- Jun 26, 2018
Updated: Feb 15, 2021
Our week at Cannes Lions was phenomenal. Participating in the R/GA Ventures Startup Academy created the perfect opportunity to network with key agencies and brands and pitch Smartzer. The Startup Academy is hosted by R/GA Ventures and Cannes Lions Innovation to provide founders in marketing, media, and advertising the opportunity to network with global brand and agency leaders and culminating in a pitch showcase on the Innovation Stage. You can read more about the program and our first few days of Cannes Lions 2018.
On Thursday we headed to the Girls’ Lounge Suite for The Female Quotient Founder Feature panel “Female-Led Startups at The Forefront of Innovation.” The Female Quotient is an organization committed to advancing equality in the workplace through collaboration, creating solutions for change and establishing measurements for accountability. The Girls’ Lounge is a pop-experience they create at conferences like Cannes Lions where women connect, collaborate and activate change together. It has transformed into the largest community of corporate women and female entrepreneurs devoted to transforming workplace culture. Here at the Girls’ Lounge, Smartzer founder Karoline Gross pitched the Smartzer shoppable and interactive video concept, shared her founder journey, and discussed ways to support women in tech.
On Friday, Karoline Gross presented Smartzer’s video technology concept on the Cannes Lions Innovation stage. along with the other female founders. The presentations were very informative and sparked interesting dialogue in the future. It was the perfect ending to an amazing week of networking and pitching.
- Mar 13, 2018
Updated: Feb 4, 2021
Smartzer loves any opportunity to pitch our innovative shoppable video solution, especially if we find ourselves pitching near the beach. For Pitch to Pery, Smartzer founder, Karoline Gross was able to do just that. Pitch to Perry selected 10 start-ups with technology solutions for the fashion and retail industry that drive growth and revenue for a chance to win a commercial pilot with Perry Ellis International (PEI). Start-ups were chosen based on their ability to increase e-commerce sales, create awareness for PEI’s global lifestyle brands, enhance consumer in-store retail experience, or introduce new Internet of Things to products.
FINALISTS:
42 technologies - Modern Retail Analytics (centralized data platform)
VNTANTA - An end-to-end solution for premium mixed reality using proprietary holograms
Nobal Technologies (iMirror) - Reinventing the consumer retail experience with the iMirror
Tailored - Enhancing the fashion fitting experience from design to consumer
Bombfell - Online 1:1 personal styling platform
Perch Interactive - Digital Content based on what products shoppers touch
SmarterHQ - Personalize each and every shopper interaction in real time
Gramercy - Turns your loyal customers into your best salespeople
Trendalytics - Transforms your merchandising strategy
Smartzer - Making videos interactive and shoppable
At the demo day Karoline met with PEI and Miami’s top investors in Miami for a day of pitching and networking. Smartzer was an excellent solution to increase PEI’s e-commerce sales by incorporating visualization technologies to increase consumer engagement and revenue.
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- Mar 7, 2018
Updated: Feb 18, 2021
Run by the UK-based website and data service Retail Week, this annual event brings together innovators and world-leaders in retail to share compelling content via a mix of speeches, interviews, workshops and boardroom discussions. Smartzer spent two days pitching and networking with major brands and innovators, discussing solutions for the rapid changes facing retailers in the digital age.
One of the stages at Retail Week Live is Launchpad, dedicated to introducing retail experts with start-ups. For the second time, Smartzer was chosen as one of the 20 most disruptive retail technologies and asked to present our game-changing solution to the event’s top retailers. Smartzer founder Karoline Gross, presented the Smartzer concept to a panel of judges including David Hennessy, CIO of Superdry and Dan Saunders of L Marks.
After an impressive first pitch, Smartzer made it to the final round and was able to pitch before finalist judges on the finale stage. Karoline persuasively explained how retail brands can utilize their video content to engage customers and drive more sales. Smartzer was shortlisted as one of the top three finalists. It was an honor to be chosen not only as one of Retail Week’s revolutionary start-ups but was especially exciting to get runner-up in the competition.
Other than our wonderful experience pitching on the Launchpad start-up stage, we enjoyed networking with big retailers such as Tesco and Shop Direct at our stand in the exhibition hall. It was an excellent way to meet with retail industry experts on an individual basis, showing them new system capabilities and discussing our 2018 road map.