In conversation with talque: Exclusive insights from Daniel (CSO)
Daniel Schäfer, a pioneer in online events and CSO of talque, is driving the event industry towards digitization. We had the privilege of sitting down with Daniel and talking about his career in event industryto speak his favorite workplace — in the kitchen — and his passion for everything related to IT.
“A Day in the Life” on Talque
Daniel works from home at talque and lives in Düsseldorf. His favorite place to work is in the kitchen, right next to the coffee machine. Here he has a big room, big windows and a view with lots of sky.
At the beginning of the day, Daniel checks his emails first and looks at his meeting calendar. Next up is this Team stand-up meeting. This meeting brings the sales and business development teams together and gives everyone an overview of the day, explains Daniel. He also coordinates daily with talque CEO Tassilo to coordinate special projects. Around half of Daniel's day is dedicated to meetings where he supports his colleagues and works on sales initiatives. His diverse role consists of active and passive sales, project management and leadership.
An IT nerd in the event industry
Daniel's career in the event industry began with a business administration and training as an event manager. Over the last twenty years, he has worked on organising events. To bring events to life, he has developed strategies, researched markets, evaluated target groups and built up marketing and sales. The variety of events he has held has helped him to broaden his mind and to be open to new developments.
In addition to his interest in events, Daniel has always been passionate about technology. “I've always been very IT nerdy,” he says. He grew up when the Internet started running. Daniel explains that he was one of the first AOL users in Germany back when his modem was still making krrc-krrc. That really impressed him back then, and he never let go of it. Even at work, he has always pursued IT topics as side projects: In his first company, he completely built up the CRM and set up a cloud telephone system in another company.
Partnership with talque: digital transformation
During the corona crisis, Daniel was one of the first to hold online events in Germany. He held the first event at the beginning of April 2020 with 400 participants, only via Zoom. Daniel then came into contact with talque and was impressed by the technical framework and the opportunities to save time as an event manager. After much conversation with Tassilo, Daniel realized that they could make a good team. “In the end, we said, okay, let's do this together more,” said Daniel.
When he started working at talque, he realized that the company needed to strengthen its networks, build a marketing strategy, and increase visibility. Daniel was a catalyst for moving these issues forward. “It was clear that I couldn't do this alone, but that it was about having a Build a team and to start these processes together,” he explains.
A customer-focused approach
What Daniel values most about his work is the customer-oriented approach. “We're able to actually think out of the box,” he says. The company reacts individually to customer requests, even though it is sometimes very challenging. “The most exciting thing of all is working with customers to bring the event to a new level with our technology,” he added.
His strength lies in his ability to explain complex technical topics for customers and translate them from his understanding of events. He works strategically with customers by listening to them and developing new products with them. “Project management together with customers is a lot of fun,” he explains.
A vision for digitizing the event industry
Daniel believes that digitization makes it possible to really focus on the people you meet with locally. Digital events should Local events Don't replace, he says. Using digital event platforms people can prepare themselves and save time. For example, you can book tickets in advance and find out more, says Daniel. “These tools allow us to make the most of our time with people who matter to us,” he adds.
Participants can also actively participate in the event using digital tools, explains Daniel. For example, you can say, “Hey guys, let's meet for a running meeting or a best practice round table.” For Daniel, these tools offer the opportunity to help shape the event and, above all, to have fun.
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