industries that were hit hard by the pandemic, the Egypt-born startup focused on digitizing agendas for events had to find a quick pivot to survive the new (hopefully temporary) reality.
“We felt the impact of COVID-19 from as early as February, but we were expecting it to be a containable situation. We thought it wouldn’t be that big. Then it became very clear that it is big, one that needs to be reacted to very quickly.”
Mai Medhat, CEO, Eventtus
Using virtual tools is becoming the new norm, and according to the CEO, the events industry is worth billions of dollars; “so it has to continue. There’s no way that it will die.”
Medhat predicts that entrepreneurs will see types and sizes of events so much different than what we’re used to; nothing like the conferences and exhibitions. It will be something bigger than the webinars and Facebook Lives and smaller than offline conference. Monitoring the watch parties on social media, Eventtus came to the conclusion that events are not only about the content. In fact, content is just a small fraction of why people attend events.
“It’s about the whole experience, the networking, which is the biggest part of the event. There is a whole new experience that needs to be created. All the existing tools are not tailored for events, and they don’t fit the type of events we’re yet to see.”
Mai Medhat, CEO, Eventtus
In the coming few weeks, the Eventtus team will unveil their web-based application for events. Building on the existing tools, Medhat and her team will reimagine the experience of online events. They’re building a web interface because back in the time of offline events Eventtus was mobile-focused since it was the main device being used in events. Now that people are staying home, they will probably use their laptops, so they’re adapting to that. The interface will focus on networking, this is the biggest loophole in the existing online tools.
“In the end everything that we’re seeing online is people listening to someone talking, not networking.”
Mai Medhat, CEO, Eventtus
If you see something out of place or would like to contribute to this story, check out our Ethics and Policy section.
