Forged during the ‘adapt or perish’ challenges of the pandemic, TrenIQ CEO Sheetal Sachdev (pictured) has developed and launched QHost, an end-to-end one-stop SaaS to streamline the management of all the processes for exhibition organisers. With big brands signing up, they say this will spell a new era for the exhibitions industry, writes Richard Forsyth.
SaaS products for the exhibitions industry had a fragmented approach to organising shows, forcing managers to adopt several disconnected pieces of software before, during and after a show. Combinations of software are used, and the procurement quagmire was exactly what inspired the creation of QHost.
Decluttering IT for exhibitions
“The ‘pain’ felt by exhibitors using software for support, was that they had to invest into several products and manage them independently for each phase of an exhibition,” said QHost CEO, Sheetal Sachdev. “It could be complex, time-consuming, expensive and messy when dealing with these, all in sequence.”
She realised there was no SaaS that dealt with the whole process from end-to-end, that could be carried forward to further shows as one source of data, and she had a clear idea of how to develop it.
“We created the only platform that allows event organisers to use one technology for every phase, so pre-event it’s an event website, during it becomes a virtual event and post-event it becomes a marketplace. Normally, they would sign up with at least three different service providers. This is one place for everything, so it’s easier and keeps the data central and available.”
Not only solving problems during the dark days of the pandemic, it has since evolved as a complete support platform for exhibitions and shows, online and hybrid.
“My non-exec advised me to be ready because as he said, this is a monster, this is big,” Sachdev recalled.
She realised she was dealing with something disruptive and industry changing.
Being the first is important
“We began in 2021, straight away attracting clients such as Conde Nast and Clarion,” said Sachdev. “Our platform supported the launch of virtual events such as Vogue Wedding Show, Architectural Digest and Top Drawer to name a few and we had incredible metrics – like 10 million page views. Only a year in, we are transforming the way major exhibitions are run. We now need to continue to grow the proposition in the events industry and keep momentum. This is definitely the way forward for running these kinds of events, we have proven its value to our initial clients.”
The platform is customisable to each client’s branding and requirements and provides a marketplace for sellers to showcase their collections, whilst consumers can see trends and launches, schedule meetings, raise enquiries and request quotes, whilst international payments and worldwide deliveries
are possible.
Sachdev is forming a dedicated team and a robust structure around the business, with an eye on further product development.
“Being the first to do this is important, and we intend to keep ahead. My priority is this. It’s what is needed by the industry, and we have it, this is a big moment.”
