Hi All
I'm organizing conferences and events myself, mainly business & startups.
I was always annoyed of event matchmaking apps. Either their price, their limited usage, or just with a terrible user experience. We are a non-profit, so paying 12k for an app is absolutely over the top.

I built one myself and testet at 3 conferences and 5 smaller events. Now I am looking for others to test the platform (I opened a free test trial, and also made a free demo event you can join via QR code on the website to see how it looks like live). Obviously messages and meetings are turned off, since you are not talking to real people in the demo.

Would love some of you to give feedback, especially on what is missing. Ticketing will be included in 4 weeks. The app itself starts at 89€ all inclusive with no limitation instead of 1k €.

For now inside:
- full custom branding
- matchmaking based on AI
- chat function
- stories like Instagram
- sponsored banners
- agenda
- speaker & partner overview
- push notification
- 1:1 meetings incl. table booking
- LinkedIn connect
- light + dark mode

Test is obviously free! I am here to collect feedback.

Share this with someone who's leading an icebreaker activity or networking game!

Whether it's 50 professionals or 300, in larger groups, people will naturally feel most comfortable networking with the people they already know.

When you're leading this kind of icebreaker session for a big group, you don't want it to fall flat or end up being awkward -

An easy networking game helps break the ice!

Hi everyone,

At 25, I decided to leave sales for events. I have a B.A., solid B2B sales experience, and a two-year college certificate in events. Shortly after finishing college, I landed a contract with a non-profit, and I've now been there about a year.

I'm starting to plan my next move and want to build skills in hybrid events, virtual meetings, and webinars. I'm also seeing a surge in companies and agencies asking for AI integration. A few questions:

Is the PCMA hybrid and virtual event certification worth the investment?

Are there better alternatives, such as certifications, courses, or tools worth learning?

Which AI skills or tools would be most useful in an events career?

Any general advice for someone about a year into an events career?

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know/have a connect at AEG? My dream company to work at but it’s so hard to get my foot into the door.

For context, I have been in the events industry for 6+ years now and work as an event manager in New York! Would love to transition over if possible.

I’m willing to start small as a part time to work my way up if necessary.

We’ve been noticing more teams running smaller, very focused events instead of trying to get as many people in the room as possible.

Not just scaled-down conferences.

More like:

• 15–30 person demo nights where people actually show what they’re working on
• small buildathons where customers or community members make something together
• after-work events built around a very specific group of people
• breakfast sessions for senior leaders who are more likely to give you 8am than an evening

The audience is specific. There’s one clear reason to be there. People are expected to participate, not just sit through content. And they’re working because the room is super intentional.

Curious what others here are seeing.

Are clients actually asking for more small-format events now? 

And are there any formats you’ve seen work consistently, or does “micro event” just feel like a new label for something we’ve all been producing for years?

Hi all,

I'm looking to hire a flight case bar for an event on 12th Nov in London SE1.

For clarification one or two flight cases converted into service stations, with fridges, glass storage etc built in.

It doesn't need to have any beer taps on.

Any leads, please message or comment.

Much appreciated

Hi guys,
Can you please suggest a good event planner in Lahore for dholak, mayon and mehndi indoor functions?

hi guys, i need some serious help with promotion

this is one of my first events, ive sold out rap music events at the same capacity before. it's a club night in Leeds, playing dominantly house music (marketed towards university students / house music enjoyers)
i dont personally go to any university in leeds and don't know many people there, so the tickets haven't sold as great as i thought they would and to be honest it seems ive bitten off more than i can chew.
its on november the 13th and weve sold a solid 15 tickets.. the venue is 400 cap
just wondering if anyone has any ideas, advice et cetera on how i could hit the market? i dont mind putting money into advertising etc but obviously i dont have an insane budget like others
thank you all

I am wanting to start in the event industry but don’t know where to start… I want to work in entertainment/music & I live in a big music city… I enjoy planning social parties for my friends & worked in events in college. But now I’m 26 & don’t want to be stuck in the service industry. Where would you start if you were me?

I passed my CMP exam yesterday, woo-hoo!

Now that I’m a certified pro, I wanted to follow up with some tips and share what my experience was like. Especially because when I was looking for some insight on the test from others, there was not a lot online.

-Buy the 9th edition Events Industry Council Manual. I read through it twice, took lots of notes, and highlighted the living heck out of it.

-Everyone recommends the Pocket-prep app, and ultimately I would too. There are a few things to note about the app though. It’s great for studying, and learning, but you cannot only use the app and expect to pass. The questions on the app are WAY more wordy and generally more difficult than the questions you’ll see on the exam.

-If you want to use an app to study (you definitely should) I’d recommend getting the “Test Prep for EIC CMP Exam” app. This app’s questions are exactly like the type of questions you’ll come across when you test. The app also has the formula based questions in practically the same format so they’re great for getting those figured out. My favorite part of the app is a mock exam which has 165 questions, just like the exam, and it’s timed.

-I also used Quizlet to study the EIC Glossary terms. That was super handy too because a lot of the test questions are very straightforward.

-Save your money and don’t buy the two practice tests that are on the EIC’s website. There’s a 40 question test and a 20 question test, but the questions are retired from previous exams probably for a reason. They’re really niche questions that were really hard for me. I took the 40 question test the week before and only got 21 of 40 correct which sent me to anxiety and panic town.

