Day 1: #TCDisrupt, In The Eye of the Tech Storm

Muchaneta Kapfunde | @FashNerdEditor

#TCDisrupt has been part of Athens European start up ecosystem since 2007 and is the hub of all things tech.

In its third year here in London, the flagship conference is a magnet that attracts the top talent in tech, finance, fashion, media, design and entertainment. Coming together under one roof, the team at FashNerd.com will be looking beyond the buzz of #TCDisrupt by sharing our honest thoughts on who caught our eye and the brands that you should have on your watchlist.

TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015. Image ©Dan Taylor/Heisenberg Media. For bookings contact - dan@heisenbergmedia.com or +447821755904
TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015. Image ©Dan Taylor/Heisenberg Media.

DAY 1

The Tech To Watch in 2016: Olly

Hello Olly. Founded August 2014, Olly is emotech at its best. The London based company has designed and created a robot that explores and improves relationships between people and machines.

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Whilst spending time with the Olly team, I realised that the more I learnt about it the more their product gave me that Jarvis feeling. For those unfamiliar with the Avengers, Jarvis is the Avengers’ loyal butler in the ‘Iron Man’ films. J.A.R.V.I.S, which stands for “Just a Rather Very Intelligent System”, is Tony Stark’s AI system that knows him enough to assist him with most of his needs. With Olly’s ability to be our Jarvis, our companion and dare I say friend, we could not wait to own such a device.

Olly has been programmed to get to know YOU and this includes your likes and dislikes. This device is a  personal assistant that is unique and constantly evolving. Built to be empathetic through innovation and efficient interactions, the smart home hub has developed 2 prototypes and will start its crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of February 2016. Be sure to keep an eye on them, because Olly would make a wonderful addition to any smart home.

The Talk We Had to Attend: Fashion Forward 

Today’s agenda had only one fashion focused panel talking tech on the main stage. Referred to as Fashion Tech by TechCrunch, we prefer to correctly refer to them as RetailTech brands. Taking to the stage we were introduced by the moderator to Snap Fashion‘s Jenny Griffiths, Chic by Choice Filipa Neto and last but not least Farfetch’s Jose Neves. The trio brought their knowledge to the stage and discussed in depth how they are disrupting the retail tech industry.

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On the stage Snap Fashion’s Jenny Griffiths, Chic by Choice Filipa Neto and Farfetch’s Jose Neves.

Retail focused, the online brands discussed how technology is making it possible for them to improve their consumer experience. They shared their business models, and talked about how they used the tech tools at their disposal to ensure that their customers were given the luxury of convenience. They also discussed the shopping trends, and how technology has improved their e-commerce platform and has given them access to the psychology behind retail tech and mobile app shopping behavior.

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In closing, the panel discussed how they planned to stay ahead of the game when it came to merging technology into their business model. They stressed the importance of using technology to get to know their customers in a way that results in them gaining the kind of knowledge that is contributing to the growth of retail tech overall.

The Startup Battlefield That Had Us Going: Seven Hugs

A nifty product, Seven Hugs had us at forever compatible. It is a fusion of several technologies and is the world’s first contextual remote control with a touch screen. The open platform is reinventing the smart home by giving you control over multiple connected devices with just one finger.

sevenhugs-smart-remote-1With a confident stage presence, the team sold their revolution ideas to the audience and the panel. Priced at €200, the device adapts and connects automatically through interacting with WiFi. Precise and powerful, the device gets to know all your devices including Nest, your TV, your music etc. They shared with us that their device has been built to turn around bad user experience. With an impressive demonstration, we knew that it will not be long before this kind of such technology becomes the norm.

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The Seven Hugs Team

As the day winds down, we are already looking forward to Day 2 tomorrow. We have pencilled in more founder stories, startup battlefield rounds and fireside chats, so make sure you check back with us tomorrow.

Feel free to tweet @FashNerd using #AskFashNerd

 

SOURCEImage Credit: TechCrunch