skignz in the USA...

SKIGNZ IN NYC

skignz visited the USA earlier in the month. Co-Founder Si Brown, Jamie Clarke and David Murphy caught the flight out of Manchester into NYC.  

Upon our arrival we were greeted with the now customary US Security checks, which seemed to take an age!

Travel was smooth, and the flight was made quickly by the team meeting which took place on the flight, ensuring that they were prepared and ready for what the US held in store for skignz.

Upon arrival into the Big Apple, it was straight into meetings..  No time for sightseeing just yet.

The guys met with our partners at the British Consulate to discuss raising the profile of skignz in the states.  The meeting went extremely well, with lots of positives and further actions coming out of it.

Then it was back to the Hotel for some well earned rest. The dreaded Jet Lag had decided to raise its head and the guys were feeling it!

Si Brown said "The thing about the USA is this (and especially NYC); the way in which new things are received is with a refreshing dose of excitement and energy and focusses on the possibilities, rather than looking to find ways it can fail. 

The energy the states has for tech of this kind is so exciting, it makes you realise just why it's a world leader in this area".

The guys had another 3 days of meetings booked in across NYC, catching up with friends of skignz, making sure people knew they were around and generally enjoying the energy of the people they met. 

The weather was kinda nice, the City was awesome and the links made will benefit skignz long term. 

One close call was the terrible fire right next to team skignz's hotel, very sad to see a beautiful old cathedral burn through the night, nobody was hurt we are glad to say, just such a shame to see the old building smoldering and smoking as we left.

Overall, a successful trip to NYC… But there's more… The guys then flew from NYC into Atlanta. 

SKIGNZ IN ATLANTA

Arriving in Atlanta the guys were greeted by blazing sunshine and the friendly faces of Team, Choose:ATL, Atlanta's Chamber of Commerce.

The guys from Choose:ATL had met Si and Jamie at SxSW back in April, and had struck up a great relationship. 

There have been many occasions where our friends across the pond have been a strong advocates for skignz in the US, and in particular Atlanta.  

They had set up several meetings in Atlanta for skignz to build further relationships.  With a packed agenda, we even scheduled in some time for the Guys to help out at a junior football (Soccer) club by delivering a coaching session.  

The highlight of the trip to Atlanta was the 'Hard Hat Tour' of the new $1.5B stadium.  

The skignz team met with the General manager, who became increasingly impressed by the possibilities of using the skignz technology as an enhancement to their 'Fan Experience' on match/game days. 

The stadium will be shared by the City NFL Franchise the Atlanta Falcons, and the brand new MLS Franchise Atlanta United.

The links made here will prove extremely useful to the skignz brand and allow the stadium to embrace technology to give visiting and home fans a truly complete Match Day Experience.

The hospitality shown by everyone in Atlanta was second to none, with the guys being invited to a Southern style BBQ. 

David Murphy summed up the experience by saying “The effort and goodwill shown by everyone in the team in Atlanta was nothing short of perfect.  

They welcomed us into their Network, City and even their homes with open arms.

This City has had a lasting effect on me and I know the guys feel the same way”.

Negotiations are now taking place for a return visit to firm up some of the ideas and meetings which took place. Watch this space for further updates!!

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com

First Visit to Toronto for skignz

My 1st ever visit to Toronto started with an early flight flying out of La Guardia, New York. An hour & a half later; 2 cans of Red Bull down I landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. 

Stepping off the plane, if felt like I had just landed back on Teesside… cold, wet and windy!! However, not even the grim weather could dampen my enthusiasm as I looked forward to a busy couple of days ahead.

After a 30 minute taxi drive I was checking in to the Delta hotel on Maple Leaf Square, a stones through away from the Air Canada Centre. No time to rest though, I was picked up from the hotel by an old teammate & good friend who now lives in Toronto, was able to show me around and act as my host throughout my short stay in the city.

1st port of call was to the official Toronto FC bar where we watched Portland Timbers v Toronto with all the local and very passionate fans. It was a real family friendly environment with everyone having a good time & supporting their team in the right way.

After watching Toronto FC narrowly lose 2-1 to the Timbers, we made our way to the Air Canada Centre as I was invited as a guest to watch the deciding play off game between Toronto Raptors v Indian Pacers. 

This was my 1st experience of an NBA Basketball game and everyone kept telling me that I couldn’t have chosen a better game to attend. The atmosphere was electric as the Raptors hadn’t been past this stage in 15 years!

