IoT 15 Forum: Four things we learnt from ‘Ones to Watch’

January 19, 2015 by

A regular feature of the IoT forum has been the Ones to Watch showcase. This is a competition focused on bringing up start businesses with interesting contributions to the IoT field to our conference for free.

We can also give them the juicy carrot of being pitching to industry leaders for STRICTLY five minutes. The Forum is back for 2015 and so is the competition, which can be entered here.

We thought this would be a good time to return to the winners of last years competition, to see what stood out fromthem, and what we hope to see more of this year.

  1. Passion for business: The first observation is the clear passion of the entrepreneurs who attend and have the opportunity to pitch at the conferences. None more so was this obvious with Ciseco’s talk, where their Founder, Miles Hodkinson, introduced himself as a ‘developer, not a speaker’, and proceeded to deliver an endearing and passionate speak about the company he created.
  2. Innovation: The companies which win the ‘Ones to Watch’ are by definition companies with something exciting to say. With so much noise about the IoT around the web, then to be able to focus in on some delightfully entrepreneurial and innovative companies provided inspiration for all.
  3. Proven businesses: Just because the winners who speak from the ‘Ones to watch’ competition are not yet household names, that does not mean they are not successful. These businesses already are running, functional outfits too, with some fantastic contributions to the IoT field, in spite (or even because) of their size.
  4. Opportunity to pitch: We do not enforce a strict regime of what winners have to say, and we’re well aware that with a room full of industry leaders that a spot at the IoT is a coveted opportunity. Ultimately this means that the 5 minute spot at IoT15 is a chance to talk about your business to other people who may be able to help take you to the next level.

So there you have it. Four things that stood out from IoT 14. To watch all of the talks from IoT 14, including our key note speakers, follow this link to our vimeo page. If you would like to enter, or know another business in the IoT space in need of exposure, enter the competition here.