More and more often there are moments of togetherness in everyone's life, be it for meaningful moments or for a clear and defined purpose. Companies, in particular, are increasingly recognising the power of company culture and thus convivial moments are on the rise. Our mission is to bring joyful moments to occasions and events thanks to competent entertainers.
Stagend is the one-stop-shop for live entertainment: we work with more than 4'000 live entertainers to create unique and memorable experiences. Since 2022, the AI-based matching system has enabled almost one in two users to find an interesting live entertainer within seconds and increased the business with B2B customers by 88%. With the events industry expected to grow at an annual rate of 11.2% until 2028, we aim to further drive Stagend's growth, beginning with a doubling of bookings for 2024 compared to 2023.
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History of the company
Our story goes back a long way and starts with a passion for the stage and music. Marco Alberti (co-founder and CEO) has been playing guitar since he was 6 years old and discovered the electric guitar for himself as he grew up. He fell in love with it and after a few years became the guitarist of the metal band, Soulline. Back then, in November 2002, little did he know what was coming: 21 years of stories, more than 300 concerts all over Europe, 6 studio albums and many, many miles on the road. And also many, many conversations, a fundamental experience that led to getting to know the market first hand. It turned out that both the musicians and the event organisers all complained: as a band, you have a hard time playing outside your own region, and as an event organiser you have a hard time finding and booking the right bands.
Frustrated by the lack of options the web offered for the concert market, Marco began to develop the idea of Stagend and the current business model that he later shaped with co-founders Martino Piccioli, Oscar Mora and Mattia Minotti.
The concept won an award in 2011, but the market response was a flop. However, the website started receiving new requests: party bands for company events, guitarists for official ceremonies, DJs for private parties. Full of curiosity, the founders observed the market and discovered a demand they were eager to meet. In 2014, the startup was restructured on several levels: Oscar and Mattia stepped back, Lorenzo Cimasoni joined as a new co-founder, and the system and catalogue of artists were revised.
From left: Martino Piccioli, Marco Alberti, Lorenzo Cimasoni.
Successes and awards
- Incubated at CP Startup (2010)
- ATED Award 2010 - Best entrepreneurial idea of Canton Ticino
- 1st CTI Project 2010 - Design and Artificial Intelligence
- Startups.ch Award 2011 - Best entrepreneurial idea in Switzerland
- CTI Start-up Label 2014
A new beginning
Thanks to business angels and the support of TiVenture, Stagend got a second chance in 2015. After years of further learning about markets, understanding the dynamics and preparing for growth, the team understood that the business model as it stood would scale poorly. With this insight, and later also struck by the pandemic, they decided in 2019 to bravely move forward and develop a smart system as part of an Innosuisse project. The matching was tested in 2022 and showed brilliant results: almost 50% of customers have found the right entertainment in the first list of proposals generated by the AI-based system, the year marked a new record for requests, and the B2B sales increased significantly.
Why invest
- Market launch in 2015
- Constant annual increase in requests since 2015 (pandemic years excluded)
- INNOSUISSE project grant in 2019, AI-based system development in 2019-2020
- 2020-2021 pandemic survived
- AI-based system launch in 2021
- Partnership with Nvalue since 2021
- Increase in first customer activation by 126% in 2022 after implementation of AI-based system
- 5-10 seconds wait for 10 suitable entertainment offers thanks to the AI-based system
- +88% B2B sales in 2022
- Projected compound annual growth rate of 11.2% from 2021 to 2028
Our vision for the future
Our small team has managed to offer a system that allows entertainers to have a prosperous career and customers to have a thriving experience at the same time.
Through our AI-based website, we’ve enabled dozens of people to turn their passion into a profession, and have enriched numerous occasions and events with joy. We’re very proud of this contribution and we will continue to work intensively on it.
Watch here our testimonial video:
Today, we're giving you the opportunity to join us on our journey, which first stops at further establishing Stagend on the Swiss market and then starts on the path to becoming the European market leader for online entertainment booking systems. By investing in Stagend, you become part of the most exciting startup in the entertainment industry.
