Attention Insight got an opportunity to join “Media Match” event in New York City, hosted by the Next Media Accelerator. This initiative focuses on building a bridge between the USA and European tech start-ups and to create a collaborative community in the field of media innovation between both continents. The highlight of this trip – 10 teams were invited to present their innovations to the NYC based executives and investors. And we were among those 10 lucky ones.
Day 1: Visit to NYC Media Lab
NYC Media Lab is dedicated to connect media and technology companies with New York City’s universities to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and talent development. We were welcomed by Amy Chen, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs. Walking around we learned how Media Lab is encouraging collaboration between technology companies and corporations in the media world and had a possibility to hear about exciting VR, AR projects.
Day 1: Media Match
During this event, 10 EU start-ups, including Attention Insight, pitched to the Media executives and investors from NYC. Teams presented short introductions to their products. Our team member Kamile talked about the key features of the first Attention Insight product – website design testing tool, and showcased a live demo of our online platform. Well, who would have thought that we will see the wide-eyed media guys when they realized that eye-tracking studies can be implemented in a matter of minutes.
Day 2: Workshop
Workshop included 3 different panels. During Panel 1 the leading US media agencies shared their experience in working with start-ups. Panel 2 was dedicated to the founders’ stories about moving business to NYC. They shared their know-how and excellent pieces of advice on how to enter the American market. Finally, Panel 3 brought a hot discussion about what it takes to raise a capital in US. Moreover, between Panel 2 and 3, we had a great Working Lunch with an American start-up studio “Betaworks”, where we discussed marketing topics and online presence building.
In between the activities, Kamile had a chance to meet with the later-stage VC firms in the financial district as well as to make connections with the potential long-term partners. NYC and US is an endgame for the majority of start-ups due to the size of the market and a fast growth phase. Naturally, as a European company, you face quite a few challenges while approaching it. Therefore, it is crucial to start building your network early on in the process. How it is said – “prepare your sky gear in the summer”. The network expansion is a quite tricky, ongoing process. In our case, Attention Insight has started to create connections at the SXSW Conference. In 3 months, as we see from Kamile’s Linkedin statistics, our US partner database has grown to 3 digit numbers.
In a few words, it was a truly inspiring and valuable experience. Seems, that we are successfully moving towards our American dream. Attention Insight is excited to deepen new connections and to take the next steps towards entering US market!