Brella Alternative: When AI Matchmaking Isn't What You Need
Brella's AI matchmaking suits B2B conferences well. But for social events where organic connection matters, a different approach may work better.
FirstMove Team
9 April 2025 · 8 min read
Brella is one of the more sophisticated event networking platforms available, particularly known for its AI-powered matchmaking for conferences and trade shows. If you've attended a B2B summit or industry expo recently, there's a decent chance Brella was the official networking app.
But Brella is designed for a specific context: professional events where attendees want curated introductions and scheduled 1:1 meetings. If that's not your context, you may be looking for something quite different.
This article looks at what Brella offers, where it shines, and when a different tool — like FirstMove — might be a better fit.
What Brella Does
Brella's core value proposition is AI-powered matchmaking. The platform analyses attendee profiles, interests, and goals, then suggests the most relevant connections and helps schedule meetings in dedicated networking slots.
Key capabilities include:
- Interest-based matchmaking: Attendees fill in profile data about their professional interests and goals; the AI surfaces relevant matches
- Meeting scheduler: A built-in calendar for booking short 1:1 meetings, often in dedicated "speed networking" time blocks
- Sponsor visibility: Sponsors can appear in the matchmaking feed to increase exposure
- Virtual and hybrid support: Brella supports online video meetings as well as in-person coordination
- Analytics for organisers: Insights into meeting volumes, engagement rates, and matchmaking outcomes
Brella positions itself primarily at corporate events, trade shows, and tech conferences — environments where people arrive with clear professional objectives.
The Limitation of AI-Driven Professional Matching
Brella's approach has real merit in professional contexts. When you're at a fintech summit and want to meet potential investors or partners, having an AI surface the five most relevant people in the room saves time.
The model has a few inherent assumptions, though:
- You know what you're looking for before you arrive — the system requires you to articulate your goals upfront
- Connections are transactional by nature — the framing is "this person can help you with X"
- The event is structured enough to have dedicated networking slots
- Privacy trade-offs — detailed professional profiles are retained and used for matching
At social events, music festivals, community nights, or even professional events with a more relaxed atmosphere, these assumptions don't hold. People want to meet others organically, not because an algorithm decided they'd be a good match based on LinkedIn-style profiles.
FirstMove's Approach to In-Person Networking
FirstMove takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than building profiles of professional intent and running matches server-side, FirstMove uses location-aware proximity and mutual opt-in to facilitate connections at live events.
- VibeZones let you see who's nearby and open to meeting people — without broadcasting your presence to everyone
- Mutual Handshake ensures both people express interest before any connection is made, protecting against unwanted contact
- Ephemeral Profiles mean your data doesn't persist after the event — you're not building a permanent networking database
- Ice-breaker tools help people actually start conversations once a mutual interest is established
The result feels less like a professional directory and more like a natural social environment with a digital layer on top.
Feature Comparison
Feature | Brella | FirstMove
Primary use case | B2B conferences, trade shows | Festivals, social events, community gatherings
Matching approach | AI algorithm using profile data | Proximity + mutual opt-in
Profile type | Persistent professional profile | Ephemeral event profile
Meeting scheduling | Built-in scheduler | Not the focus
Privacy model | Standard data retention | Privacy-first, data minimisation
Setup by organiser | Required | Optional (works for attendees without it)
Consumer/social use | Limited | Core focus
Free for attendees | Depends on organiser plan | Yes, always free
UK focus | No | Yes (global with UK focus)
When to Use Each
Brella makes sense when:
- You're running or attending a B2B conference or trade show
- Attendees arrive with specific professional objectives
- You want scheduled 1:1 meetings in structured networking slots
- ROI metrics for sponsor and exhibitor engagement matter
FirstMove makes sense when:
- Your event is social, cultural, or community-focused
- You want organic connection rather than algorithmically curated introductions
- Privacy is a concern — for you or your attendees
- You don't want to require attendees to build detailed profiles before they can network
- You're in the UK and want something built for the local event scene
A Note on "Better" Networking
There's a tendency to assume that AI-powered matching must be better than organic discovery. In professional contexts, that's often true — relevance filtering saves time when everyone is there for business.
But human connection at social events often works differently. Some of the best conversations happen with people you'd never have algorithmically matched with. The shared experience of being at the same place, the same moment, creates context that no profile can replicate.
FirstMove is built around that insight. It makes connection possible and frictionless, then gets out of the way.
Try FirstMove
Download FirstMove free on iOS and Android and see how in-person networking can feel natural again.