Lots was going on at the SA Investment Conference in October, but much of it was taking place via an app developed by a homegrown tech startup.
More than 900 individuals downloaded the event app provided by Flock, which was over 120,000 views throughout the conference – at an average of 190 views per minute.
Especially popular was the app’s innovative Meet Me functionality, which encouraged delegates to network, view each other’s profiles, and to schedule meetings and connect with each other at the event.
This was an important South African use case for a startup that calls Johannesburg home but has been utilised in more than 25 countries across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and worked with Fortune 500 companies such as Oracle, Facebook, and Sage.
Flock provides an online platform on which customers can build event websites, manage RSVPs, design and send custom branded mailers, and publish a mobile app with over 20 integrated features.
“An event organiser will access our online system to build a custom branded event website and mobile app. They are able to communicate all the event information to their attendees and can manage attendance and all content related to the event. Delegates are able to engage with the content via Live Polls and a Q&A feature, network and set up meetings with each other, and get all the event information,” Mike Lysko, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Flock, told Disrupt Africa.
Lysko launched the company back in 2013, and began working on it full-time two years later.
“We saw a need for delegates attending events to get access to real-time event information at their fingertips, engage with event content, participate in interactive sessions and meet other attendees, all facilitated by an app,” he said.
This is a relatively busy space, but Flock has taken off. It has helped with over 300 events since its launch, and had over 50,000 users on its platform. “Uptake has been amazing in a very short space of time. We are getting interest from clients across the globe,” said Lysko.
The startup, which makes money by licensing its software to event organisers, was initially bootstrapped but secured angel funding in 2016. Lysko said Flock will take on additional funding when it starts opening offices overseas.
