How do you get that edge or advantage?

2/26/20

Over the years, I have been very lucky to work with NewCo and travel to many cities to experience the magic and power of a NewCo festival. It’s sometimes hard to explain what NewCo is to someone that hasn’t attended an event – but once you attend, you get the value immediately. The lightbulb comes on. It’s the opposite of an event that takes place in a hotel or conference center. NewCo festivals take place throughout the city on a particular day or series of days. Each attendee’s schedule is unique – I like to refer to this as a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’. You decide the companies you want to see in each pre-determined time slot and simply show up inside their space where the magic happens and engage.

We hear from attendees and host companies how powerful and exciting it is to experience companies that are disruptive, passionate, mission-driven and really making a difference, whether it’s in a big or small way.  NewCo festivals are also a great way to learn the landscape of your city. You get the opportunity to meet other like-minded individuals, connect directly with the founders and leaders of companies, all while being inspired and feeling a sense of connection.

I have gone to NewCo festivals in cities where I had never traveled to before and there is no better way to learn about a city than through a NewCo festival. NewCo encourages you to get out into your city, navigate through new areas, experience the energy of each neighborhood, and really get a feel for the culture and what makes the people of that city rock. I have also attended NewCo festivals in cities I have been to many times, which was also an exciting experience. Even in a place I thought I knew well, I was able to see and understand new things, and ask questions that had never occurred to me.

I love NewCo (of course, a bit biased here) because of the people you meet along the way. I have made so many connections through NewCo festivals, and it is truly heartwarming to meet others who are passionate and contributing to the greater good. NewCo is a magnet for people who are interested in driving positive transformative change, and gleaning insights from leaders and founders of companies that spark their interest and curiosity. NewCo was founded on the idea that you learn so much more about a company, and the people that bring that company to life, by being in their space. It’s like visiting with someone for the first time in their living room, surrounded by their things. There is so much more to be learned by being on someone’s home turf, where they are at ease surrounded by the people they create with, and things that inspire them. NewCo is an intimate look into amazing companies where attendees get a feel for the chemistry and electricity of the place.

From the host company perspective, hosting a NewCo session is a way for companies to showcase what they have built and give attendees a peek behind the curtain. They are proud of what they are doing and want to share that with people who are truly engaged – in a very intimate way. Host companies are encouraged to go around the room and ask each attendee why they chose this session. It is a great way for them to understand who is in their space, and how they can connect with them. Plus, host companies benefit from recruiting new talent, business development and most importantly, being part of the local innovative ecosystem and the global NewCo platform.

This is why NewCo will give you the edge on the movers, shakers and innovators in your local market! Visit us at one of our local festivals or reach out to us if you’re interested in bringing a NewCo festival to your city – all are welcome.

NewCo, New Year: 2019 Recap

1/20/20

With the end of 2019, we welcome in a new year for NewCo. But, before we happily move on to 2020, let’s look back and reflect on some of the great achievements from this past year. NewCo was featured in four strategic locations: London, Toronto, Boston and Shanghai, where we saw great participation and engaged audiences ready to learn, share and celebrate innovation. 

Let’s dive a bit deeper into each of the local festivals, where each city has its own community of supporters that has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of their NewCo.

London Calling

For their third album, The Clash recorded London Calling at a time when their musical interests changed and started to integrate sounds from other genres. A similar innovative ability to collaborate was definitely on display at the first NewCo festival of 2019, which took place in London. Our partners at the London Business School put together a wonderful lineup of companies that included Divido (Google named them the best technology company within consumer finance in Europe), SeedLegals (a company that automate the legal process of securing funding) and L Marks (one of Europe’s largest corporate accelerators). With the success of this event, planning is already underway for NewCo London 2020 happening March 12 and 13. Be on the lookout for a schedule announcement soon. 

Toronto, TDot, The 6ix 

Whatever you want to call it, it’s the home of one of last year’s most outstanding NewCo festivals. With almost 3,000 registered attendees and over 80 host company sessions it was one of the largest NewCo festivals to date. Popular sessions were hosted by companies such as Shopify, Facebook, Ritual, Uber Canada and Slack. We received great feedback from participants; one of our favourites exemplifies NewCo:  

“This event allows us to have a peek inside companies that are changing the world to learn about its business, people and culture! Please keep it up.” 

And so we will. NewCo Toronto 2020 is coming back in June.

Who drinks tea anyways? Definitely not in Boston

Never get in the way of an American colonialist, especially when you raise their taxes on tea. While our event in Boston didn’t lead to the disposal of well over 300 chests of British tea, NewCo Boston took place for the 4th year in row thanks to our Boston affiliate Mass TLC. Despite a very stormy start to the day, attendees took to the streets, visiting Boston’s most innovative firms. Host companies included Zipcar, Human, Shell TechWorks and Wayfair. To cap off the day, attendees met up at software company Mendix to celebrate the close of the festival. Stay tuned for details about this year’s NewCo Boston. 

Last stop of the year, Shanghai

Shanghai was the final NewCo festival of 2019. Our partner, Chinaccelerator put on another great event. NewCo Shanghai brought attendees into the headquarters of 22 of Shanghai’s most innovative companies to meet the leaders transforming China’s startup ecosystem. When asked about the event, Wang Zhenyang, Brand Innovation Leader at host company 36kr Eastern China, said NewCo offered her “a chance to meet with people from different backgrounds, build partnerships with them, and build a foundation for future cooperation—it’s extremely relevant to what we do.” Stay tuned for details about the next event in Shanghai in 2020. 

Our global team has some exciting things planned for 2020. There have been several conversations happening about opening up new markets and resurrecting previous markets that have not seen a NewCo festival in a few years. Stay tuned for more information about which additional markets will be hosting a NewCo festival. 

Since NewCo is truly a grassroots organization, in order for a new festival to pop up, we need a local affiliate to lead the way. As always, we appreciate your support of NewCo and are here if you have ideas or connections you would like to put forth. 

Want to stay in touch? Please be sure to sign up to stay informed and follow up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We look forward to seeing you in a NewCo city soon.