When xtonnes exhibited on Innovation Alley in 2021 they were at a very early stage. They knew their product was right for the manufacturing sector, but needed a place to have early stage conversations to refine it - and Made Smarter Innovation Alley was a great place to do that!
Carbon management software company xtonnes had a number of conversations with manufacturers on the Alley and took the time to understand what their target customers were looking for from this type of technology. A number of their early adopters were attending the show, so it made sense for xtonnes to attend to ensure they were in front of these customers and meet like-minded businesses. Their goals from the event were to
- Generate sales
- Capture feedback on their software and business model
- Raise the brand profile
- Have interesting conversations
- Pitch to investors
They asked a lot of questions and had many conversations to help shape the solution such as
- What did potential customers want from their product
- Where were these companies in their journey into carbon management
- What were their main pain points to decarbonising
xtonnes also attended the Investor Showcase as part of the package which provided invaluable information to help them shape their pitch deck.
Co-founder of xtonnes Vanessa Macalliver said,”Innovation Alley is a great place to showcase any innovative business targeting the manufacturing sector. We were very early when we attended so our product wasn’t 100% right for market, but we received vital advice to improve it and got great feedback on our investor pitch. We’ve doubled in size since we last attended and are working with some amazing customers such as Warren Services and Tideway. Innovation Alley was a fantastic place for us to get our business profile out in front of the right target audience. We made great partnerships with hardware suppliers on the Alley and these will be important to us as we grow and we also made some excellent connections with academia which have been really useful.”
Advice from Vanessa when attending Innovation Alley
- Bring food as this will attract people to your stand
- Identify individuals you want to meet before you go
- Physical products are good but if you don’t have a robot or touchscreen tech, bring a demo!
- Have a positive attitude. Speak to everyone walking up and down the Alley. Don’t be shy - these people are looking for solutions to their problems and your tech might be the one!
- Ask for feedback - manufacturers are your customers so your technology should meet their needs. Their advice will be the difference between getting a sale and not getting a sale.
Only a few funded places left!
If you have an innovative technology and would like to be part of Made Smarter Innovation Alley 2022, contact Mat Wasley to find out more. Alternatively, check out the criteria and apply for a fully funded place here.
