Latest / Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney / What better technology means in our industry. With Emma Hardcastle

Transcript

What better technology means in our industry. With Emma Hardcastle · Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney

• 0:00
  Stayed too long working with people that I felt were kind of good, but I didn't necessarily agree with the direction.
• 0:06
  But I thought, well, maybe they're right.
• 0:07
  And I think sometimes you just need to say no.
• 0:10
  I, I think, I think I need to believe in myself.
• 0:54
  I'm Becca Poundey, wedding business marketing expert, strategist, speaker and author.
• 0:59
  Over the last decade, I've combined my love of marketing with my knowledge of the wedding industry to help thousands of wedding pros and venues just like you learn new skills, strategize, get re energized and grow their businesses.
• 1:11
  Because after all, that's you stay top of your game.
• 1:15
  Whether you're brand new into this industry or been here forever.
• 1:18
  I want to help.
• 1:19
  So grab a cup of tea or a cocktail, sit back and enjoy a brand new episode of my award winning podcast, Wedding Pros who Are Ready to Grow.
• 1:27
  Let's get going with today's episode.
• 1:33
  Today I'm chatting with Emma Hardcastle, CEO and founder of Hostology, a venue management software for wedding and event venues.
• 1:40
  With experience as a software entrepreneur, Emma joined forces with five UK venues in 2018 to build and road test her platform.
• 1:48
  Now, eight years later, the business is going from strength to strength.
• 1:51
  You may have met Emma and her team at WED Pros Live this year where she was part of the backstage business crew.
• 1:57
  So I'm really excited to catch up with her again today.
• 2:00
  Emma, welcome to the podcast.
• 2:02
  Hello.
• 2:03
  Thank you for having me.
• 2:04
  Absolute pleasure.
• 2:05
  Thank you for being here.
• 2:07
  It's always a pleasure to see you and to catch up.
• 2:09
  And like I said, we haven't properly caught up since March, so I'm looking forward to chatting to you more today.
• 2:15
  But before we get into our conversation, for my listener's sake, I like them to understand the person I'm chatting to so they know why they should listen to you.
• 2:23
  So take us back pre Hostology, even possibly pre wedding industry and tell me, what did you do?
• 2:30
  What's your career?
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  Has it been an exciting journey or has it been the same thing forever?
• 2:34
  Oh, gosh, that's it.
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  I'm so old now, I.
• 2:36
  That could be.
• 2:37
  It could take a while, honest.
• 2:39
  I'll try and keep it brief.
• 2:41
  So, I mean, we can go right back to.
• 2:42
  I know you're a big musical theater fan, Beck, and that's.
• 2:45
  That's one of the things I'm most fond of you for.
• 2:47
  And I think I did start off age 11 in Evita on the West End stage, which I did for a year and actually it made me.
• 2:55
  It was A really key point, I think, in my progress, because it made me think, actually, I don't want to be an actress because it's really boring.
• 3:02
  You do the same thing every day and you have to do exactly what they tell you to do and stand exactly where they tell you to stand and hand the bouquet over at exactly the right point.
• 3:11
  So I think I, you know, from a very early age, I think I like the idea of having a career that would be super varied and semi autonomous and I'd be able to do different things and meet different
• 3:21
  people and so on.
• 3:22
  And so that's kind of what I've done.
• 3:24
  And I'm not criticizing actors and actresses.
• 3:25
  I'm sure they have a fantastic life and much more glamorous than mine.
• 3:31
  But anyway, that's where I got to.
• 3:32
  So I started life.
• 3:33
  After university, I went to work for a publishing company called macmillan, and I was a marketing manager there and then a marketing director.
• 3:42
  And I looked after all of their very sort of intense reference projects and products.
• 3:48
  And it was actually a key point in their history because it was the 1990s and we were putting things online and no one really knew what online meant.
• 3:57
  And it actually started off with librarians saying, can I have it on cd, please?
• 4:02
  And we'd be like, oh, we don't really want to do that.
• 4:06
  And then we met some clever boffins who said, no, no, let's put it online, whatever that was.
• 4:11
  And so mid-90s to the end of the 90s, we were putting big encyclopedias and databases online for different types of people, whether they were art dealers or musicians or librarians, academic students.
• 4:25
  And it was great.
• 4:26
  And I learned masses about digital products and how to sell them.
• 4:31
  So that was my kind of foundational first job, really.
• 4:35
  Seven years doing that.
• 4:36
  And then I moved from that.
• 4:38
  I sort of springboarded into the Internet.
• 4:40
  I dived into the Internet with my history degree, not really knowing anything about coding, but learning a bit about architecture and thinking strategically how the Internet might help people or digital might help people.
• 4:53
  And then since then 2000, I've run about four or five different startups.
• 4:58
  And mainly, I mean, I work with some very clever people and different topics, from like mapping through to event management, product, tv, film, video, recycling, all sorts of things.
• 5:13
  And I think the key strand for me was looking at how people engage with digital.
• 5:19
  So how do we working in our day jobs need to use software?
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  How can it help us to collaborate?
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  How can it help us to bring other bits of data into our lives and deal with it?
• 5:32
  In the most efficient or useful way.
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  And so that sounds, that's pretty unsexy but that was kind of where I went.
• 5:40
  And in just fast forward to where I am now, so I have a lot of experience of working with software developers and product designers and all sorts of different audiences.
• 5:51
  And then I met these lovely venue owners.
• 5:54
  So back in 2018ish, so I met five very lovely venue owners who all wanted to change the way they worked.
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  So I said let's not decide what we're going to do, let's just have a look at what you're doing and how you're doing it.
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  So I spent some time at Elmore Court and is Boy park and Weezing and I went to all of these places and I sat down with their teams and we just looked at how they were working, what they
• 6:19
  were doing and it struck me that number one weddings, which is 80% of what they, they do an awful lot of communication over a long time.
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  So it looked like a problem that needed to be solved.
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  And that's what we set out to do with hostology.
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  So we decided to form histology and the idea is it would help to wrestle all those bits of data.
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  So instead of being hidden in hundreds of different emails or in a very nice and well looked after spreadsheet that wasn't necessarily that shareable and had to be very permissions based, we'd build something online that you could collaborate
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  really easily with your couples or your customers and they could also get their guests to interact.
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  So I guess for me that I'm quite interested in the big picture which is how can, how can we do this whole thing better?
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  And that shouldn't just be about how can I work day to day at my desk if I'm an event manager.
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  It's about what's your couple doing, what's your bride doing, what's your groom doing, what are the suppliers doing, when are the guests popping up up?
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  What do they need to know and what do you back at the venue need need from them?
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  So what we tried to do was build this multi portal solution that involved and allowed everybody in, suppliers, guests, hosts and the venue team.
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  Finance, marketing, housekeeping, chefs, catering, everybody can come in and they can see the bits of data they need and everything gets pulled together.
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  So that was the plan.
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  Anyway, I love it.
• 7:50
  I have many questions, many questions.
• 7:52
  Because you've covered a huge span of time.
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  Sor.
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  I'm gonna take you back.
• 7:56
  No, I love it.
• 7:57
  I'm gonna take you back because we cannot carry on with this episode without us having a little more conversation about you being in Evita, because, as you said, I am a huge musical theater fan, and it's something I'm
• 8:08
  wrestling with at my.
