InEvent CEO Pedro Góes knew turning to technology would be the only way to scale his events company.
In 2019, he and his team started developing a software company for hosting events, which was accepted to Silicon Valley's Y-Combinator, a seed accelerator that incubated industry giants such as Airbnb and DoorDash.
When Góes had the idea for an events platform, the Covid-19 virus wasn't a thought on most people's minds. By the time the InEvent Virtual Lobby launched in March, virtual events were a new necessity to stay connected in all industries.
"During the pandemic, things started to really grow like crazy,” InEvent CEO Pedro Góes said. “We saw a really big market fit with our technology.”
The startup now has 110 employees, compared to 20 in 2019, Góes said. Revenue grew by about 19 times, and he expects revenue to quadruple in 2021. In January, the platform hosted 16 million minutes of video conferencing.
InEvent raised a $2 million seed round, led by Storm Ventures, in January to build out the platform for new features. Góes said he wants to make sure the interface is easy to use but also able to have more customization, such as emoji reactions, automations, games and new meeting options.
“We want to do all those things in one single platform without having to click out or install apps,” Góes said. “It should be really, really simple to use.”
Now that people are used to working remotely, Góes said he sees virtual events becoming a mainstay for businesses. The startup’s niche is business-to-business events, such as industry trade shows, internal events such as happy hours and business conferences with customers. Góes said InEvent’s main customers are associations.
The platform can offer the companies data and analytics to track the events and how they perform, which Góes said adds more long-term value for their customers. It integrates with Salesforce, Marketo, Oracle and Microsoft for users to have better access to the platform.
To use the platform, people can sign up for an account or access it through a link, which takes them to a virtual lobby, where they can click into different video events that have chat bars on the side. Companies can also customize the platform with its branding.
With Y-Combinator's network and $100,000 investment, Góes said InEvent refined its business model and software. The company had to move to Silicon Valley for the accelerator but relocated to Atlanta afterward.
“Atlanta was the hub that we thought was close to everything, not crazy expensive, had a big airport,” Góes said. “That was the main thing — being close to everything.”
Góes initially founded the company in 2013 with Mauricio Giordano and Vinicius Neris. With their in-person event experience and the InEvent platform, Góes said he feels prepared to host hybrid events as companies start to reques those.
