How a great holiday inspired us to create the world’s first automated event creation platform
A few years ago on one of her family holidays to Corfu, Rachel M. rented a charming villa through Airbnb.
At the time, she was working as an event planner for a leading tech company in the Valley. She had just completed a grueling multi-location live event and was in the mood for some quality R & R.
But after a few days of sea and sun, she started thinking about everything that had gone into creating that event and couldn’t help but think how similar event and holiday planning really are.
You have those that want to create an event, and then you have those that can make it happen.
But unlike Airbnb, where for each tourist you have one venue, in the world of events, you need multiple vendors for each event. You need the venue, but you also need the food, the entertainment, the lighting, the videographer…the more ambitious the event, the more moving parts.
The event industry didn’t have the ONE thing that Airbnb brought to the table. They didn’t think digital. They didn’t think in terms of user experience; of making it easy for anyone.
And just like it’s hard to imagine a time when you needed to go to a travel agent to book your dream holiday, Rachel thought perhaps it’s time for the event planning industry to also get with the times.
After 3 years of rethinking everything she thought she knew about event planning; after 3 years of trial and error; of building a network of vendors from the North East to the Pacific South West, HelloPurple was born.
Part planning tool, part inspiration, HelloPurple walks the Average Jane & Joe through each and every step of the planning process, providing both inspiration as well as access to a wide range of vendors in the area.
Unlike Airbnb though, HelloPurple isn’t just about the final destination. It’s about the journey of creativity. Many of the customers are HR professionals and Office managers of tech companies who aren’t necessarily experienced in creating events, and don’t consider themselves as creative…But by using the Purple platform, they have not only gained the knowledge to create events; they have been encouraged to explore their own inner creativity – and they’ve discovered that they really love that. Or as they say in their own words, “creativity is a really powerful drug. once you try it, you want more…”
