How this startup is helping companies run and make their event operations, marketing more productive

In the rapidly expanding global corporate event market, which is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2031, as per Allied Market Research, companies are increasingly relying on events as a crucial part of their growth strategy. 

“Ease of visa restrictions, rise in investments for infrastructural development, and surge in a number of travellers in commercial aviation across the globe are some of the other factors that fuel the growth of the corporate event market. Moreover, the surge in penetration of internet & technology in densely populated states augments the growth of the market,” the report said.

However, the surge in event frequency and reliance on various tools and technologies has led to a significant challenge: the scattering of data. This fragmentation hinders companies from effectively gathering insights into their revenue and outcomes, making it difficult to assess the return on investment (ROI) of these events.

The lack of a unified system to manage and analyse event data results in operational inefficiencies and missed opportunities for optimisation and growth. The challenge is further compounded in the realm of event operations or EventOps. 

While event management encompasses the entire process of planning and executing an event, EventOps focuses on the hands-on management of logistical, staffing, and operational aspects during execution, requiring meticulous planning. 

The complexity of managing events involves collating scattered data from various sources like forms, webinar tools, conferences, and spreadsheets. This disjointed approach to data management poses a significant challenge for companies, as they often lack the time and resources to bring all this data together effectively. 

Consequently, sales and marketing teams struggle to track and measure the effectiveness of their events, leading to inefficiencies and a lack of clear ROI.

To tackle these challenges for corporates, Chameli Kuduva and Hari Pragdish founded EventHQ in 2023 as an EventOps and intelligence platform.

Who are the founders?

EventHQ was founded by Chameli Kuduva and Hari Pragdish in 2023. Chameli is not a first-time founder. Prior to EventHQ, she founded SaaS Insider, a community aimed at helping people understand what is needed to grasp the business. She has also worked at OrangeScape, Freshworks, and Hiver.

On the other hand, Hari Pragdish has completed a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Anna University. Hari is also not a first-time founder. Prior to EventHQ, he founded Supercharge, which was acquired and later ceased operations in April 2022. 

In August 2021, he joined SaaS Insider as a part-time co-founder. Besides his entrepreneurial career, he has worked at Efficient Capital Labs, Qlinks.app, Esper, Freshworks, and Zoho Corporation.

How did it start?

EventHQ's journey began with Chameli Kuduva's passion for entrepreneurship and community building. In 2020, she founded SaaS Insider, a blog that quickly evolved into a vibrant B2B SaaS community, connecting industry professionals and growing to over 10,000 members. 

Notably, The community became a platform for knowledge sharing, hosting numerous webinars, meetups, and conferences, attracting thousands of participants. 

Kuduva's husband, Hari Pragdish, brought his experience in CRM sales and entrepreneurial spirit to the mix. They both recognised the challenges event organisers and enterprises faced, particularly in data aggregation and process definition within the event management industry. 

As they delved deeper into the community's needs, especially during the shift to virtual events amid the pandemic, they identified a significant gap in the market. 

Many companies struggled with managing event data, often resorting to basic tools like Excel sheets, which made measuring the return on investment (ROI) of events a challenging task. This realisation led to the inception of EventHQ. 

What does EventHQ do?

EventHQ is an EventOps and Intelligence platform purpose-built to support event marketing teams. The system streamlines information flow, automates engagement, and offers in-depth ROI analytics. It stands as an all-encompassing solution connecting revenue teams, marketing, and data in one place.

The startup specialises in streamlining and enhancing both event management and event operations for businesses. While event management encompasses the overall planning and execution of an event, event operations focus on the practical aspects of managing logistics, staff, and operations during the event. 

Based in Delaware, US, with an office in Bengaluru, EventHQ's unified system is designed to bring together scattered event data from various sources such as forms, webinar tools, conferences, and spreadsheets. 

The unification is crucial because it allows companies to manage information flow efficiently, automate engagement processes, and provide in-depth Return on Investment (RoI) analytics. 

By doing so, EventHQ connects revenue teams, marketing departments, and data in one centralised place, facilitating better collaboration and alignment through integrations. 

EventHQ simplifies this process by integrating all these disparate data points into a single platform. This means that the company can easily track how many people who filled out the registration form actually attended the webinar, thus providing a clear picture of the event's effectiveness and engagement. 

The startup's solution is particularly tailored for EventOps, which involves managing specific tasks and activities during the execution phase of an event, which includes logistics management, coordinating with vendors and sponsors, managing speakers, and handling attendee queries.

Although EventHQ is primarily designed for EventOps, its capabilities extend to these various aspects of event management, making it a versatile tool for organisations. EventHQ's platform can streamline this process by providing a central hub where all these different elements are managed and tracked. 

The integration saves time and resources and provides valuable insights into the event's performance, such as attendee engagement levels, effectiveness of marketing efforts, and overall return on investment.

Funding and investors

EventHQ has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Powerhouse Ventures, with participation from three angel investors: Vijay Shankar, Arjun Pillai, and Karthik Ramamoorthy.

The startup has also initiated a waitlist and has onboarded a few early customers. By onboarding early customers, EventHQ can gather valuable feedback and insights, which can be used to refine their offerings before a wider release. 

It is planning to enter a beta phase soon, a crucial stage in software development where a product is tested in real-world scenarios to identify any bugs or issues that need to be addressed.

“Businesses have started prioritising event-led growth, however data around events is still stored separately, making it challenging to effectively carry out event operations and assess the return on investment (ROI). There has been a noticeable rise in the number and variety of events, and we believe EventHQ can address this challenge.” says Chameli Kuduva, Founder, EventHQ

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