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  With myself at the moment.
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  So I'm interested to hear your experience.
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  So, obviously, as a child, you had this experience in this very adult world of professional theater.
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  And my daughter right now is in a very professional world of football at a high level, in an academy.
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  And so as a parent, quite often I'm thinking, is this a good thing?
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  Is this a bad thing?
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  I've put my child in this really kind of adult environment, but she's really enjoying it, doing something she loves.
• 8:32
  So I'd love to know, other than realizing that wasn't what you wanted to do for a career, were there other things from that time period that you think you've taken into the future that have helped you or hindered
• 8:43
  you?
• 8:43
  Yeah.
• 8:44
  Oh, that's a really good question.
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  I mean, I think.
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  I think what it showed me was really intense professionalism at a really young age.
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  And I'm sure your daughters seeing that as well, is that these guys know what they're doing, right?
• 8:56
  So they.
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  They were wrangling probably 300 kids.
• 9:00
  Because when you're.
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  When you're young, you're not allowed to be on stage very late, and you're not allowed to be on stage every night because it's not great for your.
• 9:08
  Your education and all the rest.
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  So we were allowed to do like 50 performances a year.
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  So we do, you know, we'd have holidays and all sorts.
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  So some weeks you do two, some weeks you do one.
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  And it was super well organized and it sort of taught me that, you know, you really.
• 9:22
  To make something look beautiful and amazing for the audience.
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  There are hundreds and thousands of moving parts and, you know, Elaine Page would brush past you and sort of allegedly.
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  Well, I just didn't do it to me.
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  But one little boy complained that she punched him really hard and she had rings on because he was.
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  He was obviously in her way and she was trying to exit stage left and then whiz round to come back on in a different costume or something.
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  So I think for me, probably again, similar to your daughter, you get thrown into the super professional adult world and you're really cared for.
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  Like, we had our own guardian called Phyllis who looked after us, and she.
• 9:58
  We had our own dressing room and she dressed us and took us to the right bit and told us when we had to get on and get off and then was waiting for you and Some humans, some of
• 10:07
  the adults were lovely and some were less lovely.
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  You know, I remember Marty Webb, bless her, if she's still around, she was charming and she said, come on, kids, come and I'll give you a sign photo and come and chat to me in the interval.
• 10:20
  So I think you know that.
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  But the key thing was that it was just so many moving parts behind the scenes.
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  There's somebody holding the candles, there's somebody pushing somebody else on this.
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  Everyone's running around at the back changing costumes and pulling ropes and, you know, and then down to the guy who drove us there and drove us back at night, you know, and checked us in, checked us out.
• 10:39
  I mean, this was before sort of safeguarding, but I think we were asked to wear seatbelts.
• 10:44
  I can't really remember.
• 10:45
  Yeah, I think there's something as well that again, that I wrestle with about living your dream at such a young age.
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  Because for many people, you know, being on a West End stage would be like a lifelong dream.
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  And when you've done it at 8 or 9, I can't decide whether that's a.
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  Okay, nothing's gonna better that, or whether it actually, at an early age shows you the world's my oyster.
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  I could do anything because I've proved it.
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  Yeah, I think there's that, isn't there?
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  But I think, on the other hand, I didn't really have to do much of an audition.
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  It was literally.
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  They came to the school and said, we need more kids.
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  Can you sing?
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  And I think I had to sing an octave.
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  And I guess the key thing about it is I didn't particularly invest a lot of time in my performance because I.
• 11:20
  And I didn't really wonder or ask questions.
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  I just stepped onto the stage and sang a song in Spanish and then I stepped off again.
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  Or sang a song in Latin or sang a song in English with a candle, you know.
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  And I think you were terrified most of the time, I suppose, of getting it wrong.
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  So you just went and stood on that bit.
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  If you stood on the light, everyone would see your pants.
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  So you had to sort of stand to the right of the light, you know, and hold the candle and sing, please, Mother, Ava, whatever.
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  And I think you just went through the motions.
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  You didn't.
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  Afterwards, you all talked rubbish about school and listened to Wimbledon on the radio and, you know, you didn't really worry as a kid about your performance.
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  I think that's one of the key takeaways.
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  As you age, you realize that you over worry and overthink all of these onstage things.
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  And I suppose that also taught me that nothing can really go wrong.
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  You know, like, if I, if I.
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  I mean, you're an amazing presenter and all of the people involved in Wed Prose Live were creating such a great, fantastic atmosphere and vibe, but it's hard to do.
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  And I think you've really.
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  The only way you can do that is to go.
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  You know, people say things like, imagine the audience is naked.
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  I think when you go on a West End stage, the audience is dark, you can't see them.
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  And that's great.
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  So you don't think, oh my God, people looking at me.
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  You just go on and go, oh, I've got to sing.
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  Please, mother Ava.
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  You know, you just do it and get off again.
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  So I guess it teaches you a lot of that at a young age.
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  And I, I imagine if you were working.
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  My godson's just be godson has just been signed by an academy, football academy.
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  And I think it is super exciting, I think, but you're overthinking it and you'll be, I'm more stressed about it than he is.
• 12:58
  He's just like, yeah, it's great, I get to play football all day.
• 13:01
  But he's having psychology lessons and he's having strategy lessons and, you know, it's properly full on, isn't it?
• 13:07
  Yeah, it, it really is.
• 13:08
  But there is something in what you're saying about that childlike innocence of just like, I'm just here, I'm just going to get on with what I'm doing.
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  As we get older, we all overthink.
• 13:17
  So taking it on to the next part of your journey then, because at some point in that journey, you went from being employed to being self employed, which is a terrifying leap again.
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  And I think that a lot of people even listening to this now who are still in a full time job and have their business and are thinking of doing one or the other.
• 13:34
  Yeah.
• 13:35
  Struggle with like, what was the catalyst for that?
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  Were you just brave?
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  Did something happen?
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  Did you just think, I'm gonna just go off on my own?
• 13:42
  Yeah, I think it happened gradually, I think, and you know, it's been a key theme.
• 13:46
  I think I was.
• 13:47
  I'm a very good employee.
• 13:48
  I think actually I had a really lovely boss in my first job and I.
• 13:53
  He was the managing director and I really enjoyed working for him.
• 13:56
  And then I met this guy who said, actually I'm gonna do this thing like Google Maps with loads of sort of data and restaurant data and pub data and all sorts, running routes and we'll be able to build
• 14:06
  all that out.
• 14:07
  And it was just before Google Maps.
• 14:08
  Google Maps was launched, so it seemed like a brilliant idea.
• 14:11
  And then I got that sort of bug of like, oh, yeah, we could, you know, that creativity bug of like, well, we could let people create their own little friend groups and share maps, which we all do now
• 14:20
  anyway.
• 14:21
  But no one could do that before.
• 14:22
  And so we were thinking of these clever ideas and working with him again, he was a very wealthy bee, a genius who'd set up several companies.
• 14:31
  So he made it very easy for me to segue from that environment in that I think, if you're thinking about.
• 14:38
  Does help to not have to jump in with both feet.
• 14:41
  You know, where someone says, look, come work for me, it's a bit risky, it may not succeed, but I'm setting up.
