A week ago, we were happy to learn from Christopher Edmonds that Remetrik (Wallifornia Acceleration Program, Class of 2020) was selected to join the “Techstars Music 2021” program. An incredible journey that would have been “much less likely” without joining Wallifornia first, according to Christopher Edmonds, Remetrik’s CEO.
For Christopher, Wallifornia was first and foremost an incredible opportunity to learn how to communicate on his project: “I worked in the music business for 16 years and I am aware of the specificities of the industry. A lot of founders, including myself, love what they are doing and understand it, but they don’t always grasp that others don’t necessarily get it. Wallifornia helped me understand what I was doing better, which has a huge value. It also helped me realize why I wasn’t successful in other ventures.”
The type of heartwarming testimony that made us want to learn more about the challenges lying ahead of our alumnus.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Why did you decide to join the Wallifornia Acceleration Programme last year?
I was working on my music-tech startup, but I was doing it by myself, with no feedback or advice. I wanted to join a program that would not only be able to help guide me on the business side, but would also understand the vertical (music) that I was focused on.
What did you learn during the program?
I learned a lot, but for me the most important thing was about communication – how to pitch better, how to successfully communicate to others what the company does, who are our customers, what is the opportunity, etc. The process of refining this messaging also helped me better understand these things, and caused my thinking on the company to evolve.
What did you enjoy the most?
Two things – the social aspect with the team and other founders, where lots of good feedback and positive reinforcement were exchanged, and the pitch coaching with Sudha and Thierry.
Would you recommend it?
Absolutely.
What did you think of having it virtual?
Obviously in person would be preferred, however, having it virtually allowed myself and others to participate from all over the world, so there is a lot of value in that. I would say it worked pretty well.
How did it help you go on with your project?
Again, being able to communicate better about my company allowed me to successfully attract a great co-founder, new strategic partners, and to get into other programs like Techstars.
Speaking about Techstar, why did you decide to join their music program?
Techstars has a great reputation of helping companies build successful businesses, and like Walliforna, the fact that in this case they’re also focused on the music vertical made them a great fit.
What are your expectations regarding that program?
The same as Walliforna actually: to come out at the end with a better company, a better solution for our customers, better poised for success.
What would be your advice to best prepare yourself to such a program?
All of these programs are very intense in terms of time and the psychological energy required. Be prepared to work very (VERY) hard, but more importantly, be prepared to accept and process feedback, criticism, and even failure at certain things, and then to use all of it to come out better on the other side. I think all founders have a strong emotional attachment to their start-up and what they do, but you have to be open to hearing some unpleasant, and often conflicting, truths and deciding how to respond.
Do you remember any anecdote from your participation last year?
Although the program was organized online, I had to deal with time zones. Everything was organized at 3:00am in my time zone. I sometimes had the feeling of being a zombie.
About the Wallifornia Acceleration Program
Register here to our 2021 class (deadline April 11th)
About Remetrik
Wallifornia story: How the Wallifornia acceleration program Helped Remetrik land among the (Tech)stars
A week ago, we were happy to learn from Christopher Edmonds that Remetrik (Wallifornia Acceleration Program, Class of 2020) was selected to join the “Techstars Music 2021” program. An incredible journey that would have been “much less likely” without joining Wallifornia first, according to Christopher Edmonds, Remetrik’s CEO. For Christopher, Wallifornia was first and foremost an incredible opportunity to learn how to communicate on his project: “I worked in the music business for 16 years and I am aware of the
A wonderful new world: how virtual reality breaks the musical ceiling
They are developers, artists, creatives or gig manager. They are music lovers and tech enthusiasts. They all swear that there is nothing like a live concert surrounded by friends nursing a lukewarm beer, but they also believe that the experience of listening to music could be improved by new technologies, including virtual reality. A complementary way for artists to reach their audience, not a threat. A logical evolution that sounds like a revolution too, and a strong card to play
The Sound of the Future: How Music Experts see Tomorrow’s Music Industry
For a generation that experienced the switch from analog tapes to MP3 players and from minidiscs to online streaming, there is no doubt that the music industry underwent deep transformations over the past decades. Years of change initiated by the constant development of new technologies. But who is to thank for it? From emerging artists to the latest fashion start-ups, who drives change within the music industry? And where are we heading? We asked four music experts from major labels
Tomorrowland Around the World: welcome to DreamVille 2.0
Often hailed as one of the world’s best music events by the music industry, Tomorrowland has acquired a legendary status among festivalgoers around the world. A popularity that normally ensures a worldwide ticket rush and hundreds of thousands of attendees yearly. So, when Tomorrowland announced its ambition to launch a virtual edition in 2020, expectations were at least as high as the challenges that lay ahead. This year, everybody got the opportunity to join in, but was the magic there
Merrie Melodies: Secret Chord Laboratories builds an oracle into the minds of music listeners
Secret Chord Laboratories, Wallifornia ‘Start-Up of the Year’ 2020, is a music-tech gem at the crossroads between neuroscience, artificial intelligence and music enjoyment. Its mission: to identify how to select the perfect song for a wide range of industries, applications, moods, and functions. Their AI music engine, dopr, can predict the likelihood of a song achieving success for an intended purpose, pre-release, for a targeted audience. dopr has a range of implications for a variety of segments in the music industry:
Michel Duchateau: fostering ideas through hackathons
Expert of Agile methodologies, Michel Duchateau is Chief Innovation Officer & Partner at Convidencia, a Brussels based company specialized in collective intelligence. He is also the author of many publications on how to run a hackathon. Facilitator of the Wallifornia MusicTech Hackathon, he explains why hackathons matter. As Chief Innovation Officer at Convidencia, Michel’s job consists mainly of counseling its customers on how to achieve cultural and organizational transformations through the development and the implementation of innovative tools and habits. A
Tim Bran: in for the kill
His name might not sound familiar, but behind-the-scene hero Tim Bran’s resumé reads like the tracklist of a ‘best of’ album. From household names such as London Grammar, Birdy or La Roux to up-and-comers, he has put his many skills at the service of many a musician on their journey to finding their true self. Now a coach at the Wallifornia Hackathon, he shares how to make music and tech work in harmony. Producer, mixer and writer, Tim Bran is
Matthieu Dallon: The Gamer Turned Investor
President and founder of Trust Esport, the first E-Sport fund in France and the second in Europe, Matthieu Dallon is above all a gamer from the outset, who has succeeded in making his passion a vocation. From the LANs that started in the 1990s to the financing of start-ups in the sector, he has forged an extraordinary path. Why did you choose to specialize in the field of E-sports? It goes back to the beginning of my professional life and has been
ShadooW. Profession : E-Sportif
Vous ne connaissez peut-être pas encore Quentin Vande Wattyne, mais dans le petit monde du E-Sport, où il se fait appeler ShadooW, il est une vraie star. Mais ne le cherchez pas sur une pelouse, car c’est à l’écran, manette à la main, que Quentin dispute les rencontres. A 25 ans, le jeune tournaisien est déjà champion de Belgique à FIFA, membre des E-Devils et joueur professionnel du Standard de Liège. Avec nous, il revient sur son parcours et sur
Wallifornia policy on COVID-19
As you all know, things have been pretty chaotic for the entertainment industry (and the world) lately. From rescheduled festivals to emptied music venues, at Wallifornia MusicTech, we would like to express our sympathy to all those suffering around the world, and to all the artists and entrepreneurs mobilized to entertain us during those difficult times. Because we care about your safety, it is with a heavy heart that we have decided not to run the Wallifornia MusicTech program the usual