Sproxxy ROImeasuring conference spending ROI
Attending conferences, whether for sales and marketing purposes or for executives speaking engagements, involves significant costs for companies. These costs include expenses such as space and booth rentals, travel, accommodations, and meals. Executives also incur the opportunity cost of being away from the office. So, how do companies justify these expenses?
Traditionally, it has been challenging to quantify the return on investment (ROI) of attending conferences. However, Sproxxy, an early-stage company, is aiming to change that by providing a platform to manage conference-related activities and help customers understand the ROI of participating in such events. Recently, the startup officially launched after securing $1.1 million in funding to kickstart its operations.
Melanie Samba, the founder and CEO of Sproxxy, was inspired to create the platform after managing multiple executives attending numerous conferences using cumbersome Excel spreadsheets. Recognizing the need for a more efficient solution, she envisioned Sproxxy to streamline conference management and provide insights into the business impact of attending events.
Sproxxy positions itself as a conference intelligence platform, quantifying conference activity and helping brands assess the ROI of speaking, sponsoring, or attending industry events. This involves pre-planning, cross-departmental collaboration, and post-conference analysis to determine the value gained from participation.
Initially, Samba outsourced the development of the software and secured her first license with an agency managing multiple clients on the platform. Later, she brought development in-house and rebuilt the product. Currently, Sproxxy has a team of three engineers and a product manager.
Despite being a solo Black woman founder and a mother, Samba successfully navigated the fundraising process. Securing funding from Ivy Ventures, industry angels, and Techstars, she aims to raise a total of $1.8 million to scale her platform further.
Sproxxy’s target market includes midsize businesses to enterprises seeking a comprehensive solution to manage conference-related activities and assess their impact effectively. Samba’s journey highlights the importance of addressing a genuine market need while navigating challenges unique to underrepresented founders in the tech industry.
