How do you get people at a startup event to actually meet?
Give people a way to see who is in the room and reach out before the evening ends. On Kohtaa, attendees join by link in their browser, browse who is there, and either send a "Get in touch" request or book a time, depending on the mode you chose for the event. Afterwards both people confirm they met, and only a connection both people confirm counts as one.
By Curtis Thomas, last reviewed
What does a startup evening look like on Kohtaa?
A typical evening is open networking: anywhere from a few dozen people up to the 100 that a Medium event covers, no booked slots, and a room that mixes founders, investors and people who came to meet founders. The organizer shares one link. Attendees open it on their phone, add a name and a short profile, and they are in.
Open networking or booked meetings? An event uses one mode, which you choose when you set it up. At an open evening, attendees press "We met" when they have talked to someone, or send a "Get in touch" request with a short note, and the other person sees contact details only if they accept. Booked meetings with time slots suit a structured event such as a pitching day. One event cannot use both.
What does Kohtaa do at a startup event?
Join by link, see the room
Attendees join in the browser, with nothing to install. The attendee list is live from the moment someone joins, and it can be filtered by role or by labels you define, such as Founder or Investor.
More about Join by link, see the roomA startup catalogue
Can founders list their startup? Yes. Company profiles with website, email and phone sit alongside the attendee list, so anyone looking for a particular startup finds it in one place.
More about A startup catalogueConnections that carry across events
Each confirmed connection is recorded on both people's accounts with the event and the date, and counts toward their 7 Points of Contact, which carry across events. Kohtaa does not match people automatically: attendees choose who to approach.
More about Connections that carry across events
What does it cost and how do you pay?
A Medium event costs 100 EUR for up to 100 attendees, VAT included. An event above 100 attendees is a Large event at 950 EUR per event. You create the event, place the order from its page, and the event can go live as soon as the order is submitted.
Payment is by invoice, never by card. The invoice is issued before or after the event, as you choose, and is due 14 days after the invoice date. There is no long-term contract. For a pilot where your organization collects no personal data itself, Kohtaa is the data controller.
Frequently asked questions
Do attendees need to download an app?
No. Kohtaa runs in the phone's browser. Attendees open the join link, add a name and a short profile, and they are in. There is nothing to install and no app store account is needed.
How many people can join a Medium event?
Up to 100 attendees. An event above that is a Large event, at 950 EUR per event.
Can attendees use Kohtaa in Finnish?
Yes. Attendees can use joining, the attendee list, profiles, meeting requests and the agenda in Finnish or English, and the organizer sets a default language for the event. The organizer side is in English only today.
Does Kohtaa match people automatically?
No. There is no matching algorithm and no ranking of who you should meet. Attendees browse and filter the list and choose who to approach.
What does the organizer see after the event?
Aggregate counts: at an open event, how many people connected and across how many pairs. Who met whom stays private by default, so the organizer does not see pairs. The post-event report and the attendee CSV export are part of Large and Annual.
Create your event, or talk to us first
Set up the event yourself in the browser, or send a message about what you are planning.