South River, NJ–On Sunday October, 21st the team at Kyosis Parking Technologies boarded a plane West to Nevada. The goal was to make it to, set up at, and connect with attendees of the National Parking Association’s (NPA) Convention at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Not only that, but the company’s mission would be to find leads who might use Kyosis as their supplier and marketplace for a variety of parking hardware.
As a first-time vendor attending this Parking Expo, just navigating Caesar’s Palace was a challenge. Not to mention booth setup, hardware configuration, time management, and of course prospecting for possible partners. The odds were stacked up against small businesses like Kyosis, however each challenge revealed the company’s resilience as well as aspects that differentiated Kyosis from every other exhibitor.
Kyosis’ booth was completely do-it-yourself (DIY). Founder & CEO, Rupesh Patel designed and built the booth by hand with colleagues Isha Rana and Kartik Shukla. At first, this was a point of contention for the team. There was no guarantee that the booth would get to Vegas in shape for the convention and if it did–would the booth even be effective at drawing other attendees in? As it happened, the booth made it in tip-top shape, went up quickly, and stood out—varying from every other booth that was and ever will be at an NPA Expo. An advantage was revealed. The clean, DIY look of the booth became a talking point and the first differentiator for Kyosis Parking Technologies.
When it came to unpacking and configuring the parking hardware, the team was again anxious. What if the hardware had been damaged in transit? Would each piece of technology be enough to convince other attendees that Kyosis would be a trustworthy partner in the world of parking? Without a scratch, the hardware was out of the shipping container and blinking to life within the boundaries of the Kyosis booth. Rupesh Patel sat fiddling with each piece of hardware until they all came to life. Another advantage of small business revealed… How many company CEOs can take their product apart and put it back together without a hiccup? This revealed itself within each and every conversation Patel had with attendees–they could feel his knowledge of the products he provided in the way he acted and things he said.
Soon enough, the Kyosis team realized that success at the convention would not be about the tangible booth or products, but in the way they spent their time and with whom. Rupesh, Isha, and Kartik all took turns walking the floor and manning the booth. The team took their time connecting with attendees and exhibitors alike–giving them all a fair chance and an assessment of whether or not more time with that individual(s) would be necessary. This care and patience surprised the team from Eyepax USA, a parking software provider. Rupesh took the time to bring their team to dinner in order to expand upon the questions they asked and the issues they were having with current hardware suppliers. It was this attention to detail that formed the relationship and hope for future work together.
The Kyosis team met every challenge head-on and showed care in every conversation they had. In the end, the convention was fruitful and the team gained new perspectives, new friends, and new drive to succeed. Stay tuned for what these young individuals will make for themselves…