🎙️ Virtual Mojito Live 007 - Host incredible team socials online
Host your own interactive group gatherings, State of union, Discover communities
Hello community,
More than 140 Zoom alternatives available to help you create a unique virtual experience. How would you prioritize your needs?
Why would you choose other virtual event tools instead of Zoom? Is it because of security; connectivity; user experience; sound quality; built-in activity; Integration?
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I was super busy building Virtual Mojito 2.0 😵 (Yes! It’s a sneak peek)
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Felix
@felix12777 on Twitter
New virtual event tools
Rally Video - Host incredible events online
Traditional video calls are exhausting. Rally lets you hop between breakout rooms with one click while hearing the exciting chatter of tables around you.
Meet-a-Mojito
Hey! Tell us about yourself and a fun fact.
Ali: I originally came from Pakistan and grew up in Toronto. I have been working in product management. I once ran a company, which was eventually sold. During COVID, I started Rally with Amy and Anson. Fun fact: after 15 years old, I moved schools almost every year, so I made friends everywhere.
Amy: I was also born and raised in Toronto. I have a background in Chemistry, but throughout my career, I have been engaged in sales and marketing, because I don't like working alone. When the COVID started, the three of us got together, hoping to find a better way to bring people together. Fun fact: I like to make face paint. Halloween is probably my favorite holiday because I like to paint others.
What motivated you to start a Rally?
Ali: Rally started when we first entered lockdown in mid-March. COVID hit and we were trapped indoors. During that Friday, we had a Zoom call with 20 people, which was really exhausting.
This is a terrible way to communicate, and we are thinking about ourselves, how might we build something that can help the community and society.
Amy and Anson used to be musicians, and I used to do improvs and comedies. The bar scene and the restaurant scene are things that we care about very much. How can we help these people? And build some great things around these video applications.
Fortunately, our co-founder Anson’s birthday is approaching, so we showed Rally to all Anson’s friends and invited as many people as possible. We had around 30 people attended and we had a great time.
How do you acquire users and grow Rally?
Amy: Initially, we were doing a lot of outreach. We were thinking about who will be most in need of bringing in a large group of people virtually. We put forward some ideas, including community managers, event planners and organizers. Basically for people who wants to socialize in a way that imitates real life socialization. These are the huge needs we have found in the industry.
We also have a lot of inbounds from event planners and organizers. Many of them are looking for new technologies to make their events stand out. Zoom has always been the gold standard, but it is tough in terms of networking and social networking. Therefore, we have gained a lot of referrals and now we are growing organically.
What is your future goal?
Ali: I think the future goals come from the original goals when we first started Rally, which is why there is no easy way for people to socialize in groups online. When you think of today’s video call, the excitement almost ceases the moment you connect. Everything is really boring and you are waiting for time to speak.
Therefore, we build Rally in a way that has more engagement and more social infrastructure. If you look at "All Tables" and the background volume button. I can join a new table and go back and forth between conversations. It feels like you belong to this larger group, and because the background sound is like people used to hear in the room with you, it feels like you are sitting in a bar or sitting in the middle of meetings.
I can also make you a host. This is like how we used to entertain people but on an online platform. I can do presentations, do virtual comedy shows, and I can also bring people on stage.
Amy: So people can take turns in conversations easily. For everyone on the stage, their volume will be 100% captured. The biggest problem we hear from speakers is that they don’t receive any feedback from the audience and feel embarrassed when they speak on a blank screen. So we want to allow them to still listen to the audience’s live feedback, just like chewing, laughing and clapping. The presenter knows there is more engagement and interaction, and it can be carried out in both directions.
Ali: It will be cool if you can tryout Rally. We really like talking to people who host events and run communities.
Ali Jiwani, Co-founder & CEO, Rally
Amy Liu, Co-founder & COO, Rally
Try Rally today, mention “Virtual Mojito” to get an extended free trial!
Virtual events that you should not miss
16-17 Sep - Pendomonium Virtual Conference
A two-day virtual experience with 33 total sessions, including presentations, thought leadership, and hands-on breakout sessions full of content from industry leaders and Pendo experts.
More events:
12 Sep - StartUp to ScaleUp by Telluride Venture Accelerator
14 Sep - Disrupt 2020 by TechCrunch
18 Sep - Jina X Virtual Hackathon by AngelHack
22 Sep - Digital community engagement by Design Council
23 Sep - Startup Finance Virtual Bootcamp by Volta
What we’ve been reading
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Thanks for reading! You can find the list of curated virtual event resources on our website virtualmojito.com or read the previous newsletter.
I would love to hear your ideas - send me a message at hi@virtualmojito.com and start a conversation!
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