• 14:47
  And then again, in venue terms, it could be I'm setting up a new venue or I'm setting up a new business.
• 14:52
  Leave your safe job and come work with me.
• 14:54
  If they've got some funding or they've got some clients, those two things, there has to be some money coming in, I think, for you to, to do that as a first step, that's.
• 15:03
  That, that for me was quite appealing, is that he was going to fund it, this guy.
• 15:08
  And I just was allowed to play and build it and I got some of the equity and I think over having done that for a few years, I think that was five years.
• 15:17
  The next few, it was more me and a colleague and we owned it.
• 15:20
  50, 50 or like going in with my venue partners this time, you know, it's.
• 15:25
  You're not, you're not fully alone and I think you've got to.
• 15:30
  But you have got to not care too much about the fact that it could all end tomorrow or, you know, But I do think most of us, especially in the wedding sector, you kind of.
• 15:40
  Or in, in the events business, you kind of, you know that there'll be highs and lows and you know, you know that it's not a job for life.
• 15:47
  It, you know, things change.
• 15:50
  I think we all know that nowadays.
• 15:51
  It's not quite like previous generations where you, you know, you've got to make your own luck very much, haven't you?
• 15:57
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 15:58
  And things are changing all the time.
• 16:00
  So you talk about your venue partners.
• 16:02
  Was that your first step into the wedding industry?
• 16:04
  How did you meet these people?
• 16:06
  Did you, you know, did you work in the wedding industry before?
• 16:09
  Or was hostology your first thing in our industry?
• 16:11
  No, I'm a complete fraud.
• 16:13
  So I have got married and I have.
• 16:15
  I did organize my wedding a bit.
• 16:17
  My mother did most of it, to be honest, but she, she was very good.
• 16:20
  She.
• 16:20
  She didn'.
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  Spreadsheet.
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  So I did do the spreadsheets and it was before you could have a platform to help you get organized or anything like that.
• 16:28
  And it was bloody hard work, I can tell you, getting all the guests to reply.
• 16:31
  And when my father used to say to me, if you don't tell me by tomorrow they're not allowed to come, and I'd be like, oh my God, that's unrealistic.
• 16:38
  So I'd just sort of be desperately ringing my mates going, are you coming?
• 16:41
  You know, but people are rubbish.
• 16:44
  So that was my, that was a.
• 16:46
  Obviously I've been to.
• 16:47
  Been at some weddings and I've organized a wedding and I've also done some stuff where I was the job immediately before I was working with this TV production platform that we built where we are trying to help small
• 16:59
  TV companies or bigger TV companies find the right cameraman, florist, hairdresser.
• 17:05
  Maybe not florist, might need a florist, I suppose more like a psych, something like traitors.
• 17:10
  But where they're trying to find freelancers basically to plug into those the films that make they're making or the episodes they're making.
• 17:17
  And so it was a quite a similar thing actually to a planner or a venue saying, someone like you, I need to plug in the right suppliers to deliver this and make this happen.
• 17:28
  And everyone has to show up on the day and everyone has to do a really good job.
• 17:32
  So I'd done that for three or four years and I kind of got it.
• 17:35
  And when I started talking to the venue people I was like, this is really similar, this is really similar.
• 17:39
  Everyone has their little black book and then those are your trusted, that's your circle of trust and you trust those people.
• 17:46
  And every venue I've ever worked with since over the last eight years, you know, has got their suggested suppliers, recommended suppliers.
• 17:54
  They've got people that they know they can recommend because they will turn up and they will do a good job.
• 18:01
  And it's a very similar sort of little black book type thing.
• 18:04
  And helping couples to navigate that is really, is really important.
• 18:10
  And also reducing the white noise for the venue.
• 18:13
  How many times do they get asked, do you know anyone who could make me a cake out of cheese?
• 18:18
  And you're like, oh my God, somebody asked me anything else like that again.
• 18:22
  And they get inundated with emails, phone calls, whatsapps people saying, can I do this, can I do this, can I do this?
• 18:28
  So it seemed to me that one of the core things we could do is that information sharing and.
• 18:33
  Yeah, does that answer?
• 18:35
  I can't remember.
• 18:37
  It absolutely does.
• 18:38
  So in the time developing Hostology, you're talking to these venues as a kind of outsider to our industry.
• 18:44
  I'd love to know what surprised you the most when you learn about how they were running their businesses pre Hostology.
• 18:51
  Well, yeah, I mean, I think it does, it does depend, I mean, some.
• 18:55
  My initial scope was just to talk to the five venue partners because they were all working together, they sort of were thinking they were toying with creating a brand of the five venues as a place where you could
• 19:07
  do, you know, it was your blank canvas, you could do what you want.
• 19:09
  So they'd been doing that for a bit.
• 19:11
  So.
• 19:11
  But interestingly, they all are independent and they all work very, very differently and they all did deliver slightly different.
• 19:17
  Deliver different services.
• 19:19
  And so I guess I was slightly surprised that some of the levels of tech were quite low and that people were prepared to literally do everything with just spreadsheets and emails and there was nothing, there was nothing else.
• 19:35
  Since we started, some other people have come along, which, you know, I think most people will know there are two or three platforms you could use to work with.
• 19:42
  And now AI is changing all sorts of things, but I think you still want one place where it's your, you know, your, your, your, your data in one place.
• 19:52
  It's your sort of central platform of everything.
• 19:55
  And for some people, that is their inbox in their spreadsheets.
• 19:58
  And that's still the case.
• 19:59
  And I talk to Benny's now pretty much most days, and the new ones who come to me and I go, how?
• 20:05
  What are you using at the moment?
• 20:06
  You know, and they're like, well, yeah, we just, well, we just, we have, we have a spreadsheet and we have a document we sent out, you know, and it's like, wow, you know, because that's fine and it works.
• 20:16
  And I do think the thing that I forget, which is that humans are rational, they do the thing that works.
• 20:24
  And I was thinking about it this morning, actually, I got up and I went for a very short run because I'm very slow.
• 20:30
  And I thought, why don't I change my life?
• 20:33
  Why don't I go to bed earlier, get up earlier and then I can have a longer run with less stress and I've got time for a shower.
• 20:40
  And I just thought, you just don't do that, do you.
• 20:42
  You just do the same thing day out, whether it's scrambling to get the kids to school in a scrambly way, forgetting to make the packed lunch the night before.
• 20:51
  I don't know, I just think we get into our routines and we're like, that's how I work.
• 20:55
  That's how I work.
• 20:56
  I'm good at that suits me.
• 20:58
  And it's really hard to get us to move to something that, however much it could be a health visitor, a doctor, it could be a sports therapist, it could be anyone going, you need to change, you need to
• 21:10
  do things like this.
• 21:11
  And you're like, yes, I do, and I will.
• 21:15
  And then you wake up the next day and you haven't, or the next week and you haven't.
• 21:18
  So I think it's the same thing.
• 21:20
  Wherever you see humans, humans in the workplace, they do what suits them and it works, or they do what they've been taught and it works.
• 21:27
  So they are frightened of breaking it.
• 21:29
  And I think for us, that's.
• 21:30
  It's almost easier.
• 21:31
  We're working with a big venue at the moment who are using an American software sort of competitor, and it's so much.
• 21:38
  It's.
