This time last year, we would all have been busy organising and attending various events and conferences. We’re pretty sure that was the plan for this year as well. Then the pandemic happened, everything changed, and now everything is via webinars or podcasts.

It was the obvious route to take, but even so, transitioning to digital events is not as easy as it may seem. Especially since everyone is doing it now.

This was the situation that Open Circles found themselves in. Known for creating thought-provoking environments and experiences, Open Circles made the tough decision of postponing their annual retreat.

“We were experimenting various ways to pivot,” said Joshua Yap, CEO of Open Circles. “For myself, I felt that though we may not be able to generate as high of revenue as previous years, we need to at least continue our mission to champion positive change around the world.”

Watch: OC27 Episode 1 – Stream wars: The rise of livestreaming

The obvious way is the popular way, which is to begin producing webinars. But as Yap began joining webinars, he ended up becoming fatigued because most of them tend to be a bit stuffy and too formal.

“It doesn’t help that I have a very short attention span,” he said. “I started researching for webinars or channels that were educating and fun to watch at the same time – which then hit me that there weren’t many shows that did that.”

Yap wanted to create a webinar that is fun, light hearted and enjoyable to watch, without compromising the quality of content. With that, OC27 Live Stream Talk Show was born.

 

A twist to the usual

There is no shortage of webinars now; how will OC27 stand out?

“We needed to have topics that were extremely interesting and strong speakers that other people may not have access to,” said Yap.

The first three episodes definitely fall into that description. Each one tackled a different topic and featured big names like Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, desserts superstar Janice Wong, and Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung.

Watch: OC27 Episode 2 – Setting the bar: The pandemic pivot

The script is curated to keep the show fun and exciting, but also to dive deep on issues – even controversial ones – that need to be discussed.

For example, in the third episode, the question about how unethical CEOs can redeem themselves went into an examination of why unethical leaders are expected to, while whistleblowers are understood to have ended their careers already.

Watch: OC27 Episode 3 – Fake it till you break it

“Our hosts are very important as well,” Yap added. “Because the hosts act as the energy drivers of the show, maintaining a high energy conversation.”

That high energy conversation doesn’t begin and end with the hosts and guests. Since the show launched, it has gained a following that participated, asking thought-provoking and oftentimes difficult questions that helped take the discussions deeper.

Learn, have fun, and do good

Each episode of OC27 is in support of a chosen charity. One of the things the audience looks forward to is the activity that the hosts and guests participate in at the end of the episodes, where the loser donates to the charity. From peanut catching, dessert plating, and two truths and a lie, these end-of-episode contests have upped the fun factor, all while doing good. Which is exactly what the show is aiming for, according to Yap.

“The vision behind the show is to educate, inform, and inspire the audiences, through a fun and interactive livestream, encouraging our audiences to be better leaders, entrepreneurs and individuals.”

OC27 Live Stream Talk Show happens every Wednesdays, 9:30PM SGT.

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Disclosure: e27 is partnering with Open Circles to host and produce OC27.

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