The global pandemic forced more than a few companies to pivot. With lockdowns in effect and customer behavior altered to unprecedented levels, it quickly became an adapt-or-perish scenario. So bakeries began selling home-baking kits, breweries churned out batches of hand sanitizer, and restaurant reservation platforms nudged into the grocery delivery space.
Hopin, which bills itself as the first virtual venue for live online events, would later appear prophetic because it launched a product in early 2019 that proved to be an ideal solution for many of the complexities the world would face in the coming months.
While the original business idea came along well before anyone discussed lockdowns, it was still born out of illness-induced isolation. Founder Johnny Boufarhat struggled with an autoimmune disease in 2015 that restricted him from leaving his London home. Desperate for a way to remain connected with others, he began working on a solution that would later serve thousands of clients who were facing the same dilemma on a massive scale.
The Hopin platform is designed to encourage networking and engagement from virtual event attendees. As a result, instead of sitting through boring business meetings while slumped over their keyboards, people can have memorable experiences.
As you’d expect, demand skyrocketed during the pandemic. After about a year in business, the Hopin platform had hosted 11,021 events in January 2020. Jump forward six months, and that number exceeded 32,000.
The hyper-speed growth that followed helped Boufarhat notch two impressive records:
- Hopin became the fastest-growing start-up ever seen in Europe
- Boufarhat became the youngest self-made billionaire in Britain
Get access to exclusive premium content & research
This research is for Foundation Insiders & Inner Circle clients.
Don't miss out. To read the full article, sign up and get immediate access.
