Herculean Chronicles – Crafting a B2B festival. Crafting a sustainable business isn’t merely about bringing people together around a big dream or about convincing people to buy your product once at a low cost because they like you; it’s also about delivering an unforgettable experience and crafting a recurring business.
To create a sustainable business, think community. To build a community, you must patiently listen to your crowd and connect your audience in your experience. You must surprise the fans with innovation, but not too much, as people don’t like change. It’s a balancing act. Change has to come from within as if it’s their idea. That doesn’t sound revolutionary today, but that wasn’t the case back in 1999.
In this chapter, I delve into how we innovated within our concept and the challenges we faced.
Context is key
Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane. Context is the canvas upon which creativity paints its masterpieces. As we embarked on our journey, the world around us was a tapestry of events and milestones— each influencing our approach and inspiring innovation.
The Night of The Proms hosted Clouseau. Rock Werchter stopped Torhout. Pukkelpop had the peppers. Elton John appears as himself in The Simpsons. Burj Al Arab is inaugurated. Robby Williams released “The Ego Has Landed” with “Millenium” and “Angels”. Bill Clinton was impeached. War in Kosovo. The EURO was introduced. Serena Williams wins her first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Eminem releases Slim Shady. The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland joined NATO. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is released. The opening of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City was announced. The 44th Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Jerusalem. Companies were preparing for the Y2K bug. Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France for the first time. Zayed University was founded. The internet bubble was about to burst. Michael Johnson breaks the 400-metre world record. Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, is named ‘Manager of the Century’. Vladimir Putin becomes acting President of Russia after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin. ENOC starts operating in Dubai. Scotland won the 5 Nations, which became the 6 Nations. Verhofstadt was elected as prime minister of Belgium.
Tomorrowland – one of the best life experiences for me – only started in 2005 and exceeded 50.000 people in 2008.
Club Med
So the context was what it was, but where did I get my inspiration? The Omnisport Day at the squash club was the MVP, and Telindus and Safmarine were the first big believers, but Club Med gave me the breakthrough vision. The GOs (Gentle Organisers), the GMs (Gentle Members), the crazy signs, the sports, the fun, the hospitality, the games and friendly competitions… The same format all over the world for a business community that’s what I wanted to achieve.
Crafting a B2B festival
Driven by a relentless pursuit of customer delight, I embarked on a quest to decipher the magic behind the Herculean experience. I wrote a short paper on “Emotional Resonance” when that wasn’t a thing yet. I wanted to humbly understand why a mass loves the Hercules Trophy and why the party was so insane. It’s probably how artists feel when they create something based on various influences and then want to understand why people love it or not.
I was convinced that a human being has a specific frequency and that bringing everyone together on the same frequency results in higher amplitude. All the components in the Hercules Trophy are designed to achieve that. Being physically together at the same time and place, forcing interaction through all senses, creating safety through meticulous planning, nurturing laughter and camaraderie, adding gamification… I’m not going to share all our secrets, but when I see the magic happening live, it makes me the happiest man on the planet.
Amazing MCs like Gunter, Carlito, Dave, Jeff, Robert and Gerry understood the story I wanted to write and crafted it into a unique Herculean vibe. It’s Club Med meets business meets a festival. DJ at the entrance, MCs talking all day long, captains briefing, a Hercules dance, online teams, cheerleaders, opening ceremony, dance battles, VIP petanque, team pictures, happy crew, apero in apres-ski vibe, Le Lac du Connemara and Gigi L’amoroso, awards, after-party with our first DJ’s like Wiffe and Peter… all these vital components came from people for people. I just trusted in them, kept my eye on my Northstar, and gave them a platform.
From 2009, we also started experimenting with professional artists like Buscemi, Regi, Bart Jan Depraetere, TML Dj’s, Willy Sommers, Cookies & Cream, Peter Luts and Sven Ornelis. In 2016, we decided to go live when Belgium played in the World Cup soccer.
