Hopin is an online conference platform, a niche that is extremely relevant in 2020. Its concept and difference from others is that it literally transfers old events to the internet. According to the founder’s vision, events on Hopin should take place in exactly the same way as they used to in hotels. This is more familiar to organizers, and most importantly, they choose the venue, and the audience and speakers will come to where they are invited.
Previously, events began with a registration desk, continued with lectures in a large hall, and ended with dynamic sessions in small rooms, while sponsor or exhibitor stands were set up in the hallway. Hopin has done exactly that, including the registration desk.
Attendees arriving at the conference see a menu of different rooms on the screen. At the reception, they look at the schedule. At the “exhibition,” they watch promotional videos of its participants. In the large hall, they listen to presentations. In the small rooms, they not only listen but also participate in discussions. Previously, you had to walk from one physical location to another, but now you can do it with a few clicks — but everything else is exactly as it was.
Of course, the platform also offers a landing page builder with ticket sales. Everything there is more or less standard — a few clicks and you have a page in the right colors with the company logo and the schedule for the upcoming conference.
Monetization is a subscription for organizers plus a percentage of ticket sales, with a minimum rate of $99 per month and 7% of revenue.
In November, Hopin raised $125 million in investments at a valuation of $2 billion. As far as I understand, this is a clear victory in a competitive niche, as it has managed to become the leading provider of online events, and it is interesting to consider why Hopin has become the leader.
First, of course, luck. The startup raised a pre-seed round of investment on October 10, 2019. About a month later, on November 17, the first person was infected with coronavirus, and in the spring, a market appeared for the startup. If it had launched in December, with vague rumors coming out of China, the founder’s success could have been attributed to intuition. But no. October! The project started when bats had not yet encountered pangolins. Everyone rushed to launch online conferences in March-April, but Hopin had more than six months of head start.
Secondly, the company immediately targeted large customers, while most others were providing services to individuals and small businesses. Hopin doesn’t even seem to have a free plan right now.
Finally, I would put the product itself in third place, but it also played a role. Implementing an online exhibition is very impressive. It would be interesting to see a world where it was launched simultaneously with everyone else.