Business Innovation Week: "A diamond in the rough that is now being polished".

Stage demo at the Business Innovation Week with founder Ewa Ming (left) and daily presenter Patrizia Laeri (center).

"This is not just an event, it's a movement!" Patrizia Laeri shook up the BIW Future Conference with a demonstration in the StageOne Event Hall on Thursday. New concept, new brand - the premiere was a success. "These are the formats of the future, in order to keep providing inspiration to look at the Swiss innovation laboratory in a completely different way," said Microsoft Switzerland CEO Marianne Janik in her plea to rethink the future and take action.

The Future Conference in StageOne, Live Experience Expo in Hall 622 and the Academy program are a mixture of event formats that have challenged one or two visitors. For business philosopher and BIW keynote speaker Anders Indset, one thing is clear: "I find BIW exciting because we can really go into depth over a three- or four-day period thanks to this variety of different topics. This diversity belongs in today's world. We need this complexity: it's not about simple answers, we can't just rush through, we have to take these topics seriously. I find the format very exciting!"

SuisseEmex focused on marketing and communication in the context of digitalization. BIW, on the other hand, has a different target group focus for Ewa Ming: "BIW is a business event that is committed to the current future topics of the modern working world across all departments and disciplines." This is a quality of BIW that Dr. Christian Keller also emphasizes. The General Manager of IBM Switzerland says: "When it comes to helping new technologies achieve a breakthrough, it is essential that fears are allayed. And that's why it's important that it's not just specialists talking shop with each other, but also that the range of participants from different industries is broadened and that they address and deal with this topic."

In the rapidly changing event and trade fair market, BIW founder Ewa Ming is breaking new ground with BIW - with all the opportunities and risks: "Of course we would have liked more participants. But we have launched a new event concept and a new brand. We have definitely provided proof of concept," says entrepreneur Ming with a smile and a tear in her eye. Now it's time to analyze, take on board the many qualified feedbacks and further develop the new format. "With BIW, we have a rough diamond in our hands that is now being polished." Above all thanks to the exhibitors and partners - especially the key partners AXA, Salt and Avatarion - the premiere was a success. For the next edition, further strong partners are needed to support this new approach conceptually and financially.

Hardly anyone knows this better than Christian Müller. The co-founder of OMR Rockstar, the European digital festival, started in 2011 with 200 guests. In his keynote speech, the marketing expert emphasized the spirit of the new BIW concept: to make a festival-style event successful, the visitor experience is very important. "We invest a lot of time, money and, above all, love in this."

Ewa Ming and her team have designed the community, the inspiration space and the ecosystem for "Business Innovation". The BIW founder is planning a new edition for 2021 and is convinced: "We have now created a prototype that has enormous potential."