(Hubb Team | Photo Courtesy of Cascade Angels)
At last year’s Bend Venture Conference (BVC), event technology company, Hubb, received $2,515,000 in investment, making them the conference’s biggest winner ever. With BVC just around the corner (October 19-20), we caught up with Hubb CEO, Allie Magyar, to find out what they’ve been up to the past year and get some tips for those going through the process this year.
1. Tell us about Hubb.
Hubb gives event professionals a better way to manage meetings and tame the chaos of event content management. Our platform automates the complex workflows and tasks required to collect, manage, and market event content, and results in huge time savings, far less stress and the ability to get event content to market a lot faster.
Hubb can deliver these benefits because we’ve really embraced the API (application programming interface) economy. This allows event professionals to build best-in-breed solutions with seamless integrations, customized for the specific needs of their events.
2. During last year’s conference, Hubb was awarded $2,515,000. How did this capital infusion help you and your team grow the company over the past year?
Winning last year really helped us in several ways. Obviously, the money itself was huge and allowed us to grow much faster than we otherwise would have. But, the actual act of preparing our presentation was incredibly helpful because it forced us to really know our stuff and make sure we had a bulletproof business plan. Finding and addressing potential issues while preparing for the conference saved us a lot of stress further down the road. Finally, it also gave us space to make some mistakes. As a young company, having that cushion is invaluable and it allowed us to go out there and be aggressive with the knowledge that a misstep
wouldn’t doom us.
3. What specifically have the funds been used for?
We used the funds to really accelerate our sales and marketing. Prior to the conference, sales and marketing had been handled by myself and a few other people, most of whom who had other primary responsibilities. The funds allowed us to hire a talented team and to give them the budgets they needed to grow Hubb, while freeing me and other people to focus on the product and our strategic direction.
4. Four different funds, including Cascade Angels, invested in Hubb. In addition to the capital, what other resources have the funds provided to help you grow?
Without question, the investors themselves. We could not have a better team supporting us and helping us address whatever challenges come our way. They’re always willing to talk and share their perspective on whatever issues we’re facing. They’re our biggest champions and access to them and their collective wisdom has been invaluable.
5. Where do you see Hubb in 3-5 years?
We’ve experienced a tremendous amount of growth over the past two years, but I think that pales in comparison to what’s to come. We’ve had a lot of success with Fortune 500 companies and I think there is a ton more room for growth there. In 3-5 years I’d love for Hubb to be the event technology solution of choice for Fortune 500 events.
We’ve also had great success expanding contracts with existing clients and we hope to continue to do that; we want to power the entire portfolio of marketing events for our clients.
6. Any advice for companies going through the BVC process this year?
Two nuggets of advice: First, enjoy the experience! It’s an amazing event and participating last year was absolutely one of the highlights of my career.
Second, know your story! Share why you’re passionate, why you’re here and how your company helps people. If you can effectively do that, you’ll make the most of the experience.
Natalie Dent, consultant, investor and entrepreneur relations Cascade Angels, natalie@cascadeangels.com, 206-605-1802
