The last 12 months have fundamentally changed how we work together. In a few short months, many businesses had to adapt to a world where bringing people together in person was no longer possible. Conferences, training, community gatherings, seminars, all-hands meetings—the list of gatherings that have switched to virtual is endless.
As the world slowly recovers from the pandemic, it’s hard to foresee exactly what a gathering of people will look like in the future. We can, however, be sure of two things 1) it won’t look like events did before and 2) it will involve innovative technology to bring people together.
In the crowded field of companies and tools that have set out to capture this opportunity, Hopin has very quickly become a standout. In a short span of time (the company launched in February 2020!), they’ve emerged as the leader in the space with their all-in-one event platform. From hosting large enterprise events to live event production with StreamYard, Hopin has won over customers with their relentless pace of execution and how well the experience approximates a real world event.
For anyone who has met Johnny Boufarhat, the above will come as no surprise. He first conceived of Hopin while battling an autoimmune condition that prevented him from attending events in person. He has since built out a compelling suite of products almost entirely under the pressure of the pandemic and increased demand for highly reliable platforms. We’ve had the opportunity to meet with Johnny several times over the last year, and every time he presented his plans we thought they were audacious and impossible…until he came back exceeding them a few months later. And then again…and again! We see this level of execution in the growth fund from time to time, but rarely at such a magnitude and over such a short period of time.
For these reasons and more, we are thrilled to announce that a16z is investing in Hopin from the growth fund, and that Sriram Krishnan will be joining their board. For Sriram, this is a natural next step in his relationship with Johnny and Hopin, which has involved many late nights spent discussing product and company-building over the past year.
In the coming years, we’ll be partnering with Johnny and his team and helping as they build their product and business. This is just the beginning—we can’t wait to see all of you in a Hopin event soon!
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