Web Summit’s sister in the States gets underway today.
The highlight of the tech calender is the Dublin-based Web Summit which has grown from from 400 attendees to over 20,000 attendees from around the world in just 4 years.
The popularity of the event saw the organisers move to set up a sister event in America called Collision Conference last year.
Collision 2015 gets underway today in Las Vegas and we spoke to nine Irish startups who are attending to find out more about them and what they hope to achieve at the conference.
Wazp
What’s does your company do?
Wazp is a business platform for tech natives, creating things like an on-demand work force and drag and drop sales while looking and feeling like a consumer app. www.wazp.io
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
We are heading to Collision to see Downtown Vegas which has a very interesting startup vibe with lots of co-working spaces and ideas. It’s also great to meet other startups/SME’s face-to-face and talk about areas that they’re having difficulty with.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
I’d say ‘don’t be evil’ but Google have that.
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
Elon Musk – someone like that retweeting us would reflect our ambition, and put them in good company.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
Conor McGregor. He is great at what he does, better at marketing himself. An expert at creating hype and delivering on it.
Campsited.com
What’s does your company do?
Campsited.com gives campsite and holiday park owners an easy way to promote their parks online, and people everywhere a simple way to find and book them. The idea for Campsited came when I went online to book a camping holiday for my family. The experience was very fragmented and frustrating.
I found myself trawling through dozens of websites, none of which were really easy to use, or had a global view of campsites and holiday parks. While researching the idea afterwards I was overwhelmed by the number of people who had the same problem. So I set about fixing it.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
We are attending Collision for three reasons; to connect with investors, with a view to meeting them again at a later date when we are formally raising finance, to drive awareness of Campsited and to meet with and learn from other start ups.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
I’ll go two better and give you my three word mantra – Never give up.
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
Barack Obama, simply because he is the 3rd most followed person on Twitter. It would be a good way to get the Campsited name out there. Plus he has a tad more credibility than the 1st and 2nd most followed – Katie Perry and Justin Bieber.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
That’s a tough question. There are many business people who I think are brilliant. However, for me the one who guided me the most when starting Campsited is Paul Graham, from U.S. seed accelerator Y Combinator (ycombinator.com).
His essays (paulgraham.com/articles.html) are incredibly insightful and are a must read for anyone thinking of starting a technology business.
StageStream
What’s does your company do?
StageStream offers users the Thrill of the world’s greatest live and on demand events direct to their TV, Mobile, PC or Tablet.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
The conference gives StageStream the opportunity to meet like minded innovative companies operating in the same space and potential partners that can assist with gaining access to the lucrative US marketplace.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
A Global Virtual Event Access
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
I have just started on Twitter so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
Wow, tough question, I suppose I would say Bill Gates and his founding team at Microsoft. Their Software touches most organisations 40 years on since they launched. Other that that Steve Jobs, but I imagine most people would say Steve.
Bring Your Own Talent
What’s does your company do?
Bring Your Own Talent (BYOT) is the first worldwide cloud platform which connect artists from all around the world from industries such as music, cinema, entertainment (DJs, dancers, magicians, comedians), advertising (models, MUA, stylist, interior designers), and art gallery, with their business market such as events agencies, music labels, filmmakers, wedding planners, municipalities, corporates and many more.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
We are a new start up, so our main goal at the moment is to get in touch with some investors to get fundings this will help us to go quicker in our next steps.
Attending Collision in Las Vegas will also help us to spread the words and pitch our platform concept to everyone to get some new users for our database.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
1. Disruptive : Be different. No self-censure.
2. Passion : Stay focused with passion. Keep a quality of work and good timing.
3. Flexible : Be flexible and stay open-minded.
4. Direction : Don’t be scared to stop, step back, and change your direction whenever you think it’s the right moment.
5. Enjoy : Just be HAPPY. Sharing is carrying help from your colleagues, customers, other entrepreneurs… listening music… drinking your favorite coffee..
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
I have a lot of respect for all entrepreneurs as I know the risks, hard work, and passion behind the scene. I really like web social companies such as LinkedIn and Airbnb who help people to connect and interact in a smart and positive manner.
For me, the greatest business person of all time was Steve Jobs. I like the fact that he placed the customer in the center of everything and how he managed to bring back emotions in the IT world to make it more colorful, and managed to get all generations connected from kids to grandparents all around the world.
LogoStore
What’s does your company do?
The business that I’m bringing to Collision is called LogoStore, we provide start-ups with good quality logo design by encouraging professional designers to give something back.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
I’m attending Collision for the craic, plain and simple.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
‘Good design is good business’
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
Guy Kawasaki, because I admire his work and his opinions carry a lot of weight, especially in the space where business and design meet, plus I think we’d have a few things in common.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
Elon Musk is an obvious recent contender due to his audacity, determination and belief in design.
Crowdflow
What’s does your company do?
Crowdflow is an online marketing platform that helps event organisers sell more tickets.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
Las Vegas sees 5 million event attendees during 22,000 conventions per year, it’s a great place to meet potential customers and introduce ourselves to the US market.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
Focus and get shit done.
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
Tough one, @Eventbrite has the most reach but I feel most of those are probably consumers, so I’d have to go for @EventMB as their followers would be almost 100% potential customers.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
It might not be correct to say Elon Musk is the greatest businessman of all time… yet. He hasn’t had an impact like Rockefeller, Ford, Jobs or Gates.
But 50 years from now, when we have our first colony on Mars, and the world runs on renewable energy, we’ll call the combination of making money and advancing humanity the greatest business venture of all time, and Elon Musk the greatest businessman.
Surfaccounts
What’s does your company do?
Surfaccounts is a web based bookkeeping application for SMEs. Invoicing and accounts made easy is our motto. We offer free training and support to all signups and it all starts from just €14.95 per month.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
We are attending Collision Conference in order to meet potential development partners that could use an accounts package as an add-on to their current offering and to do some market research.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
Invoicing and accounts made easy.
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
Barack Obama- 58.5 million followers and a lot of those would be small and medium sized businesses and business owners. Our perfect target.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
Hugh Hefner. He has managed to mingle the life/work balance to perfection and made a handsome sum doing so.
Tenderscout
Tenderscout’s Tony Corrigan
What’s does your company do?
TenderScout harnesses the intellect and insights of workforces so that sales teams can create competitive advantages that maximize their prospects for success.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
We’re building a world class business and conferences like this help us to benchmark ourselves against similar early stage companies but also inspire us to increase our own expectations of ourselves.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
Success is insight and perseverance.
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
Marc Benioff. He built Salesforce because he believed in a ‘better way’ and had the courage to see it through.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
My sympathies are always with the pioneers and I’d go with Richard Branson. While many people have succeeded with one business, who else has gone from signing the Sex Pistols to sending people into space.
Dwelling Society
What’s does your company do?
Social media platform for dwellings, we are part Wiki, anyone can fill in info to any address on Google maps and part social where you can follow friends and families dwellings and open to the public dwellings.
Why are you attending Collision Conference?
We are looking to connect to investors and also to be able to ‘let others know’ that we are in full BETA now.
Give us your five-word business mantra?
A social profile for dwellings.
One RT from any Twitter user in the world – who would you pick and why?
The wonderful person who believes in Dwelling Society as much as I do and who would like to fund it.
Who is the greatest business person of all time and why?
I don’t think there is a greatest because I think business makes the world go round and it is too complex to pick one.
For more information on Collision Conference 2015, click here.