• 21:38
  For them, it's just like, yeah, we just like to swap because we don't like that one and we like this.
• 21:42
  Your.
• 21:42
  We like Hostology more and it does more for us, like the accommodation.
• 21:47
  So great.
• 21:47
  And it's so much easier for them to move than it is someone who's just not used to putting everything into a platform, if that makes sense.
• 21:54
  So I think.
• 21:56
  I think in this industry there are people who are used to rushing around, have their spreadsheets and they're too busy perhaps to change.
• 22:03
  I think that's the key thing, because we all are very.
• 22:07
  I mean, I.
• 22:08
  It's an incredibly busy industry, I think,.
• 22:10
  And people, you're right, are very set in their ways.
• 22:12
  I quite often have conversations with people about their systems or their processes and they'll give me these really complicated processes and sometimes I'll just say, why?
• 22:20
  Why do you do that?
• 22:21
  Because we do.
• 22:22
  Why do you.
• 22:23
  Maybe we could take that out.
• 22:25
  Maybe you don't need to send that second form that gives you all the same information as the first form.
• 22:29
  No, but we always do that.
• 22:30
  You know, it's really difficult.
• 22:33
  People are scared and I think particularly, you know, particularly smaller business owners as well, you know, your cake makers, your florists, the one man bands, a lot of them are scared of technology.
• 22:43
  And, you know, you've been going, what, eight Years.
• 22:45
  And yet, and yet there's still so many people that aren't using any kind of technology.
• 22:50
  Why do you think it gives people fear?
• 22:52
  What is it about tech that scares people?
• 22:55
  I don't know.
• 22:55
  I mean in my, in my previous business the guy who ran that was terrified of putting stuff online, his own personal stuff, so he didn't want to, you know, and if he had emails it had to be on
• 23:05
  a private server so it couldn't be hacked.
• 23:08
  And there is that element of it.
• 23:09
  People worry.
• 23:09
  I don't think most people worry about that anymore.
• 23:12
  I think now it's, I think it's the fact that you think about what you need to get done and what's in front of you and you don't necessarily see if you open this up and let other people collaborate.
• 23:27
  And I think people are getting there with shared docs, Google Docs, shared SharePoint.
• 23:31
  They're getting there like we can share that with a couple rather than we can send it to them and say is this what you want?
• 23:38
  So people are guessing that you can collaborate.
• 23:41
  And I think using documents for them feels more contained.
• 23:44
  Whereas, you know, we hear a lot of people saying, you know, we have in Hostology you can let the couple drive fully so they can change their menus, they can add stuff, they can choose add ons, they can
• 23:55
  move their ceremony time 15 minutes, you can lock everything at any time and you can also give them a view only version so they can't change anything.
• 24:02
  And the number of times I hear people saying, oh yeah, we'd prefer that, we prefer that.
• 24:06
  We don't want them changing things because.
• 24:09
  But if you think about what that means, that means that they want to change it anyway.
• 24:13
  But they're going to have to either call you, email you, WhatsApp you, message you through Hostology and the messaging thing and say I've had a look, I'd really like to move my ceremony time to 3:30.
• 24:24
  And then you're going to have to go in and change it and then say I've done that and that's fine.
• 24:28
  But the way software can work is these days is so much more sophisticated.
• 24:33
  I mean we've just built a whole new notification system.
• 24:35
  So they'll get, you know, they'll get a notification saying your couple's changed from 3 to 3:30.
• 24:40
  They'll get an email to say you've got a new notification and then there's a secondary option when you do all the payments and budgeting.
• 24:47
  Do you want them to have this stuff, yes or no?
• 24:51
  So you can say, no, I'm not supplying 50,000 cases of champagne, we don't have that much, or whatever.
• 24:55
  You can go back to them and say no, and then you just don't sink it into the budget.
• 24:59
  So technology, if it's built properly, can work alongside a human in a really organized, strategic way.
• 25:07
  And I guess the other thing is people are a bit scared of it because it's new and it's changing so fast.
• 25:11
  So AI is a whole nother conversation that we can have in a minute.
• 25:16
  But, but I do, I do think people do worry about losing control.
• 25:21
  That's probably the biggest thing.
• 25:22
  And maybe not understanding or appreciating that it's about customizing it for you.
• 25:28
  If you use things like Google, it's quite hard to customize it fully, isn't it?
• 25:31
  Because it's like, that's just how it works.
• 25:33
  And it's been so useful for all of us that we've just used it.
• 25:37
  But I think most good software, you should be able to customize it so it really fits your.
• 25:42
  Not just your branding and your existing workflows, but you can basically decide exactly when you want to send that second form, what that second form is doing, you know, and, but just let the, let the.
• 25:55
  What was the old phrase?
• 25:56
  Let the train take the strain.
• 25:57
  You know, let the software take the strain.
• 25:59
  So you are the human in charge and you're putting your personality all over it and it's following your workflows, but it's just reminding you or it's doing things for you.
• 26:10
  And I think the other thing, definitely the lack of control, I see that all the time.
• 26:13
  I think the other thing that scares people and I see this in different areas.
• 26:16
  So either bringing on a new system or building a new website is the fear of the amount of time it's going to take up front and forgetting then the time they're going to get back down the line.
• 26:28
  I think it just feels like this big hill that they've got to try and get over in the first place to then save the time down the line.
• 26:35
  And that's where I think a lot of, of people get stuck.
• 26:37
  They stand in front of that hill and they, they just can't bring themselves to get over it.
• 26:40
  Even though we all know the other side of that hill is going to look so much better for their business.
• 26:45
  I know, but that's like me getting out of bed earlier.
• 26:47
  Do you know what I mean?
• 26:47
  It's like, it's like you've got it, you've got to do.
• 26:49
  It's those things you think, I know it's a good thing to do, but I just keep missing my deadline every day.
• 26:55
  And they're the same, they're like every day I'm so busy, I didn't have time to go and change.
• 26:59
  I didn't have time to think about how to change what I do for the better, to get over that hill.
• 27:03
  And I agree.
• 27:04
  I think the onboarding is a big thing and we've been working really hard from the get go.
• 27:09
  But this year particularly, we've added so many cool things like little templates.
• 27:14
  So when you get going, it's all there for you.
• 27:17
  And I don't know about you, but I find it so much quicker to edit somebody else's work than write my own.
• 27:23
  So we, you know, when you come on board with Hostology, you've got all your workflows, your itineraries, task lists, they're all in there for you to edit.
• 27:30
  So you can just delete the lot if you don't want them and do your own, or you can just use them to get started quickly.
• 27:35
  And then the other thing is, AI has made a huge difference.
• 27:38
  So you can say this is how I normally, this is the sheet I normally send and it can turn it into a workflow and a task list and a process, or it can take a PDF menu and just
• 27:51
  turn it into a list in hostility that the couple can then choose, you know, or, or the logic of like, I understand that this is your 2027 menu and it's only available to the couples on these dates.
• 28:01
  So it is scary when you hand over control because you're sort of saying everything that's in my head plus everything I've prepared, document wise, I'm putting into one place.
• 28:12
  So I'm merging documents and items, billable items with business intelligence and workflows that are currently in my head.
• 28:20
  And you've got to put all of that into a software and that's.
• 28:24
  It is hard to get your head around that.