Why crowdinvesting
We have grown and want to keep growing, developing our product and improving our services, but we don't yet have the resources to realise our full potential. Through the crowdinvesting campaign, we want to invest the capital as follows:
- CHF 85'000.- in proactive sales to increase bookings and nurture relationships with our returning customers.
- CHF 130'000.- in marketing for the implementation of a large-scale digital branding project to promote identity and strengthen the relationship with our partners and customers.
- CHF 185'000.- in technology for the development and product expansion to increase the success rate and improve the user experience.
Your benefits
There are 3 possible scenarios in the future:
- Example: Let's say you buy 200 shares of Stagend today at CHF 31.- each and invest a total of CHF 6'200.-. Stagend doubles its bookings, attracts a new investor who invests CHF 5 million, and the value of the company increases - let's assume at the new price of CHF 50.- per share. You are given the opportunity to sell your shares at this new price and would thus receive CHF 10'000.- and benefit from a net profit of CHF 3'800.- (after deducting your original investment of CHF 6'200.-).
- Example based on projections: let's say you invest CHF 6'200.- to buy 200 shares of Stagend at CHF 31.- each, and thus hold a 0.13% stake in the startup. As Stagend expands in the DACH region, it attracts the attention of competitors and larger companies. Eventually, Stagend is bought out at a valuation of CHF 25 million. Your share of 0.13% would then be worth CHF 32'500.-, which means a 5-fold return on investment.
- Example: with a positive EBIT of CHF 500'000.-, the Board and then the General Assembly decide to distribute 40% of the profit as a dividend, which corresponds to CHF 200'000.-. As a shareholder with a share of, for example, 0.13%, you would receive CHF 260.- as your share of the dividend. It's important to note that the dividend return is more significant for established companies than for startups, as startups usually prioritise reinvesting their profits to foster growth and expansion.
Using the system and spreading the word contributes to the growth of the business, which in turn increases the value of the shares themselves. So if you book entertainment through our platform or are an active Stagend entertainer, an investment is even more worthwhile.
For more information and an overall financial overview, please see "Details".
Marco Alberti holds a Master’s degree in Business Informatics from the HEC Lausanne. During his studies he started to shape the idea of Stagend and after graduation he worked part-time as a computer scientist. Throughout this time, he never lost sight of his professional passion as a guitarist.
Lorenzo Cimasoni holds a Master's degree in Business Informatics from the University of Fribourg. After his studies, "Cima" started working at Stagend. During his military service, he was appointed deputy quartermaster due to his skills in managing the troop budget. Cima, who always has a pragmatic solution for everything, is an outspoken craftsman and a champion at doing things himself.
Martino Piccioli holds a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Fribourg. After graduating, Martino worked in a large company where he was responsible for the launch of a new product. At Stagend, Martino was Marketing Manager and is now a coach and member of the Board. He also has a strong musical passion and when he can, he plays guitar and sings in a classic rock band.
Debi is time-wise the youngest to join us on the Stagend journey. Active in the tourism and events industries, she has recently returned from a four-year experience abroad working in the marketing department of a large company that organises trade exhibitions. Debi brings pragmatism, planning and a results-oriented approach to Stagend.
Angela has been with Stagend since 2016. As the person responsible for the entertainers, Angela takes care of both the purchase and sales activities. Her experience in organising evening events in Ibiza is the added value she brings to our clients.
Claudia is Stagend's first employee and was hired in 2015. Born and raised in Basel, Claudia brings calm and patience to the fast-paced world of events. She looks after both private and B2B customers.
Very active in the field of events in Zürich, Mica is dedicated to customer support and ensures that all requests are met. She has been working with Stagend since 2022.
Kelly takes care of the office duties and checks the quality of the requests, making sure that the entertainer:s send the offers quickly and with high quality.
Matteo is our intern and takes care of the quality of the catalogue and the satisfaction of the entertainers.
Developed between 2019 and 2021 through an Innosuisse project, Franziska AI is our matching algorithm that enables us to display suitable solution proposals in 10 seconds.
Patrick from Poschiavo is a Business Angel and is very close to the startup world. He currently works in the real estate industry in Australia.
Andrea works in the M&A sector and is Managing Partner at Maveria Advisory with international focus.