In the fast-paced, increasingly complex and competitive business world, making professional contacts at trade shows and events can often be overwhelming and impersonal for many visitors and exhibitors. Game pointa new AI-powered mobile matchmaking app, was developed to address this challenge. It seamlessly connects attendees and vendors with likeminded professionals to make event networking more targeted, effective and impactful.
The app’s patent-pending machine learning algorithm, powered by a sophisticated Large Language Model (LLM), optimizes networking by matching users based on their individual preferences and goals, helping them find the right connections with little to no effort, according to MatchPoint officials.
MatchPoint is free to use for organizers and attendees alike and aims to reduce the randomness and anxiety associated with traditional networking and ensure that every interaction counts, said Bill McGlade, co-founder of MatchPoint and president of epIQ Creative Group, who launched the app this summer with SMT Expo co-founder and executive vice president Scott Lebwohl.
“With MatchPoint, we’re putting powerful networking tools directly into the hands of every live event professional, completely free of charge,” said McGlade. “Imagine being able to attend a conference without walking through endless hallways or eating dinner alone. Time is our most valuable commodity, especially for busy executives. MatchPoint ensures attendees can effortlessly connect with the right professionals, vendors, and events tailored to their needs, transforming networking into an exciting, productive, and fun experience.”
The app also provides detailed analytics for vendors and trade show organizers, offering insights to help them understand engagement patterns and optimize their event strategies, he added.
“Too often, professionals attend events and come back with a stack of business cards but no significant business results,” said Lebwohl. “Our app ensures that every connection is meaningful and valuable. Typically, exhibitors at events are like fishermen waiting for the right contact to randomly connect with them. MatchPoint eliminates chance and ensures viable networking and business opportunities. We pride ourselves on providing a platform that not only enables connections, but also fosters professional development and success.”
We had the opportunity to hear from McGlade and Lebwohl about what sets MatchPoint apart from other platforms on the market and how the app can improve event ROI for attendees, vendors and organizers.
When and why did you develop and launch MatchPoint and what makes it different from other matchmaking platforms currently used for meetings and events?
McGlade: Founding MatchPoint was a journey that took several years. The real catalyst came in Q4 2023 when I attended an industry event that became the pivotal moment for development. Despite my extensive network, I only knew one person at that event who was busy the entire time. So I had to eat alone, which significantly impacted my ROI of the event. Scott and I had already been bouncing ideas for several weeks at that point to solve the unclear ROI problem. This experience highlighted the need for a solution that would ensure meaningful connections at events, be it networking dinners or specific business interactions on the show floor.
Farewell: MatchPoint addresses the pain points that both attendees and exhibitors have. Traditionally, attending events often results in collecting numerous leads but failing to convert them into tangible ROI. MatchPoint revolutionizes this by ensuring that relevant professionals come together; not only at the event, but also during networking sessions, increasing the value of each interaction.
Unlike other matchmaking software, MatchPoint is powered by its own advanced LLM as well as an AI-powered algorithm that incorporates over 20 – and counting – detailed criteria to create precise matches. Our platform is not limited to event-based use; it’s operational year-round and location-based, like a mix of LinkedIn and Tinder. This modernization reflects current trends in social and professional networking, making MatchPoint the cutting-edge event matchmaking solution the industry has been craving.
Would event organizers offer MatchPoint to their attendees and exhibitors for a specific event or show and how would the process work?
McGlade: Absolutely, event organizers can list their events on MatchPoint for free and offer the app to their attendees and exhibitors for free. Setting up an event listing on MatchPoint takes less than 10 minutes. We offer efficient onboarding features such as uploading attendees and exhibitors and are working with various registration companies to develop integrations with Zapier to further streamline the process.
Event organizers have access to a comprehensive analytics dashboard that allows them to track usage details within the app. We are also developing integrations with Tableau and PowerBI so event organizers can integrate our endpoints with their existing visual analytics platforms to gain deeper insights. This ease of setup and access to data analytics ensures event organizers can maximize the value of their events with minimal effort.
Walk us through the user journey and explain how the process works.
Farewell: Event organizers can quickly list their events and invite attendees and exhibitors to download the app, giving attendees and vendors access to accurate matchmaking opportunities at their event. The app’s year-round functionality means users can benefit from it at other venues and events, too, solving a common problem with mobile event apps: low adoption rates.
The user journey begins with a simple sign-up process. For optimal matches, users should fill out their profiles thoroughly, as the more detailed the profile, the better the match results. Vendors pay a monthly subscription fee of $99, which gives them access to lead generation and backend analytics year-round, as well as the year-round marketplace to showcase their products or services. This subscription model ensures that vendors maintain a consistent and up-to-date profile across all events, solving the problem of having to update their booth profiles for each new event.
Have any customers recently hosted trade shows and/or corporate events with MatchPoint? If so, can you share your feedback with us?
McGlade: Although we only (recently) soft launched MatchPoint, we have already successfully soft launched at two major events this year. We are currently in active discussions with over 10 association events and two large independent for-profit event organizers. The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive, with users saying it greatly improves professional relationship building at events and is a game changer for networking and lead generation.
MatchPoint is now available for download on both Apple and Android devices.
Do you have event technology news you would like to share with us? Contact [email protected] and [email protected].
Don’t miss any event news: Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter HERElisten to our latest podcast HERE and interact with us on LinkedIn!
