Florence and Talitha are sitting on a burgundy leather couch next to each other, both are smiling. In the backgorund there's a window with a bit of a view over a city.Florence and Talitha are sitting on a burgundy leather couch next to each other, both are smiling. In the backgorund there's a window with a bit of a view over a city.Florence and Talitha are sitting on a burgundy leather couch next to each other, both are smiling. In the backgorund there's a window with a bit of a view over a city.Florence and Talitha are sitting on a burgundy leather couch next to each other, both are smiling. In the backgorund there's a window with a bit of a view over a city.

Creative Heads: Florence Ettlin and Talitha Abraham – KALAB

Creative Heads: Florence Ettlin and Talitha Abraham – KALAB

6
 
July 2022

To make live music accessible was their dream. Florence Ettlin and Talitha Abraham combine a love for music with a passion for tech solutions through their start up KALAB. With a hospitality background gained at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Florence and Talitha entered the startup world supported by VentureLab and the BCV Silicon Valley Startup Camp. Now based in London, they link the music and hospitality industries through KALAB.

KALAB was initially launched in Switzerland, but it was clear to its founders Florence Ettlin and Talitha Abraham that they wanted to scale their startup internationally. To further strengthen their skill set as entrepreneurs they decided to pursue an MSc in Entrepreneurship at UCL where they were able to immerse themselves in the London startup ecosystem while being in the UK, which has one of the largest music industries in Europe. KALAB aims to break down the borders and build a bridge by promoting cross-cultural exchange and implementing learnings from one market into the other, to work towards a more sustainable environment for emerging talents everywhere.

“Overall, the music industries in the UK and in Switzerland are vastly different. The UK music market is significantly more mature and larger in size than the Swiss music market. In a city like London, where there is an abundance of young talented up-and-coming musicians, the focus primarily lies on free gigs in return for visibility. In Switzerland, on the other hand, emerging musicians often manage to get paid gigs but the visibility aspect is significantly lower and the opportunities are limited. If both markets could adapt elements from the other market, emerging musicians would thrive by not only receiving the visibility they need, but also the financial means to support their artistry.”