Has our events team been busy in Q1 2024? We’ll answer that question with some powerful stats: every 3.8 days, we’ve had an event! We planned 25 events the past three months and were onsite for 20 of those - about 80% of our quarter’s portfolio! From intimate dinners to AI-focused panels and international digital sessions to a 250+ person conference afterparty - we’ve enjoyed having a variety of projects this quarter.
Recently, we had the new opportunity to plan an event in a new-to-us location: Melbourne, Australia. Not only did we have fun sourcing new venues down under, but also this event helped us get closer to our team’s goal of executing an event on two new continents in 2024! We were also onsite at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah for the first time (and yes, seeing guest speaker Olivia Wilde IRL was a moment we won’t soon forget).
Where else have we been in Q1 2024?
In late February, we were onsite at a TechCrunch cocktail party in Los Angeles - the bites & booze were delicious, but even more captivating was the content from top VCs and entrepreneurs.
We threw a buzzy afterparty after ETHDenver in early March, complete with custom ping pong balls, signature cocktails, and a photo booth experience.
SaaStr Miami had us heading south in March for SaaS, Sun, and Surf. Content featured speakers Jason Lemkin, CEO and Founder of SaaStr, Sam Blond, former Partner at Founders Fund and Host of SaaStr’s CRO Confidential podcast, and Adam Gross, CEO of Vimeo.
In mid-March, we were in NYC to host a 30-person dinner on the 60th floor of a skyscraper at modern, New American restaurant Manhatta. Guests mingled, ate, and conversed while the views and unmatched energy of the city played a perfect backdrop for the evening.
Later in March, we executed a private CEO reception during GDC in San Francisco. Media and Gaming leaders joined influential C-level executives shaping the global gaming and interactive media landscape.
We closed the month by hosting a digital event with SaaStr for their inaugural AI Day featuring speakers from PagerDuty, Shopify, and IBM. AI Day served as an awesome preview for an extended AI track in the works for SaaStr Annual in September, and reminded us that a hybrid events approach is still incredibly impactful.
To cap it all off, cred held our annual Wellness Week in late March. The restoring week included journal prompts, team meditations, and a session with Brooke Daniels, CEO & Founder of Holistic Hustler and Director at Salesforce Ventures. And of course we had to end it with a little competition - our step challenge winner clocked 58,473 steps in 5 days!
The events industry is always changing, and with this, we’re always learning. Here are a couple of our biggest takeaways since the new year began:
We can’t stress enough the importance of site visits and mapping attendee flow during a pre-event walkthrough. And sometimes once is not enough. We also suggest bringing 1-2 additional people from your team and the client to get different perspectives, as there is never one right way to set up a venue. This quarter, we’ve done more site visits than ever before! We always put ourselves in the attendee shoes to maximize their experience.
With countless vendor options in every city and planning so many event aspects remotely, procuring real world samples and footage is key to ensuring a seamless event. This quarter we’ve requested fabric samples, badge samples, as well as a video of our vendor sitting in a chair to confirm it won’t be squeaky during content. We go to every length to assure confidence leading into our events!
When hosting ancillary events after a larger conference, like an afterparty or dinner, make sure you have a dedicated space for attendee coat and luggage storage. At our recent ETHDenver and GDC events, attendees arrived with bags a plenty.
From opting to a full vegetarian menu to reinventing the swag bag, we authored a blog highlighting a few ways in which you can integrate sustainability into every aspect of your event. Read our full article here.
This quarter, we worked with 21 inspiring speakers from companies like Gusto, Shopify, Cisco, IBM, Gainsight, and Brex. We continue to prioritize exposure for women and underrepresented speakers on stage. 34% of these speakers are from underrepresented groups and 29% are women. We will continue to push our clients towards achieving at least 50% for both categories throughout the year. Speaking of, we authored a blog on The Top Women’s Events in 2024. And you didn’t think we’d miss honoring International Women’s Day did you? Read our blog here commemorating the achievements of women around the world and the progress we’ve seen toward women’s equality.
Looking ahead to next quarter, our full events team will be onsite together in Napa for a VC Annual Meeting, and then in London for SaaStr Europa! We look forward to seeing our hard work in action, and perhaps a bit of English tea time once our events wrap!
Have an event you are looking to bring to life? We’d love to help - email us! And if you’d like to keep up with us regularly, subscribe to our newsletter!
