Xceed: Partying is our business
Have fun and help people! Not many could turn down that offer, not even on a cold, wet, windy Monday morning in February. In fact it’s an offer you can’t refuse, unless you want to wake up with a you-know-what head in the bed.
The people at Xceed ask some unusual questions; such as: “What if we told you that by getting drunk with your friends in Helsinki or stage-diving in San Francisco, you could actually be building a school facility in Honduras or sending medical supplies for Kenya?”
Not the kind of question you get asked every day, is it?
Although Valencia wasn’t mentioned there, Xceed’s beginnings were in fact hatched here when Mattia from Como and Davide from Milan were studying Erasmus courses at the University of Valencia in 2009.
Being a high energy person, Mattia was a bit bored with his economics course and started looking around for other creative outlets.
Together they started managing local clubs such as Pachà and La3, and the seeds of the idea of organizing sales and marketing of tickets was planted.
Mattia later met Luca in San Francisco in 2012, and the team was almost complete. They were both doing MAs in International Business, and realised that business could be better for all concerned using new technologies.
Finally Hector from Alicante would join the team in October 2014.
Tired of being bored or boring, they decided to be cool.
Valencia is now their home, although from their city centre offices, the whole world is in their sights. They researched the idea of a software that would facilitate club bookings in the interest of all concerned, but which would also make the world a slightly better place: solidarity swinging.
The Xceed idea is quite simple; by booking your party using their platform, you make a donation to one of the NGOs that they support, and through your cyber wallet, you decide to who the money goes, when and how much.
And which charities are they working with; well, did you know that Venezuela is the country with the highest number of single mums between 15 and 18 in the whole South America?
Inversion Besha C.A. is a cosmetic company creating a link between the consumption of its product (a high quality nail polish available in more than 100 colours) and the conditions of Venezuelan single moms.
Inversiones Besha C.A. uses its own profits and donations to send basic needs products to help low income Venezuelan single mothers, in a country with the highest rate of single mothers between 15 and 18 in South America.
However, it’s you who controls where the money goes, as for each party you attend and check-in at, part of the revenues go straight to the party-goers charity virtual wallet. And if you invite your friends to the event, more money goes into your wallet.
All the money (10,000 dollars so far as of November 2014) can be traced in real time on their web and mobile platforms, providing full transparency in regards to what they do.
Another project is run in collaboration with the American NGOs Roatan Children’s Fund and Partners in Education Roatan, Project Honduras aims at improving the education system in the island of Roatàn (Honduras), providing an after school centre for the kids of the island.
Only 25% of the island’s children are enrolled in schools and only 50% of them finish 6th grade.
The Sand Castle Library opened in January 2100 and averages over 500 visits every month. By March 2010 Sand Castle Library had become a Community Centre with over 50 children and teens spending two or more mornings or afternoons each week at the library; reading, doing homework, participating in workshops and playing games.
The sustainable tourism and volunteering project in Paraisópolis, São Paulo, Brazil, focuses on educating local people and developing the local economy.
The main objective of the project is to benefit the inhabitants by creating employment and bringing investors and opportunities to the people of Paraisópolis.
There are many other projects, but you get the idea.
Since they launched the company through the accelerator Plug & Play in March 2014, they have already had 550,000 reservations, in October alone there were 70,000, and so far, 60% of their customers are returnees, people who come back for more.
They work with over 140 clubs worldwide, and so if you want a night out in China, Japan, USA or just about anywhere else, and want a table waiting for you without having to leave your armchair to get it (except when you go out partying of course), then all that can be yours by just using your phone, tablet or PC.
Now they are not just cool, they are awesome!
And for club owners there are all sorts of benefits; the app allows them to find out which people are choosing what events, enabling them to book to demand.
Paper tickets are no longer necessary, clients just show their phone when they turn up on the night.
As an international Valencia resident who speaks perfect English and is working on his Spanish, Mattia has known Valencians and others all over the world who miss the city and are looking for ways to return home, and he has detected in recent months a positive change, with an increasing number of companies being set up with the help of accelerators and business angels.
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