Crafting a platform
Innovation wasn’t confined to the festival grounds—it permeated every aspect of our operations. Fueled by passion and Ice Tea, Werner and I worked day and night as two software nerds to add features to our referee platform. Preferably, even in the weeks just before the Trophy. Testing it live on the participants. Online teams, voting competition, genetic planning, automated scoresheets, leaderboards, mobile apps, white-labelling, increasing the number of teams we can handle daily…you name it, we did it. We even wrote our own CRM and booking system. We started on MS Access and now run on Azure. Who does that for a “simple event”? Remember, we’re talking about the early 2000s when cool tech start-ups weren’t a thing. I genuinely believe that technology opens new opportunities for the business.
The disasters that almost kill you…
Looking back, the most significant challenges were always related to external conditions you can’t control. The T in the SWOT. They can kill you, if you don’t act. However, adversity, is the crucible of innovation. With every setback, we emerged more robust, resilient, and determined to craft a better version of ourselves.
The weather, for example. In 25 years, we were hit twice by a severe thunderstorm. In Belgium, it happened 6 hours before the doors opened; in NY, it started one hour before opening.
The supply chain is another challenge. Our complete catering went into flames one day at our caterer’s location. In another instance, our leading catering supplier thought the event was one week later. Or containers shipped to Dubai and New York that are delayed. Or a trailer with all your materials scattered over the most significant highway during morning traffic.
And there are the economic downturns. I experienced so many. And bad companies always use it as an excuse not to invest in their people. I always feel sorry for the people who work for those companies.
I’m also very cautious about toxicity in the team. We are in the business of employee engagement, culture, leadership and teamwork. My biggest challenge has always been that when people join our team, the success of our formats can get into their heads, and they genuinely believe it’s about them, not the collective. A humble team of warriors is what we need.
It wasn’t in my initial threats, but I can tell you so many stories about the ugly side of capitalism. When I took my first steps in raising capital, I read the book “Angels, Dragons, Vultures: How to Tame Your Investors…And Not Lose Your Company.” When I started the cooperative structure, inspired by Yunus, I never imagined I would lose so much valuable time and money on managing investors. But more about that in a separate story.
But I guess the biggest disaster so far was the pandemic. Yes, I’m still mad about how the Western world handled this and almost killed my dream. Time will tell whether I was right.
When you are successful, your competitors also play dirty tricks on you. They try to copy you, but the original experience is always better. They can spread fake news, but a loyal community will always support you. Thank God for Dubai, where defamation is a crime.
Over-regulation is a new obstacle. In 1999, regulation was limited. Today, it’s just too much in many countries. I’m all for simple and straightforward rules. Still, the costs involved in paying crazy fines and all sorts of so-called “advisors” who take no responsibility for their advice kill small companies and let the big ones buy the small ones. But that’s probably the whole idea behind it.
A life or death experience
I’m well aware that most people, unfortunately, can’t relate. They believe entrepreneurship is glamorous. Still, when confronted with the obstacles above, it feels like life and death for any entrepreneur. The ups are few, and the lows are plenty. If you don’t react, it will kill your company; if you respond incorrectly, it can kill your company. If you do the right thing, nobody will thank you. It’s the fate for any entrepreneur: you have to crawl for every inch.
When I was in corporate and obstacles arose, I never felt these extreme emotions. You play a role, you rationalise, you have a big company behind you, and that’s it. You go home, and you sleep well. As an entrepreneur, you risk losing all your money, reputation, and life.
Inge plays a vital role. She’s the queen of creativity, and together, we could always fix things and jump higher. I would be lost without her, and it’s a miracle we are still a couple.
5 LEARNINGS THAT WORKED FOR ME
- Always listen to the community, but you decide on the direction.
- You can trust very few people.
- Stay calm and carry on.
Disclaimer
The Herculean Chronicles are my personal interpretation of 25 years of the Hercules Trophy. I’ve written 12 stories from a place of love and gratefulness, even for my adversaries. All the names are real, and it’s my way of thanking everyone and bringing the community together around untold stories. It’s also a way to explain the journey to my kids so they won’t make the same mistakes again and remember their roots. As it’s impossible to remember everything, please contact me and send me your stories to enrich the legacy.