With the opening of the Event Lab in 2019 and a number of concrete collaborations with innovative start-ups, the Palais des congrès de Montréal is demonstrating that open innovation is not just a goal, it’s a reality that’s already having a big impact.
Open innovation is the term used to describe collaboration between companies in a given sector or region to accelerate the research and development of innovations together, rather than on their own. Since its creation, MT Lab facilitates open innovation with its major partners, such as the Palais des Congrès, in the tourism and entertainment sector.
Emmanuelle Legault, CEO of the Palais des congrès, points out: “The Palais is one of those innovative organizations that wants to work with start-ups. From this vision stems our desire to get closer to partners like MT Lab and its network.”
In recent years, the Palais des Congrès has literally become a sandbox for start-ups. This was the case for Re-Ak, an MT Lab alumni startup, which was able to test its system for evaluating participants’ experience using biometric tools in an event environment.
Our solution worked with seated people, but it wasn’t adapted to events,” admits Frederic Simard CEO, Re-Ak. We first validated the idea, then worked with the Palais des Congrès to adapt our solution to people on the move.” By understanding needs in the field and testing its solution in the reality of major events, Re-Ak was able to refine its offering and validate it both technologically and strategically.
The hardest part,” confesses Frederic, “isgetting in touch with people. When you have the chance to speak directly with a customer, that’s when you understand their needs better. We adjust, answer questions, develop a prototype and offer a better solution.”
The collaboration with the Palais des congrès enabled Re-Ak to quickly develop an effective solution. ” The support and impact have been major,” says Frederic Simard. Now, he can offer his solution with the credibility and visibility of the Palais. We’re playing our role as catalyst to the full,” enthuses Emmanuelle Legault. And we’re taking advantage of our new expertise to distinguish ourselves for our customers.
For small businesses like ours,” explains Gabriel Tétrault, CEO of Brite4, a start-up incubated at the MT Lab in 2020-21, “it’s essential to find partners who give us the opportunity to shine. The Palais des congrès has a huge network. When we say we’re working with it, it opens doors for us.”
Brite4 responded to a call for tenders to develop and modernize the self-service ticketing kiosk system. We were primarily in the food business,” explains Gabriel Tétrault. We implement hardware solutions that enable interfacing with users and operators.” The start-up worked with TicketPro. “We came up with proposals they hadn’t thought of,” adds Brite4’s CEO. For example, he proposed an innovative solution that enables remote monitoring. The pandemic slowed our momentum,” he admits. We had to test our terminals designed and manufactured in Montreal for the 2021 Auto Show. But that hasn’t stopped us from making new contacts.”
Both entrepreneurs agree that collaboration enables them to meet specific needs, and that partnering with a large company has opened up new horizons for them.
Set up in September 2019 by the Palais des Congrès, the Event Lab also offers a catalog of innovative offers and companies with the mission of rethinking events and offering the possibility of tailoring them to a particular audience and the organizer’s objectives.
Our business model has evolved,” continues Emmanuelle Legault. Our openness to innovation is part of a strategic plan that enables us to stand out on the international market.” The experts at Lab événementiel deploy a series of innovative options such as health breaks, networking, novel cocktail formulas and artificial intelligence experiments that add value to events.
“With such a wide range of possibilities,” concludes Emmanuelle Legault, “the Palais des congrès becomes a vehicle for Montreal creativity, where open innovation brings new perspectives.”
Originally published on Tourisme Express on January 31, 2022
