setting the scene
- you’re planning the ultimate party, so you rent out a venue and draft an invite
- you text the invite to 100+ people, and all you get is a few maybe’s 😔
- was it the lack of customization? maybe people want to see the invite list before committing? 🤔
- to get a few extra attendees, you are left with no choice but to start a rumor that Drake is performing 🤦🏼
- this week’s company provides the all-in-one platform to help hosts plan and promote their events
in a sentence
POSH is an online events platform that provides tools for hosts to curate events and guests to discover new experiences
- tools: create a custom homepage, sell tickets, process payments, manage a guest list, book a venue, hire event staff, and send out SMS blasts
- events: weddings, company events, or even frat parties
- discover: find new events and see the Instagrams handles of other attendees
bulleted version: POSH is like a no-code website builder for events, providing a clean splash page and easy-to-use back end management tools🌐
the basics
- industry: event management and promotion, nightlife, ticketing
- headquarters: New York, NY 🚕
- year founded: 2019
- company size: < 40 employees
- investors: Cory Levy, Pareto Holdings (Jon Oringer and Edward Lando), Joshua Browder, Bluewatch Ventures (Eric Cohen), Amino Capital, Ryan Eisenman, Dorm Room Fund
- amount raised: $1.55m post seed
- business model: transactional (POSH takes fees on ticket purchases)
sponsored by
- founders know that building an app is no easy task, but Techstars-backed startup, Apsy, is innovating how apps are built through their AI platform
- Apsy has quickly acquired their first 40 customers, generated $0.5M in revenue in their first year, and will be rolling out a new platform that walks users through building an app via verbal conversation
- Apsy is raising their $2M seed round (with more than half already complete) and running a crowdfunding campaign as well; this is a company worth paying attention to
due diligence
what we like
- 📈 an eventful market: the concert and events market size is expected to grow to $400b by 2027
-
🙌 all inclusive: the platform is for anyone trying to plan or attend an event
- plus, a future gig economy will involve curators, venues, artists, and event staff on the platform
- 🗣 social: features like the Kickback program, where attendees earn money by bringing friends, and Instagram integrations allow POSH to facilitates attendee relationships and creates loyal customers
potential risks
-
💲 one-sided revenue: POSH currently only monetizes on the attendee side
- while making the platform free for curators gets users onto the platform, POSH may be missing out on additional revenue
- 🎯 target user? POSH targets all types of event curators, but simpler events may not need the comprehensive planning toolkit, and high-profile venues likely advertise and plan in-house
- 🕵🏽♀️ privacy: giving attendees access to the Instagram handles of other guests may bring up privacy concerns
founder profiles
- Avante Price (CEO; prev. COO @ Undorm; founder @ ChoreBug)
- Eli Taylor-Lemire (CTO; also @ Uplink Creative & BFA @ NYU; CTO @ Stumped)
comps
why POSH: POSH has punched its ticket into the big leagues, already having serviced huge events and sold 500,000 tickets; this company certainly belongs on our VIP list 🎉
so…what do you think?we want to hear from you!
|