Events platform Delegate Connect rebrands as Joyn for global ambitions

Hybrid events startup Delegate Connect has rebranded as Joyn as it rolls out its global expansion plans.

The Melbourne startup, which connects conference delegates at virtual and hybrid events on any device, raised $10 million in a seed round nearly 12 months ago in order to go global

Airtree Ventures led the raise with its largest seed cheque in the fund’s history, supported Skip Capital, TEN13, and others

Cofounder and CEO Jordan Walsh said the rebranding comes at a pivotal time following a successful expansion into the US market.

“Technology and support, engagement, content and continued learning. These are the pillars that define our new brand,” he said.

“We’re on a mission to help organisations forge deep engagement by elevating knowledge, fostering belonging, and enabling access to relevant content anywhere, anytime – this initiative is just the beginning of us doubling down on that mission.”

Joyn began life as an internal platform for Walsh and his cofounder Jacob Thomas, and for their technical production and events company, in order to deal with logistics such as registration, live streaming, and video-on-demand hosting for large scale events. It wasn’t long before the idea became a white-label solution for the world’s biggest organisations, associations, and event management companies.

Over the past year, the business has more than doubled its headcount to above 100 people, opening a US base alongside offices in Melbourne, London and Norway.

Walsh said it’s been a “truly humbling experience” to look back and see what the business has become in just a few years.

“We owe our success to our clients and our teams, many of whom have been on this journey with us from day one,” he said.

“We want to be the only software platform organisations need to deliver their events, webinars and recorded content. We are launching products over the coming months that help to foster belonging and increase year round engagement for our clients.

“Our clients have been asking us to build this for a while now, and we are really excited to be launching these products shortly!”