Local Startup: Brüha
- Dev Team
- 12 Jan 2017
You’ve probably seen their logo around town and wondered what exactly this energetic little company does. Turns out: a lot. We sat down with Brüha comms boss Kristian Borghesan to find out more.
Q: What is Brüha? And how did you come up with the name?
A: Brüha is an event discovery and online ticketing platform. Our platform (website and apps) is a go-to resource for discovering, creating, and managing live experiences. This includes buying and selling tickets for upcoming local events.
The origin of the name actually came about during a branding exercise facilitated through Mohawk College. Brüha is our take on the famous word “brouhaha”. Since then we’ve actually come up with an urban dictionary definition, translating to a social gathering and a great time with friends.
Q: Where did this idea for Brüha come from?
A: The idea came from a simple problem that all of us [partners] had in common; finding out about all the cool local things happening. It wasn’t just something we were experiencing in Hamilton, everywhere we went the same problem kept coming up.
Brüha was the solution. We realized there were and are so many cool things going on that never get the deserved attention. We wanted to come up with something that really highlights the community as a whole, not just what you see on the surface.
Q: Describe your team: are you all from Hamilton? How did you connect?
A: A few of us are from Hamilton, including myself (born and raised). The other team members are from around Ontario (Sudbury and Mississauga), and even outside of Canada (India). It’s pretty amazing how well all of us work together, we definitely play off of each other’s strengths well.
The connection was made through Brüha’s CEO, Graeme. When he was first accepted into The Forge, while at the McMaster Innovation Park location, the first thing he did was look for co-founders to build the company’s foundation. Sure enough, weeks later all of us were introduced.
Q: What is it like being a tech startup in downtown Hamilton?
A: For us, it’s great. We’re in a really unique situation where we have this immediate connection to the core and access to the entertainment community.
Being in the events and ticketing space, having this accessibility to all of the venues and events taking place right around us is amazing.
Q: Describe Hamilton’s startup scene. Are we becoming a tech hub? Are we an entrepreneurial hub? What stage is our “scene” in right now?
A: We’re not quite at the point of being labeled a tech hub. Don’t get me wrong, there is a ton of excitement buzzing around and a lot of tech companies starting their ventures here, but we’re still not there yet. With IBM in the mix, it’ll be interesting to see how things take off.
Without a doubt, however, Hamilton is definitely an entrepreneurial hub and an attractive destination for startups. This is something we’ve seen in recent years and will continue to see for many years to come.
We’re still in that infancy and incubation stage, trying to develop our own identity.
Q: What can the community do to support startups and entrepreneurial ventures like yours?
A: As cliché as it sounds, it starts with getting to know the companies and what they stand for. Once relationships are made, it’s a lot easier to know how and where support can be provided. On top of that, having an understanding of startup requirements, challenges faced, and importance for the local economy can go a long way.
Over the past year, Brüha has seen a tremendous amount of support from the community, something that we’re thankful for. It’s a great feeling knowing that the community you live, work, and play within has your back.
Q: What’s next for Brüha?
A: 2017 will be a big year for us. We’ve been in heavy development mode and are gearing up to launch version 2.0 of our website towards the end of February. Brüha 2.0 is our new and improved way to discover, create and manage live experiences. You’ll be seeing an entirely updated and improved UX as well as the addition of a management section, making it easier to manage live events and sell tickets.
With this new release, we’ll be focusing a lot of our efforts on expanding throughout Ontario and Canada over the next 1-2 years.
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