It was a star-studded event, with big names such as Drake and Didier Drogba in attendance. Whilst at the game, I was introduced to some very influential people who loved the concept of skignz and the almost endless possibilities that it offers. Watch this space!

To top the evening off, the Raptors won the game 89-84, leaving a party atmosphere in and around the venue, but it was back to the hotel for me as I had a busy day ahead…

Day 2 in Toronto began with my standard hotel breakfast, Eggs Benedict! With a full stomach and a much needed caffeine fix (Red Bull), I was off to my 1st meeting of the day. 

After some very positive and productive discussions, my friend picked me up and I was fortunate enough to experience the famous Soho House Members club of Toronto for lunch. It’s very much an 'up market' establishment in which members are very selectively chosen.

After an interesting lunch meeting with some promising new business contacts, it was time for my final meeting before catching my flight back to New York.

All in all, I had a great time in the city of Toronto and made some exciting new contacts that will hopefully have a major part to play in taking skignz forward in Canada.

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com

skignz in the Manchester sky

Business Rocks 2016

As you may have read in one of our previous posts, skignz were delighted to be announced as a partner for Business Rocks 2016 held in Manchester, UK.



The Global Tech, Music and Business Conference was the first of its kind in the UK.  

The event was extremely successful, members of the Tech Community came from far and wide. 

With high profile speakers such as Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak speaking as a Key Note, several events taking place throughout the day, and a vibrant Manchester showing its bright lights on an evening. 

A successful two days, with skignz being talked about across the event by attendees and exhibitors alike.  As well as exhibiting in the main area, Co-Founder Si Brown also spoke on the Developer stage, giving an overview of the skignz technology and showing how wayfinding doesn’t have to be displayed only in Map form. But can be shown in a visual form, by using the skignz technology.  

The speech was well received, with the amount of people visiting the skignz exhibition area increasing throughout the two days.

skignz had produced a digital environment for attendees to use to find their way around the city, and the venue, which was well received throughout.

For more information on Business Rocks, please visit 
http://www.business-rocks.com

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com

Business Rocks Partners with skignz

skignz are excited to announce that we have been named as a partner for the upcoming Business Rocks 2016 in Manchester, UK.

Mixing the dynamism of the organisers with the easy use of skignz technology, attendees now no longer need to get lost in Manchester in April when they attend Business Rocks 2016.

What's more, the opportunity to listen to keynote speaker Steve Wozniak is obviously something no one wants to miss out on, or be late...

As well as speaking our own Co-Founder & CMO Si Brown be on the same bill as the Apple Co-Founder, skignz will place digital content in all of the areas of Manchester which will be useful to attendees, including transport links, hotels, where to find those who are exhibiting, and of course, the main stage to see the keynote and other speeches.  

This will be a great opportunity for the skignz team to demonstrate the effectiveness of the skignz technology platform, following our very successful trips to SXSW(Austin, Texas, US) & Web Summit (Dublin, Ireland) in March '16 and November '15 respectively.

Si Brown will deliver a speech aimed at opening discussions about the possibilities of AR for everyone, and update on the progress of skignz, and of course a 'live interactive demo'.

Si said, “I’m extremely excited about speaking at the event.  

It’s always good to get up on stage and spread the skignz Gospel, but to do it in the same event, as someone of the calibre of ‘The Woz’ will be a huge highlight for me, and for skignz".

We will also be exhibiting in the main area alongside some of Britain’s Best Tech companies, so what better way to showcase what we are about and how we can impact on people's lives with skignz than by providing a live demonstration on the stage.”

Business Rocks takes place on 21st & 22nd April 2016 in Manchester UK, and is expected to be the first in a long line of global events for the BR team. As a partner moving forward, skignz will be on show at events on a global basis as the BR brand gathers momentum as one of THE events for Tech Entrepreneurs, Music and Investors to attend.

Nothing has been left to chance; the event includes a competition for start-ups and a chance to win a massive £50,000!!  As well as established companies in attendance, the event will also feature an opportunity for Start Up’s to come and showcase their products, Bands to perform and people to enjoy, after all, attending an event like this should be fun as well as informative!!

If you would like to attend, skignz can help you with a reduced price ticket special offer, limited for the first 9 people. This offer ends on Friday 15th at Midnight, so click here to secure your ticket now.

Don't miss out, it's not very often you get chance to hear the likes of Steve Wozniak speak. Hopefully he will reveal some stories about his early days at Apple and his close relationship with the late, great Steve Jobs.

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com