This article will take you along the amazing journey of one of our young StartUp success stories, a former corporate employee named Jay Paroht Densakul. The power of positive thinking was an important factor in the realization of Jay’s WonderMe idea, with which he competed in 2013. Now rebranded as ZipEvent, Jay’s idea has become the top Digital Platform in Thailand, with a comprehensive range of event-related services, providing users with full access to information and insights of each event. This includes event activity schedules, store promotions happening within events, booth details, and even after-event reviews.
After a quick scan, ZipEvent may appear just like many of the other event applications available on the market. However, when analyzed in depth from a business angle in terms of performance and operating results, we find that ZipEvent has become one of the leading startup companies in Thailand. It has proven itself at a macro-level by gaining the trust of both government and business agencies who have used the ZipEvent digital platform to manage the registration system of a variety of events. One such recent example is the Digital Intelligent Nation 2018 event held this past February 21. For this event, AIS collaborated with all sectors to deliver state-of-the-art IoT technology to the Thai people, providing them with access to a wealth of knowledge and trends that are the driving force behind the digital economy of today and in the future. With thousands of participants, this was yet another occasion when ZipEvent partnered with AIS to manage several aspects of the event, all the way from ticket sales and booking, through to the registration system at the event itself, allowing it to run smoothly and efficiently from beginning to end.
ZipEvent has proven itself not only in Thailand but also in the international business arena as well, for example, at the Top Thai Brands event in Yangon and the Myanmar International Franchise event in Myanmar. ZipEvent has also recently announced plans to expand its services to the CLMV countries.
Both the high level of performance and the quality of ZipEvent services are what have taken root in the hearts and minds of its customers and these factors have brought ZipEvent’s business to a place of ‘ongoing profitability’. Many startup companies in Thailand have dreamed of reaching this level of success, but very few are ever able to make it to this point without additional external funding.
Thanks to ZipEvent’s proven business results, it caught the eye of the Rising Star Awards committee from the Krungsri RISE 2x stage in the latter part of 2017. It was also selected as the only startup representing Thailand with its events platform at the TCT/TTA Joint Seminar 2018 ‘5G & Disruptive Technology Supporting Thailand 4.0: Challenges and Opportunities’ in the beginning of February 2018.
The secret of ZipEvent’s success is nothing complicated or intricate. Its two magic words are simple: Value and Ecosystem. The main concept by which ZipEvent has lived is one of expansion outside the borders of being just an application to instead create a digital event platform that delivers value to any and all people involved in the event organizing ecosystem.
ZipEvent places a great deal of importance on all aspects of the event organizer experience. Whether it’s for a business meeting, seminar, or trade fair, the ZipEvent team will make sure they gain a proper and thorough understanding of the nature and style of the event, and then create a flexible platform that can be adapted to each individual situation. In addition, it also helps to ease the job of organizers with a comprehensive back-end system to manage a range of aspects from management of registration and the collection of attendee data, to the evaluation and measurement of participant satisfaction and/or votes, etc. Organizers can also access updated information in real-time, anywhere, at any time via the mobile application and Event Owner website. The brand owner of the event (Event Owner) can either be different from the organizer (Event Organizer) or can be the same person. What event owners want is for people to know about the event and to reach their target attendance. ZipEvent is therefore more than just technology. It is truly a Communication Platform connecting the event owner and the event participants, creating awareness and stimulating event growth and attendance in line with the needs of its clients.
As outlined above, both the event organizer and event owner play their parts as event creators. At the same time, ZipEvent has also branched out into establishing itself as a Lifestyle Platform, reaching out to the daily lives of Event Participants who are looking for greater ease and convenience. This includes everything from finding updates on events throughout Thailand, to registration for events and ticket purchases. It also provides access to all forms of payment channels, whether it be credit card, digital wallet, or m-Wallet, among others. From there, users can then receive confirmation of payment in one convenient place. ZipEvent has looked even further into the ecosystem, paying attention also to the needs of General Users. This refers to those groups who may not register for specific events, but for whom internet surfing to find news and updates about various events in general is part of their lifestyle. ZipEvent’s lifestyle platform enables these users to visit, browse event info, and view pictures of the event, just as if they were there experiencing it for themselves.
And of course, this ecosystem includes ZipEvent itself as well. At the end of 2017, ZipEvent recognized the need for brand imaging to better meet the needs of both event creators and consumers. In response, it designed a brand new logo consistent with the company’s professionalism, creating greater credibility while maintaining its up-close-and-personal approach to user lifestyles.
ZipEvent’s success in reaching this place of ‘ongoing profitability’ was not due to sheer luck. Rather it was from careful analysis of all stakeholders in every dimension of the ecosystem and then working to create value in order to meet the needs of each of those groups in different ways.
AIS The StartUp shares the same ideals and beliefs as ZipEvent. We place a great deal of importance on the creation of value, and then delivering that value to every part of the business ecosystem. It is this kind of commitment that has allowed members of AIS the StartUp to grow and to see real, ongoing profit. If you are a business developer looking to make your mark and create something of value in Thailand with the largest telco, from today onwards, you can apply for the opportunity to present your work at AIS The StartUp via www.ais.th/thestartup