• 28:26
  But we offer like, you know, guidance for that reason.
• 28:28
  So you don't.
• 28:29
  You have a human to help you talk through that.
• 28:32
  What's in your head that you would like this to do in the same way?
• 28:36
  And then what documents have you got that we can feed into the system so it can understand where to put those menus and what business logic to put around that menu?
• 28:45
  So that's the price if I'm booking next year for the year after kind of thing.
• 28:49
  So it is.
• 28:50
  And, and once you've done it as well, you, it empowers your business because you've got all that data and reporting and we run simple reports.
• 28:59
  But you can download all that data.
• 29:01
  You can now, as of, I think next month you'll be able to plug a gentic AI into it to say, I think you talked on your podcast about having a little agent to help you do some tasks.
• 29:12
  There'll be an MCP agent for Hostology that you can say, tell me what our first popular menu is, what's our occupancy, how much money did I make last month?
• 29:22
  So you can go into Hostology and run that report, or you can just use these agents to help you, which.
• 29:26
  Is so important because the data is the big thing I've been pushing this year on stage is how many people are making decisions in their business based on feelings instead of based on data.
• 29:36
  And so having that data available, but then also giving ways for people to find it easier is absolutely key.
• 29:43
  So crucial because I think some people have the data and just do nothing with it and some people don't have any data in the first place.
• 29:48
  So kind of moving people along, along that, that route.
• 29:51
  So important.
• 29:52
  I love to talk about mistakes on this podcast as well because I like to try and stop other people making the same mistakes that other people have made previously.
• 30:00
  So from your perspective, I'd love to know if you've seen any examples in the industry or even wider further afield where people are either using technology wrong or over complicating technology or having too many pieces of technology in
• 30:13
  their business.
• 30:14
  Yeah, gosh, that's a big one.
• 30:18
  Yeah.
• 30:18
  I mean, I think the, I think one of the key things is you see people who are really, they're sort of trying and that they're using Xero for accounting, they're using something else for payments, and they don't necessarily
• 30:34
  understand where the overlaps are because it's quite hard to see.
• 30:39
  And I think we're all a victim of that, aren't we?
• 30:40
  We've got different bits.
• 30:41
  And that partly is another thing that holds you back.
• 30:43
  It's like, oh, gosh, so should I stop using pipedrive or HubSpot or do I, do I have this or what do I do here?
• 30:49
  And I, um.
• 30:50
  It's easy to, I think, make mistakes where you just say, I'm not going to change.
• 30:56
  That's a big mistake.
• 30:57
  Um, because I, I just think it, it's, it will hurt you in the end and you won't get those hours back where you could be doing anything other than just sending emails and chasing people, whatever.
• 31:09
  Um, but I do.
• 31:11
  I think that's the thing where you can get into a bit of a snarl, where you say, I'd like to move forward, but I can't see how this plugs into this because you haven't set it up right or
• 31:21
  you haven't asked or whatever.
• 31:23
  And I think from my.
• 31:24
  In my own job, I think mistakes tend to be where I'm probably, you know, stay with this.
• 31:30
  I'm too loyal, perhaps to people who I think can do a good job and then just aren't.
• 31:35
  I mean, that's usually not.
• 31:37
  Not anyone, not anyone who works with me at the moment.
• 31:40
  But in the past, we've had companies that we've worked with where they were just not delivering or just not able to do something.
• 31:46
  And you can just wait too long.
• 31:47
  And you see that as well a lot.
• 31:49
  In most businesses, it doesn't matter if it's a wedding venue or a supplier.
• 31:53
  It's just hoping that something's going to be okay and not.
• 31:57
  Not actually challenging that and saying a bit like you're saying, why are we doing that?
• 32:02
  Why are we sending that second form, challenging your process and challenging someone else's.
• 32:07
  Because everyone, everyone justifies all the time.
• 32:09
  Like, you know, you say, well, why is that late?
• 32:12
  Or why are we not getting that?
• 32:13
  Or how.
• 32:13
  Why are we.
• 32:14
  Why does this work?
• 32:16
  And it's like people go, oh, because, because, because, because.
• 32:18
  And actually, the truth is, you kind of probably not need to throw the baby out with the bath water, but you do need it to make a change.
• 32:25
  Yeah, I think that's so, so true.
• 32:27
  And actually, I don't think often either as individuals, we don't get outside people to challenge us enough or we don't feel confident enough within our teams to challenge people.
• 32:35
  And I see this a lot, actually, where, you know, people lower down the food chain in a venue will challenge the people above them because they're there, they can see the issues.
• 32:43
  But if that person above them is not willing to listen or help them make the change, it can be incredibly frustrating.
• 32:50
  And so I think we all need to listen to either outside voices or people above or below us in the chain, because often a different perspective can give us a different way of thinking about things.
• 32:59
  Yeah.
• 33:00
  And, yeah, and then another year goes by and you've still got that crappy software that's not working for you, which we do see quite often, unfortunately, people saying, no, no, we're going to make, keep that, we'll keep that
• 33:10
  working, or change that and the other thing I think about most things, it doesn'.
• 33:15
  Matter.
• 33:15
  You've got to work out what you're really good at.
• 33:17
  You've got to work out which bit you should be doing and not trying to do all of it and plugging in, as you say, experts to do the other bits.
• 33:25
  Whether that is software, you know, we see a lot of people thinking, I, I think with AI now as well thinking, oh, I can build my own tool.
• 33:32
  You're like, good luck with that because there's a lot of tributaries and rabbit holes and you know, collaborative software is very, very hard basically.
• 33:41
  Yeah, definitely.
• 33:42
  Now there's going to be some people listening to this who are already rolling their eyes and going, bec, I'm not a technology person.
• 33:48
  This is too much technology talk for me.
• 33:50
  Let's talk about Avita again.
• 33:52
  But, but though, Emma, I think it's important and I want to understand from your perspective because they'll say technology is too much.
• 33:59
  All I care about is giving my couples a nice day.
• 34:02
  Right.
• 34:02
  Which is a lovely perspective to have.
• 34:03
  So I want to know from you, how do you think better tech or better organization actually then helps improve a customer's experience so they actually are delivering a better experience for their customers even though they're using technology?
• 34:16
  That is a really good question.
• 34:17
  And I think what we, I mean what we always say histology is that it's when, when you give the couple tools that they can do things.
• 34:28
  Find your suggested suppliers, read their bios, look, click through to their websites when they get an idea.
• 34:34
  Most of them are, you know, there are some mean terms that people apply to brides like bridezillas or whatever, but may or may not be valid, but they are, they do want control the process that, you know, it's
• 34:46
  not just that they're spending a lot of money.
• 34:48
  It's so important to them.
• 34:49
  It's like it's the most important thing.
• 34:51
  So I think using technology to let them share a bit in the day with you is really useful.
• 34:57
  Using technology to let them have oversight so they have omniscience over like who's available, who's worked well, can I see a supplier that's worked, you know, who did that?
• 35:06
  You know, on your website you've got a couple of blog pieces about couples.
• 35:09
  Who was that supplier?
• 35:10
  Can I book them?
• 35:11
  And, and what we tried to do is offload some of that endless questioning as I mentioned earlier.
• 35:17
  But it also gives the couple a huge uplift in their experience because they can see and understand a lot more, a lot more quickly so they don't have to feel panicky about it.
