In the world of exhibitions and trade fairs, flashy booths and glossy brochures often hide a deeper inefficiency: poor communication between visitors and exhibitors. That’s the gap that Expochats fills. Built by EventTech veteran Stepan Danilov, Expochats transforms every booth into a live, responsive, digital conversation point, without requiring attendees to download anything.
At its core lies the QR-based booth chatroom, a feature that allows visitors to instantly initiate a browser-based chat with an entire booth team. From there, leads are stored, structured, and followed up automatically. The impact? Exhibitors report up to 45% more lead conversions and zero GDPR issues. “Most chat systems are built for digital products,” says Danilov. “I built one for physical events.”
“Visitors shouldn’t leave with a stack of business cards they’ll never scan,” he notes. “They should leave with a direct line of communication already in place.”
Beyond its technical brilliance, Expochats is part of a broader equity play. SMEs often get drowned out at expos. But with tools like Expochats, a small booth with two staff can respond like a global brand. And because it requires no hardware, it’s already being adopted in secondary cities and smaller venues.
Another key differentiator is sustainability. Traditional exhibitions often involve tonnes of waste — printouts, plastic badges, wooden booths, and disposable banners. Expochats, by contrast, enables a zero-waste engagement model. There is no printed collateral, and the data from every interaction is stored digitally in a personal “chat notebook” that both sides can reference post-event.
This is especially relevant as the events industry comes under scrutiny for its carbon footprint. ESG-conscious organisers, particularly in the UAE and the UK, are now seeking alternatives that align with net-zero goals. Expochats, which integrates seamlessly with Stepan Danilov’s other zero-waste exhibition formats like Arena and SecondScreen, is rapidly becoming part of this new playbook.
Danilov is preparing a UK patent and plans to scale Expochats into British exhibition venues via MeYou Arena Tech Ltd. The format works particularly well for service-based events, a category often overlooked by large trade show operators. At scale, the potential is massive.
“This is not just a feature. It’s a way to modernise how physical spaces create digital continuity.”
With the global trade show industry worth over $65 billion, Expochats is poised to become the go-to system for exhibitions that want to feel as smart as the startups they showcase.
