- May 21, 2018
Updated: Feb 15, 2021
Last week 800 of the world’s brightest young minds met in Tel Aviv for Forbes Under 30 Global Summit and Smartzer founder Karoline Gross, was one of them. Karoline was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for Media & Marketing in 2018.
Previously Forbes organized regional events, but this was the first year they brought all participants together. The global summit invited all entrepreneurs from all Forbes’ 30 Under-30 lists from 38 countries to the four-day event held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel was an obvious choice for Forbes because of its incredible entrepreneurial culture.
Participants were treated to four days of star-studded panels, pitching, sightseeing and fun. Waze co-founder Uri Levine, advised startups on the journey of success through failures. A keynote speech was given by sex therapist and media personality Dr. Ruth Westheimer, who even offered co-founders therapy to two startups. Did we mention this was all in one morning?
Other days Karoline pitched Smartzer’s shoppable and interactive video concept to VC partners and had the opportunity to ring the bell at the Tel Aviv stock exchange. Even supermodel and Carolina Lemke sunglasses partner Bar Rafaeli was there to advise on brand partnerships.
Karoline’s most important take away from the four-day was the inspiring advice given from the star-studded panel discussion, but close second was dancing the night away at a Tel Aviv rooftop bar or hiking up to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise over Masada.
Read more about Forbes 30 Under 30 Media & Marketing 2018 and Forbes Under 30 Global Summit:
"'Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Summit Draws Hundreds To Israel" - The Jerusalem Post
Updated: Feb 10, 2021
Next week Smartzer is heading to Madrid for the Mayor’s International Business Programme's Consumer Tech Mission. This will be the second trade mission Smartzer has been part of as we headed to Paris with the Mayor last fall.
The Retail and Enterprises mission is run by Go to Grow London and London & Partners. Go to Grow London is the Mayor’s International business program created for specific growth ambitions. It provides tailor-made mentoring programs with key entrepreneur and business leaders. London and Partner’s is the Mayor of London’s official promotional agency and has a mission of promoting London internationally with the goal of achieving ‘good growth’ for London.
Smartzer is very happy to be invited to the mission along with some other exciting London startups including Hero, Inkpact and Social Circle. Our two days in Madrid will be packed with pitching, intros and networking with large Spanish retailers and corporations. We look forward to introducing how interactive video can benefit their brands.
Stay tuned for more.
- May 10, 2018
Updated: Feb 4, 2021
Hello NYC! Smartzer hit the Big Apple for Retail Touchpoints Retail Innovation Congress last week, where we exhibited Smartzer’s shoppable video technology to a range of interested retail giants.
The event drew over 500 registrants interested in learning about the next big trends and disruptive technologies in retail innovation. Participants enjoyed networking, speeches and this year’s event even included store visits to TUMI, Sugarfina and Williams Sonoma to get a first-hand look at retail in action.
Educational sessions on the next big topics in retail included a very interesting keynote speech “Your Future Shopper: The Step Change Has Arrived”, delivered by shopping Behaviorist Ken Hughes, which revealed relevant information about Gen Z shoppers. No surprise to Smartzer, but Gen Z shoppers are desire instant gratification and customization. Smartzer’s interactive videos are the perfect way to give viewers the interaction they want without removing them from the experience. The retail customer has changed and the industry needs to adapt to engage with them differently.
The new Gen Z expect a "phygital" world and store systems that are connected and consistent with the online experience. Retailers need to be in every place at all times, always on brand and ready to interact with the customer the same way. Customization is also key to this conversation Gen Z expects all interactions to be tailored to them via the “Amazon Effect.”
Smartzer was one of the innovative solutions showcased at the event. Interactive video is such a hot topic right now that all retailers we met were interested in our shoppable video technology and a demo.
Below you can read more about the Retail Innovation Congress: