Telcos: this simple definition can be the difference between transform or die

Eventbrite is an industry disruptor. Co-founder Renaud Visage explains why a simple definition can be the difference between disruptor, or dead.

The upcoming 16^th annual Next Generation Telecoms Summit has a bold theme: strategies for European Telcos that want to be disruptors, and not disrupted.

That reminded me of a conversation we had earlier this year, at Mobile World Congress, with Renaud Visage which feels very relevant to the summit theme. 

Renaud is Co-founder & CTO, Eventbrite, described by Wikipedia as a global marketplace for live experiences. It offers easy event registration and ticketing – and that focus on simple, easy customer experience made it a serious disruptor in its sector.

But the most interesting piece for me – and most relevant to the summit discussion – is that Renaud doesn’t agree with Wikipedia. He doesn’t see Eventbrite as, first and foremost, an event marketplace.

Renaud Visage – Co-founder & CTO, Eventbrite:

“Well, first and foremost, we’re a tech company.  So what does it mean in the end to be a tech company? For us, it doesn’t mean selling technology. It means finding the best technology out there to help our customers, and we from the get go, we really wanted to be a customer driven company. We’ve really embraced the mobile evolution over the years and tried to find the best ways to integrate that into our product offering. And I think that’s what good tech companies do. They find how to leverage all these up and coming technologies. Sometimes they’re not fully adopted yet, but you try to think ahead. What is going to be the adoption curve and how you can take these piecemeal and absorb it into your product offering to solve real pain points”.

So here’s a question: if you want to be a disruptor and not disrupted, how do you define yourself – as a telco, or as a customer-first tech innovator?

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