Meet Virgin StartUp, a nonprofit backed by Richard Branson that increased its audience of entrepreneurs fivefold on Hopin

Instant access to the world's best speakers

The decision to go virtual has given Virgin StartUp access to speakers around the world, including many who wouldn’t have been able to attend a solely in-person event. These speakers have included Simon Sinek, bestselling author and hugely popular inspirational speaker, James Hurst, Global Head of Creative at Pinterest, and Rafe Offer, founder of Sofar Sounds.

"One of the things that Hopin has enabled us to do is go out to any speaker anywhere in the world [...] So where it wouldn't previously have been possible to get them to come to a physical location in West London on a Thursday evening, we're able to go out to some of the biggest and best names around the world and attract them to the event ultimately for the benefit of our founders." –Andy Fishburn, Managing Director, Virgin StartUp

The intimate and interactive format of each MeetUp has proven a fertile ground for some truly personal moments. Tahlia Gray, founder of Sheer Chemistry – a hosiery brand that makes tights for people of color – was able to share some of the unique challenges of being a Black female founder. She received words of wisdom from Simon Sinek, as well as a groundswell of support from fellow entrepreneurs.

Taking full advantage of the virtual format to introduce an element of surprise and delight, entrepreneur Richard Branson – who co-founded Virgin StartUp in 2013 – also made an appearance. Attendees enjoyed a moment of genuine shock as Branson, who was introduced as a mystery founder with 50 years of experience building global businesses, suddenly appeared on camera. Virgin StartUp shared a highlight of the moment on LinkedIn, with the video attracting two million views in two weeks.

After each presentation, founders are invited on stage to ask questions directly of speakers and tap into their wealth of entrepreneurial insight. StreamYard has been key in contributing to this two-way engagement, allowing the Virgin StartUp team to quickly bring questions from the event chat up on screen for all to see.

After the main stage experience, attendees break out into sessions where founders at different stages can connect with one another, and discuss challenges. Often, they can seek direct input from the event's speakers, who join sessions as well. Attendees are also encouraged to use Hopin’s networking features to collaborate with one another directly and discuss opportunities.

A sponsorship deal with sister company, Virgin Money, has allowed Virgin StartUp to deliver its MeetUp series free of charge, ensuring they can reach as many founders as possible. As part of this deal, Virgin StartUp gets its own customized booth in the Expo area, and enjoys prime banner placements on each event’s registration page. Virgin Money’s feedback on their sponsorship package has been overwhelmingly positive – the organization loves the ability to share downloadable materials in its expo booth and offer VIP tickets to its employees and partners.

The Hopin features that help Virgin StartUp support entrepreneurs at all stages

• Ticketing & Registration: Virgin StartUp handled all ticketing through Hopin, setting up different ticket types for different parts of its audience. This included a priority access level for founders it has worked with long-term, as well as VIP tickets for sponsor employees and partners. 
• Customizability: The ability to upload the organization’s branding and visual assets ensures attendees can immediately identify each event as an extension of Virgin StartUp’s wider work.
• Stages: The MeetUp main stage has hosted huge names in the entrepreneurial community, including a surprise appearance from Richard Branson himself. 
• Chat: Founders are encouraged to hit the ground running with quick introductions to fire up each MeetUp's event chat. Along with getting the conversation flowing, this helps the Virgin StartUp team identify attendees that are a good fit to take part in the organization's mentorship program.
• Sessions: After the key speakers have finished, founders can break out into individual sessions and swap stories of business challenges. Speakers join these sessions to chat directly with attendees and offer further insight. 
• Integrations: Virgin StartUp used Hopin’s Mailchimp integration to leverage the huge marketing potential of its newsletter, which has 190k subscribers. The integration allowed the nonprofit to easily track how many sign ups its email marketing has driven as well as add to the database from its event attendees.
• Live streaming: Hopin’s StreamYard studio has created a seamless backstage experience for Virgin StartUp's speakers. The ability to add branded graphics, poll results, and chat contributions to the live stream feed has also helped encourage discussion and engagement.