Entrepreneurs want to take off with nightlife apps
Published: Wednesday, Oct 9th 2024, 10:20
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Nightlife is in upheaval and many players are disappearing. This is precisely why some players are daring to enter the market.
Entrepreneurs see a business model in the digitalization of nightlife, for example. Last year, three students from Zurich founded the portal Weekendly, which functions as a party calendar.
"Our vision is to get more people to go out," says Weekendly co-founder Tane Frei. The number of visitors to the website is growing by 20 percent every month and most recently stood at 19,000, most of whom are between 23 and 30 years old. By the end of the year, the platform should cover all major cities in German-speaking Switzerland.
A similar model is followed by "Unsere Beweggründe", a platform for electronic music. There are also the websites "Ronorp.ch" and "Denkmal.org" for Swiss cities.
Users should celebrate lifestyle
Other players also want to step into the breach with new offerings. At the end of July, Sam Plecic and his software company Live! Technologies launched the Zurich Nightlife app. It features curated event tips, a weekly prize draw for 500 francs of "Party Cash" and a kind of social media feed where club guests can share pictures and videos.
"Users should be able to celebrate themselves and their lifestyle," says 54-year-old Plecic, who has been involved in nightlife for decades. The aim is to connect nightlife enthusiasts more closely with the club and bar scene through new forms of events and communication, thereby developing new outlet formats.
This is not (yet) profitable. "First and foremost, it's about doing something good for the nightlife scene," says the entrepreneur. The free app finances Live! itself, but should soon become profitable through sponsorship and advertising revenue.
Cultural journalism collapses
In Lausanne, there are also efforts to set up a nightlife community app with the Hango project. For Alexander Bücheli, spokesperson for the Swiss Bar and Club Commission, one thing is clear: "With the disappearance of cultural journalism, cities are lacking a platform that brings together everything on offer."
Tamedia, for example, recently announced that it was discontinuing its cultural supplement "Züritipp". Online platforms such as Izzo, Tillate.ch, Partyguide.ch and Usgang.ch have also been unable to survive. This is because there is often a lack of functioning payment models in the scene, partly due to competition from social media.
According to Bücheli, however, it is particularly difficult for out-of-town guests to get an overview of the local nightlife on the fragmented social media apps.
Getting to know each other as a business model
The start-up Noii, which organizes after-work drinks for singles in bars in German-speaking Switzerland, is also benefiting from the desire for new formats in nightlife. Between 150 and 350 people attend these events, most of them between 25 and 35 years old. They pay an average entrance fee of 30 francs, which is more than for a conventional club entry.
"People want to get to know each other again in real life," says Laura Matter, co-founder and CEO of Noii. This is more of a priority at her events than at regular nights out, because she knows that everyone attending is single and open to meeting new people. In addition, Noii's gender ratio is balanced out by advance ticket sales.
Even though many clubs are in crisis, there is no shortage of information for nightlife enthusiasts.
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