• 35:30
  So you can set the scene for them, you can give them milestone points in their journey, you can give them access, as I said, to see your favorite suppliers and more importantly, you can create really pretty.
• 35:42
  We've just upgraded the whole guest management area so it's more like things like with joy or gather.
• 35:48
  So the couples are lucky enough to use it.
• 35:51
  It's great, actually.
• 35:52
  They can share with their guests a little link or a QR code and the guests can see pictures, FAQs, Q&As, whatever I want to call them, you know, what are you doing on the day, little schedule of the
• 36:02
  day.
• 36:02
  And more importantly, they can RSVP and say, I'm a vegan or I've got a nut allergy.
• 36:07
  And they can book accommodation at the venue or they can see where the coup want everyone to stay, all of that stuff.
• 36:13
  So it, it can be used to take the pressure off the boring questions the guest asking the host more and more.
• 36:21
  And then the day before, sorry, where's the venue?
• 36:24
  Because there's a nice page with a map and a picture and how to get there and some description from the venue written by the venue of like, when you get to this pub, turn left and you'll see this
• 36:34
  or whatever.
• 36:34
  So I think it's about share.
• 36:36
  Using technology to share information really effectively can take huge amounts of pressure off and improve the whole experience for the couple.
• 36:45
  And you know that your customers that are planning with you, it can make life easier for the guests.
• 36:50
  Obviously the suppliers can plug in and ask questions, what time can I come?
• 36:54
  Where can I park?
• 36:56
  They can share their insurance documents, you don't need to pester them for it.
• 37:00
  They can share their drone license or pack license.
• 37:02
  So it just takes off a lot of the boring stuff.
• 37:04
  Stuff so that people have an elevated experience and most importantly for our venues is they should have more time to talk to the couple, whether that's on the phone or zoom, whatever.
• 37:13
  Yeah.
• 37:14
  And I think that's the piece that a lot of people are missing because they're so scared that technology will take the personality away from that transaction.
• 37:22
  But actually, you know what you're preaching and what I'm always saying is that, no, it's the opposite.
• 37:25
  Use the technology to do the back of house so you've got time to do the tour and the more time to talk with your couples and give them a better customer experience and be more present because you're not
• 37:36
  thinking about the 27,000 emails you need to send when you get back to your desk.
• 37:39
  Yeah.
• 37:39
  How many times have you phoned a venue and you get an answer machine going, it's wedding season and we're really busy so we'll get back to you as soon as we can and hopefully within the next two days.
• 37:49
  And you kind of think two days they're going to get somewhere else.
• 37:54
  Yeah, exactly.
• 37:55
  And especially for Gen Z and even, to be honest, even me as a millennial, we've been trained now commercially to have everything and have it now.
• 38:01
  Now and two days.
• 38:02
  It just feels rude.
• 38:03
  I'm like, sorry, I'm used to getting, I'm used to getting everything now unless there's a very legitimate reason.
• 38:09
  And you being busy when we're all busy doesn't count.
• 38:12
  I agree.
• 38:13
  And I think so.
• 38:13
  Making it easier to top and tail a template email to create a workflow that automatically gives them something.
• 38:20
  And then, you know, it's a bit like when you go into a bar and there's someone blanking you and you, all you want is them to go, I'll get you in a minute.
• 38:27
  It, you know, because then you know that they know you're there and it's that thing of like, you know that someone's there and it doesn't have to be AI, it can be a nice quick top and tail or
• 38:36
  it can just be a nice handwritten workflow template, whatever.
• 38:40
  But they know that you, you see them and if you do enough, if you let the technology take the strain enough, you should have more hours to answer that phone or to quickly call someone back or to jump
• 38:50
  on that WhatsApp.
• 38:52
  You know, I've got one of my lovely venues.
• 38:54
  She's great, she's like, I always call them, but they don't really want to talk to.
• 39:01
  She gets an inquiry, she'll call them on WhatsApp and then send them photos and stuff.
• 39:04
  But they're really appreciative, they want the information, the photos.
• 39:08
  They don't actually want to talk on the phone but you know, they do want someone to feel they're getting a one to one experience.
• 39:14
  Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 39:15
  Okay.
• 39:16
  So the other thing I think that's a problem for people when it comes to technology is the amount of choice and overwhelm and I think sometimes someone gets to the point where of thinking right, we need a system
• 39:27
  and then just the thought of needing a system and going on to Google blows their mind because there is all sorts of different systems and they all do different things and they're all at different price points and it's
• 39:37
  overwhelming.
• 39:37
  So give us a really clear, concise version of what makes Hostology unique and who it's for so that we can, we can know if we're listening and we're in that situation.
• 39:48
  Are you the right one for us or not?
• 39:50
  Oh, thank you for asking that.
• 39:51
  Well, no, I think, I think yes, you need to find the right software that fits and not every and everybody will have one they prefer.
• 39:58
  You know, some people are Microsoft, some people are Google and we don't get offended by that at all.
• 40:03
  That's absolutely fine.
• 40:04
  So I think for Hostology, weirdly people, some people say to me, oh, we're only a small venue, so we don't do many weddings.
• 40:09
  So I think it's for big venues, isn't it?
• 40:11
  And absolutely not.
• 40:12
  It's very much a super customisable platform solution for you to customize.
• 40:20
  So our lowest package just I think 10 events.
• 40:23
  So up to 10 events, it's 45 pounds a month.
• 40:26
  And you can basically use all of our inquiry flows.
• 40:28
  So in a way we, we do suit everybody because it's about triaging inquiries, so setting up immediate responses, using AI to tell you which are the key ones and which are best important emails, sending out automatic, as I
• 40:44
  say, responses with documents or links to documents that they want, like menus or pricing, and then sending quotes, sending contracts.
• 40:52
  It does all of that all the way through to booking.
• 40:55
  And you can use a template to book.
• 40:57
  So it takes approximately 60 seconds.
• 40:59
  And that template then creates the contract to send them and sets up the rooms, the budget that you've quoted for everything as you've talked to them about.
• 41:09
  So that's kind of our big sort of USP is that it's very easy to, once you've set it up, which will help you do, it's very easy to get through your work really quickly.
• 41:18
  And then on the planning side, it's amazing.
• 41:20
  So I think our different, where we're different, some other platforms is that we do that whole collaborative bit I've been banging on about.
• 41:28
  So we do the bit where the couple can have oversight, you can share so they can see what extras are available, what they're doing on the day.
• 41:35
  They can create a table plan and then they can invite their guests really easily.
• 41:40
  Now they don't need an email, just a first name surname and then they can send them a share link for them to just rsvp.
• 41:46
  So all that data from a venue's point of view is coming back.
• 41:49
  Now some venues go, oh, I don't do catering need dietary data?
• 41:52
  Fine, that's fine.
• 41:53
  But your couple do, because they're going to have food there and they need to tell someone, whoever's maybe they're not catering, but they've got a caterer, so they need that.
• 42:01
  If you have got accommodation, we help you handle all of that.
• 42:04
  So you can basically assign the accommodation to the couple.
• 42:08
  They can take all the rooms or just the farmhouse or some of the glamping tents, whatever it is.
• 42:12
  They can then assign rooms themselves to their mum, dad, the maid of honor, the, you know, best man, whatever they want.