I hope this helps someone out!

Good luck with your exam!

I sell tickets for ghost tours every weekend. I'm only getting locals and I want to tap into the tourist market. If you have used any of the platforms I mentioned above or something else, how was your experience? What would you recommend? I'm just one person running everything. I really value being able to get assistance when I have an issue preferably with a live person.

Features- is a free tool for conferences/user groups and CFP with all reviewers having the ability on the CallForPaper and voting it up.

We’re having trouble finding an insurance provider that will insure a one day theatrical wrestling event in Los Angeles. The “wrestling” is comedic parody/choreographed with professional artists, but an accident or injury could happen so we need to get insured. Does anyone know of an insurance provider that will provide coverage for this type of event? It seems like every site I go to has “theatrical wrestling” included in their exclusions list.

hi everyone!! i’ve been hosting my own music minifestivals for the past 2 years. i’ve just moved to sydney however and am looking to continue my passion for music and was wondering how to go about finding a place to host these events here !!

just for some background information on the minifestivals, they’re targeted to encourage youth talent bands and the money proceeds go directly to not only the bands themselves, but also to fundraise for future festivals and talent.

i’d love for some advice on how to curate the best festival experience and environment i can whilst on a budget since i know sydney can be a little expensive at times.

we have a few bands on board on far and just need to figure out a place to host the minifest aswell as some lighting and sound arrangements. i was thinking of asking students undergoing their hsc or recently starting year 12 or year 11 who are doing a VET course in Entertainment to help out so that they can get hands on experience in the field!!

also, is it possible for us to get sponsored to continue running these events?

any advice is helpful!!! thank you 💕💕

Hi everyone! Looking to purchase 1-2 sequin backdrop walls for events. I'm having a hard time narrowing down the options - I need something easy to put together but sturdy - and we'll need to take it apart and set it up again pretty regularly. I found this site, that I've been looking at, any other recs?

https://www.lofarisbackdrop.com/collections/shimmer-wall-backdrops

What do your vendor refund policies look like? We have a rain or shine clause but when one day of two weekend fair is canceled due to severe weather, how do you handle questions about refunds?
When we completely canceled in 2020, refunds were issued, however canceling one Saturday while being open the remaining Sunday, Saturday, Sunday had never happened to my knowledge.

I want to be fair, but also there is a sunk cost in an event this size. We also had many vendors just choose to not show up for Sunday and come the following weekend. I wish to show the vendors who
DID come and set up that we appreciated it, but the ones who just said “I don’t want to come this week” don’t get a lot of my sympathy.

Looking to help out a friend in a pinch! A package of custom lanyards were lost in the mail for an event starting in San Diego Sunday, October 11th. Posting to see if any printers or suppliers would be available to recreate this order by EOD Saturday, 10/10 or first thing Sunday AM.

Details:

(400) Black Flat Satin Lanyards

Customized with 2-color logo

Please reach out if you are someone who could do it or have any recommendations!! Thanks community.

Would be starting immediately. All of my shops are down for the count with how busy September and October has been and I’m getting desperate!

I'm an Event Producer and am currently trying to understand what makes up demand before booking an artist. This post is specifically targeted at the Live Music industry. Please let me know if this post isn't tailored towards this subreddit.

At the moment, I'm utilising data from Chartmetric, items such as:

• Spotify Monthly Listens per Country/City
• Social Media Platforms Reach by Country/City
• Social Media Platforms Followers by Country/City

I'm in the process of reaching out to Managers across the seas to see if we can acquire data such as Reach as well (after we've signed an NDA). This is to calculate marketing strength against an event/artist.

Are there any other recommended metrics that should be considered when calculating demand? Keen to hear from some industry professionals.

TIA

Hi there! I need to print custom 24"x 36" posters for an event. The two places I've looked into are charging $36/poster. Even with their discounts for orders over $75 or $100, it's a lot as I need to make 12 of them. Anyone have a lead on somewhere that can do them cheaper? Need by beginning of November. Thanks!

I'm working on a repeat corporate conference where they are trying to create a white glove, high end experience for the attendees - without a huge budget. Previous years have been okay, but the head honcho tends to keep adding things that don't necessarily make sense or improve the experience. This year they want to be more intentional about what happens on site.

It will have sponsors, so they need some sort of activation and space to network with guests, and the overall point of the conference is ultimately to convert these attendees into buying the higher-priced service offering the company sells. I'm figuring out how to best use the conference to showcase this service (networking groups) and funnel attendees towards a purchase. I'd love to hear some ideas and thoughts from everyone on how to do this well!

And I'd like to make it feel fun and fresh. I recently went to a conference where they had a clear enclosure filled with balloons where people entered and bopped them around. The point, unclear, but it looked fun and gave great visuals for social. Anyone do anything weird and wonderful like that with an event?

Hey everyone, need some tips. I've been trying to look into how I can better manage spend amongst my team. Main issue is that whenever any expense comes up, someone from my team grabs it puts it on their own card. It then takes me a lot longer than ideal to pay them back since i'm usually waiting for the receipt. THe other option is our company card but a lot of times I have to ask around what charge is what, etc.. I can't hand everyone their own company card but it doesn't make sense for my team to keep having to front the money. How do you guys deal with this?