WORDS MAT THEW PARSONS
INTERVIEW
Networking and meetings are essential for most road warriors, and the MICE sector is growing rapidly for many TMCs, which are increasingly being called upon to not only organise travel, but also source venues and organise events or conferences. Andrea Sommer, founder and chief executive of start-up Hiver, believes she has a solution for delegates who may find names difficult to remember, and for event organisers to help make things run more smoothly, in the form of software inspired by her own experiences.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU I
T’S EVERY BUSINESS TRAVELLER’S worst nightmare. Eye contact established, hand extended, then uncertainty as the name of the person fails to make its way to the tip of the tongue.
more, and can cost from £7 per person on average. “And when you’re using it, there’s no action you need to take. It detects if you stand by people for a while, and you can add notes to it later,” she adds.
MAPPING JOURNEYS
Sommer claims there are other benefits. “For sales people, it’s useful. For example, [using Hiver], they can say, ‘I spent X amount of time with prospects, or X amount with clients’ at an event.” Meanwhile, she says event organisers can use Hiver to track movements of attendees, analysing who goes where. But is this kind of close surveillance a step too far? “It’s not Big Brother,” Sommer insists,
“I do a lot of networking, but I’m absolutely rubbish at remembering names,” Sommer admits. “Hiver’s foundation is a system for remembering names. I’m a big believer in technology.” Hiver tracks a user’s movements at an event and detects when someone is talking to another person. It stores the details of each person and offers the option of connecting on Linkedin. Event organisers issue each attendee with a wearable, bluetooth device the size of a pound coin that connects to an app on their mobile phone. The organisers can also download Hiver’s software development kit and integrate it into their own app. Sommer says it’s effective for those meetings or events with 50 people or
“because for event organisers, it’s qualification of data. They can track who, anonymously, spent how long among the stands… and map journeys. Organisers can understand vendor data better, see which booth is doing well. It might help exhibitors understand the type of behaviour [of staff] that makes a stand successful at an exhibition, for example.” In this new era of GDPR, she adds that new data regulation “is not a headache”. “Our policies were already compliant. We had already protected user privacy.” Hiver began as an academic project three-and-a-half years ago, during Sommer’s MBA at the London Business School. Last year, she decided to work full time on Hiver. “People want more face-to-face contact,” she says.
BASED ON A SURVEY OF 2,000 UK EXECUTIVES...
28% 33%
52%
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Look forward to the opportunities presented by events
Often feel disinterested in networking during meetings and events
Had not been trained on how to be a better networker
2018 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 47
Andrea Sommer’s new app, Hiver, promises to enhance networking but also helps event organisers study attendees’ behaviour
Hiver connects people at an event. It was devised by Andrea Sommer (below)
SOURCE: ATOMIK/CVENT
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