How 500 Startups hosted an Epic Virtual Demo Day

In the world of startups, 500 Startups Demo Days are not to be missed events. For Batch 27 Virtual Demo Day, 500 Startups selected Filo to provide an interactive live event that combined mainstage pitches, investor networking spaces, and an expo hall with custom branded booths for each company.

Techcrunch reviewed their favorite company pitches from Virtual Demo Day. Below, we showcase some of the our favorite startup booths, and provide a behind the scenes look at how 500 Startups produced an epic Virtual Demo Day.

An Interactive Mainstage

Demo days are all about the pitches. To elevate the pitches, 500 Startups hosted pre-recorded pitches, which were livestreamed to both YouTube (for the public audience) as as well as to the mainstage in Filo. The private virtual event experience was offered to 800 attendees. In the mainstage area, attendees could browse a host of content; sign up for 500 Startups next event; network and mingle before main pitches kicked off.

An Expo Hall that Drives Conversation

After the company pitches, attendees could network and engage further with companies by hopping into their company Room within Filo. Rather than a cookie-cutter experience, founders could tailor their room or product booth to create a unique, engaging, on-brand experience.

Each startup booth had a Zoom Tile, so attendees could easily hop into a conversation with the founders. Beyond just a Zoom meeting, the startups could also customize an interactive and immersive booth experience. Just like an in-person product booth, attendees could engage in multiple ways beyond just a talking to a representative. They could re-watch the pitch or sign up for 1:1 meeting; sign up for the product or take a survey; explore other marketing / investor materials; in addition to hopping into a call with the founder. Below are a few examples of how founders curated engaging virtual booths.

Sendspark helps teams send personalized video messages. Their virtual booth sparked conversations simply by embedding an Image Tile with a provocative graph and a question. This tactic sparked dozens of conversations with investors, who could then hop into the call directly with the founders to get the answer.

Grow - a platform that enables faster team feedback - allowed the attendees to hop in a call, and also try out their platform by embedding a sign-up directly alongside their Zoom meeting.

Apothecary - a personalized skin care startup - drove engagement by embedding a quick survey, using a Typeform Tile, alongside their breakout session. From there, attendees could book a 1:1 consulting session, giving attendees the option of engaging in multiple ways.

Thematic -- a platform that connects creators and music artists -- also used their booth to cultivate their community. From their booth, attendees could join their  Discord channel or download their deck. They also designed their booth with the personality of their fun brand, showcasing customer testimonials and screenshots using Image Tiles and YouTube Tiles.

Stack - which reinvents the traditional browser experience (think, no more tabs) - brought the focus to their stellar team in their product booth using a Custom Tile. Scroll over a name and you can jump to their LinkedIn, or hop directly into a call with them by dropping into the Zoom meeting above.

Curious how Filo could help elevate your next virtual event, workshop or team meeting? Drop us a line to explore our interactive demo environment.