• 42:21
  So they can decide who they want to sleep where and then they can give the other rooms up to any guest and the guests can just book and pay for them.
• 42:28
  They can also ask the guest to pay them back, which is really elegant and nice.
• 42:31
  Rather than having to email them, they can just say, here's a room for you, click and pay for it.
• 42:36
  And they pay the venue.
• 42:37
  So that's nice.
• 42:38
  So I think we've kind of tried to pull together something that follows all of those flows, whether you're a barn venue with no catering but some accommodation or doing the whole lot.
• 42:49
  And you need chef sheets with dieteries and full listings, table plans, even meal choices.
• 42:56
  We do now, I think, so the guests can choose a meal.
• 42:58
  You can see all of that data.
• 43:00
  So it is very much a massively flexible and customizable system that will suit.
• 43:07
  It's more about.
• 43:07
  If you're doing an exclusive use event, it will work for you.
• 43:11
  If you're doing accommodation alongside that, it really works.
• 43:14
  Will work for you more than some other people.
• 43:16
  And I think that's probably it.
• 43:17
  Yeah, it was a good answer.
• 43:20
  But there is a venue specific as well.
• 43:22
  Not necessarily.
• 43:23
  It's not really suitable for your cake maker or your florist.
• 43:26
  It's.
• 43:26
  It's venues only.
• 43:27
  Or are you expanding?
• 43:29
  Yeah, no, well, we just actually, we've been working over the last year on the supplier side.
• 43:33
  So suppliers have been able to have their own portal where they can see the events they've been added to and they can share their profile, so they can share their business contact details and key documents.
• 43:43
  So insurance price lists, all sorts.
• 43:46
  And then event level, they've always been able to share specifically with the customer that's booked them, so they can share with the couple the playlist, if it's a DJ or specific quote for a cake, all that stuff.
• 43:58
  So they've always been able to do that through Hostology.
• 44:00
  But we appreciate that they may have another system and it's Just a funny system that's just for the Hostology venues.
• 44:06
  So what we're doing is opening it up, up now so that they can message through Hostology directly and also add any event to the calendar, so they can use it as their kind of source of truth, of like
• 44:18
  a record of all their events.
• 44:19
  And then they will be able to use our payment tools, they'll be able to send invoices and do all the chasing emails, connect with Xero, do whatever they want.
• 44:30
  So that's coming as well.
• 44:31
  And then on the couple side, they'll be able to have a separate budget.
• 44:33
  So here's my venue budget budget.
• 44:35
  Here's my budget with suppliers.
• 44:37
  So that's changing.
• 44:38
  And then the other thing is caterers.
• 44:40
  We get a lot of caterers who want to work with us because they love our guest management tools, but they're not venues, so it kind of feels a bit clunky.
• 44:47
  So I think one of the things we're going to open up for catering suppliers is to say that they can share menus with couples, so couples can then share dietaries back.
• 44:55
  So that will be handy.
• 44:57
  So, yeah, so there's a few bits changing, so it won't just be for venues, venues.
• 45:02
  And as I said, accommodation is a big one for venues.
• 45:06
  All our venues have some accommodation, pretty much, whether it's just a farmhouse or a load, some sleep 70.
• 45:13
  What they want to do and they don't have a wedding or a party or a corporate event, is they want to sell that accommodation just to the public.
• 45:21
  And so that's something we've built.
• 45:22
  So that's coming.
• 45:23
  I think we're going to release it early next year, January, but that would allow them to just.
• 45:28
  Rather than using two.
• 45:29
  We talked earlier about having different software bits that all have to fit together and it's super complex.
• 45:35
  So what they'll be able to do is just put everything through hostility.
• 45:38
  So they can do all of the accommodation for the couples and the party hosts and then they can just sell a front end or through a channel manager to booking.com or Airbnb.
• 45:48
  It's exciting.
• 45:48
  Emma.
• 45:49
  There's lots of things on the horizon, so everyone watch this space because Hostology have got all sorts of things, things in the planning.
• 45:57
  So on that, then, with the future, I think there's a lot of conversation at the moment about the impact of AI, the impact of that on software, whether people are, and I'm seeing it, people pitching to me constantly,
• 46:09
  random pieces of software that they've clearly built on Claude and have done in about five minutes.
• 46:14
  So, you know, where do you see technology going in our industry and what should people be looking out for too?
• 46:21
  Oh, so I love this question.
• 46:22
  I think it's really.
• 46:23
  I've thought hard about this, I thought, you know, because I.
• 46:25
  We use our CTO user use this floor obviously a lot to build out a lot of code now.
• 46:31
  I mean, you'd be silly not to.
• 46:32
  It's really good at, it's really good at writing code and we've built loads of other bits around it to ring, fence and bug, you know, do end to end testing, smoke testing.
• 46:43
  We've built a whole platform which just explains what we want to Claude as well.
• 46:47
  So it's really clever.
• 46:48
  So that helps us to move faster.
• 46:50
  We reckon we'd had a meeting this morning, we're doing, we're going about six times as fast as we were two years ago in terms of releasing stuff.
• 46:57
  So, yes, the world is everybody's oyster.
• 46:59
  We could all be building our own software, but actually don't because it's really, it's really hard.
• 47:05
  I think you should focus on what you do best.
• 47:08
  And it's hot.
• 47:09
  You do need a team to keep it going, to constantly update it, you know, keep aware of, keep abreast of it.
• 47:15
  And we have people testing, we have people building, you know, we have people obviously doing customer success and support and they're very different roles.
• 47:22
  And I think, think like we talked about earlier, the big hill, you need help to get on board with changing stuff and it's nice not to have to do it all yourself.
• 47:30
  Some people will, right, there's 10% of us that will just go off and build our own, fine, go and do it.
• 47:35
  But for the rest of us, I think where it's going is that you will probably still want a system of record.
• 47:41
  And that's true for what they call software as a service, which is for businesses.
• 47:45
  But what Hostology is, and I guess some other platforms are, is where more than that, where we're called to B2, B2C.
• 47:53
  So we basically help businesses talk to their customers and their customers talk to their, to their guests and their customers.
• 47:59
  So we've got lots of people, we've got lots of data in this, in this world pulled back to one place, whether it's to the supplier or to the venue.
• 48:09
  So that's a complex thing to do and that's, I think, what we do, that's our usp.
• 48:13
  That's what we do really well.
• 48:15
  So if you're wanting to use Claude, if you're wanting to use ChatGPT and you've got a little agent to say, find me this information, tell me what I've got to do today.
• 48:23
  Brilliant.
• 48:24
  What it should be able to do is interrogate Hostology.
• 48:26
  And so we've built something called an MCP server, which is the old API that most of you will have heard of, where you connect to your mailchimp or your HubSpot and you send the data to another system.
• 48:39
  What the MCP does is help you connect those agents into Hostology and or other platforms and just say, give me some stuff, give me.
• 48:48
  Analyze that data or tell me what Hostology is saying across the board.
• 48:53
  So in Hostology you can see, this is my checklist for today.
• 48:56
  I've got all these tasks across all my inquiries, all my events, this is my calendar, these are my emails, these are my notifications.
• 49:03
  You've got all those things, but if you want to do it through the agent, you can let the agent see those things and let them update you.
• 49:10
  But my advice would be to keep.
• 49:12
  To get good at using AI in a sensible way.
• 49:16
  Don't let it write your, don't let it be you, but let it work for you.
• 49:21
  Let it do the hard yards, but let it plug into things the way you keep your stuff in a secure place.
• 49:27
  And I think we want to be, want of a better word, the place where you keep your stuff.
• 49:31
  Yeah.
• 49:31
  And if you're scared of losing control of your spreadsheets, then I think you should be scared of losing your control, of just giving everything over to AI for sure.
• 49:39
  And think, yeah, and I think that's a really good explanation of thinking about, well, where is, where's the hub?
• 49:44
  And then how do we use AI to get information from that hub and do things within the hub?
• 49:48
  But actually we still need the hub in the first place for sure.
• 49:52
  Before I let you go and I'm conscious of time, we must talk about WED Pros Live, because it's coming up again in a few months and I am very much back.
• 50:01
  It's very much back on my radar.
• 50:03
  And you were there last year.
• 50:04
  You were in the room for the inaugural, the very first WED Pros Live.
• 50:07
  And so I'd love to know from you, your perspective, what you thought of the event.
• 50:11
  Was there any key takeaways you took from the event, either yourself, from the stage or from people you met?
• 50:16
  And who do you think should be in the room next year?
• 50:18
  Gosh, I mean, I just thought it was the most energizing event.
• 50:22
  It was fantastic.
• 50:23
  And I'VE been to a lot of events, and I think you curated it brilliantly.
• 50:27
  So it felt.
• 50:28
  I mean, above all, it felt fun, I think.
• 50:31
  But, you know, business isn't just fun.
• 50:33
  It shouldn't be all fun.
• 50:35
  It can't all be fun.
• 50:36
  And I think there were some amazing speakers and some really good learning and then just a really nice buzz and networking.
• 50:44
  And people had lots of.
• 50:45
  Not just time to chat, but just like they wanted to chat because they're encouraged to, because the atmosphere was so bubbly and so kind of sharing, which I thought was really good.
• 50:55
  So I would.
• 50:56
  I would definitely say if you're going to take a day to do a learning thing as a venue or as a supplier, it's a brilliant, brilliant day forum.
• 51:04
  You know, you'll meet really interesting people.
• 51:06
  And I think you cure.
• 51:07
  You curated it brilliantly so that people could meet each other and listen and learn.
• 51:12
  Yeah.
• 51:12
  And I would love to see more venues.
• 51:13
  I'd love to see more venues in the room next year as well.
• 51:16
  We had such a diverse group of people in that room, and I'm really proud of that from all over the industry, and we did have some great venues, but I think there's definitely more venues that either need to
• 51:25
  be in the room themselves or send their teams, because the teams that came had a blast.
• 51:29
  Like, they had so much fun because it was fun, but importantly, they learned stuff and they made connections.
• 51:35
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 51:36
  And.
• 51:36
  And your dresses were amazing.
• 51:38
  Well, I don't know how I'm gonna top that for 2027.
• 51:40
  That's already very much on my mind.
• 51:42
  What am I gonna wear on stage this year?
• 51:44
  And how can I be more sparkly than last year?
• 51:46
  But you're right, because that business and fun element, for me, it has to come together.
• 51:50
  I did want to make it fun and I had a lot of fun.
• 51:52
  And it was sparkly and pink and the Spice Girls played.
• 51:55
  But ultimately, the education for me was at the heart of everything.
• 51:58
  And no one stood on that stage unless they had something important to tell you.
• 52:02
  And that is going to be the same for next year.
• 52:04
  So I'm glad that you were a part of the first ever one.
• 52:07
  And, yeah, it was.
• 52:08
  It was so good to have you there.
• 52:10
  Emma.
• 52:11
  It's been a pleasure.
• 52:12
  It's been so fun to talk to you, to hear more about Hostology.
• 52:15
  I always end my podcast with the same question, so I'm going to pose that to you now.
• 52:18
  And it's.
• 52:19
  What's one thing you personally wish you'd known sooner in your own Business.
• 52:23
  Oh, gosh, that's such a good question.
• 52:25
  I did, I heard one of a.
• 52:27
  Couple of your other.
• 52:28
  I've listened to a few of your podcasts and I've heard a few other people saying that.
• 52:31
  And I think for me, maybe it's, it's probably the old Star wars adage of, you know, trust your instincts, Luke, but I think, I think you just, you really need to trust your instincts.
• 52:42
  And I think often I've probably stayed too long working with the people that I felt were kind of good, but I didn't necessarily agree with the direction, but I thought, well, maybe they're right.
• 52:51
  And I think sometimes you just need to say no.
• 52:54
  I, I think, I think I need to believe in myself and this is what I want to do and take that leap or take that jump or just, just stay the course.
• 53:03
  And the what goes hand in hand with that is staying the course.
• 53:07
  Yeah.
• 53:07
  So believe in yourself, believe in your original idea, stick to it, because it will happen.
• 53:12
  And you double down and you look up and it's, it is happening.
• 53:15
  It's great.
• 53:16
  A bit like you and web pros live.
• 53:17
  You've got to believe in it and you've got to deliver it and it's great.
• 53:20
  Absolutely.
• 53:21
  Oh, it's been so much fun.
• 53:22
  Now, if people want to find out more about you, if they want to find out more about Hostology, if they want to see more about the platform, where are the best places for them to find you or connect
• 53:30
  with you?
• 53:31
  Well, just go to hostology.co.uk and I'm always very happy to chat to people.
• 53:37
  You can reach me on helloostology.co.uk that's our website.
• 53:42
  We're also on other things like LinkedIn social media, but to be honest, good old fashioned email works really well.
• 53:49
  But if you're a social media person, she hangs out a lot on LinkedIn.
• 53:51
  So go find Emma over on LinkedIn as well because I know not everyone listening will want to pick up an email, but they will find you on social media.
• 53:59
  So, yeah, LinkedIn or Instagram website are the best places to find you.
• 54:04
  I'll make sure I put all of the links in the show notes.
• 54:07
  And if people want to see the software, presumably they can just book a demo directly from your website.
• 54:11
  Yeah, there's a big button saying book a demo and then they can pick a time so they can do as little as 15 minutes and we can have a lovely chat.
• 54:17
  I mean that works really well.
• 54:19
  Little chat about what you do, why you, how you're doing it and whether you do need software, whether we can help you and we'll be very honest about it or you can do a bigger walkthrough or trial, you
• 54:30
  can do all sorts of things.
• 54:31
  So yeah, we're very happy to chat to you.
• 54:33
  I love a big button.
• 54:34
  More people need big buttons on their website, make it super easy for everyone.
• 54:37
  Emma, thank you so much and I hope we can catch up again soon.
• 54:40
  Thanks, Becca.
• 54:41
  It's been brilliant.
• 54:42
  Love that conversation with Emma.
• 54:43
  I know for some of you it was technology heavy but it's so important that we understand the technology that's out there, we understand the direction of travel and you really think about where you're holding, holding back because you're
• 54:53
  scared or where actually you could save more time by using a great system.
• 54:56
  If you're interested in finding out more about Emma or Hostology, reach out to them and I'll see you all very soon.