Behind every event is a human

It was 11 PM, days before Creative South 2024. We were staring at our event platform dashboard, doing the math one more time, hoping the numbers would somehow look different. They didn't.

Our ticket sales honestly looked great!… but there it was again, thousands of dollars in platform fees. Money that could have gone toward two additional speakers. Money that could have upgraded the venue's sound system. Money that could have lowered ticket prices so more designers could afford to come.

We were exhausted. And we were tired of feeling duped, yet again, by platforms that seemed to take more than their fair share simply because they could. That night, something shifted. We stopped accepting it as "just how things work" and started asking: what if we built something different? That was the night Eventrise went from frustrated conversation to real commitment.

This isn't a story about building a platform. It's about our foundational beliefs and how they've shaped our vision.

Every event starts with belief

You know the feeling. That moment when an idea takes hold. What if we brought these people together? A conference for 500 designers craving connection in their craft. A festival that sets the stage for local artists. A monthly workshop teaching skills often ignored by formal education.

Behind every one of these events is a human with a vision. Someone who believes in the power of community. Someone willing to pour nights and weekends into logistics, spreadsheets, and the thousand micro decisions that transform an idea into a tangible experience.

The platforms weren't built for people

Let's be honest. Most event platforms were built to maximize revenue extraction, not empower organizers. They take an excessive fee from every ticket sale simply because they can. Your money sits in their bank accounts for weeks and weeks (earning them interest) while you scramble to pay deposits. You get templated support responses from people who've never felt the panic of a venue cancellation 48 hours before doors open.

These aren't accidents. These are business decisions.

The result? Organizers make big compromises. Fewer speakers. Less than ideal venues. Higher ticket prices to cover costs. Or worse, events that never happen because the numbers simply don't work.

We're changing things

After 15 years of running Creative South, producing events at startups, and building field marketing programs, we've lived these problems from the inside. We've felt every frustration. We've made every compromise.

We fundamentally believe that the people who bring communities together deserve tools that work for them, not against them.

Our belief led us to a simple question: what would an event platform look like if it were designed by organizers who genuinely cared about organizer success? The answer became Eventrise, our commitment to thinking differently about the relationship between events and platforms.

How we show up differently

We choose values over profits. We're a bootstrapped team choosing reasonable pricing and organizer success over maximizing short-term gains.

We're human-centered through and through. Every interaction reflects genuine care and understanding because we know planning events can feel overwhelming. When you reach out because something's broken and doors open tomorrow, you're talking to someone who's been exactly where you are.

We're built by experience. Our team has decades of event production and product design experience. We solve problems because we've lived them.

We're purpose-driven, not profit-driven. Other platforms build to maximize profit. We're building with intentional purpose to serve the organizer community authentically. Every feature, policy, and interaction is designed to strengthen the communities you're working to create. When your community thrives, we thrive. Your success literally is our success.

This isn't marketing copy

When we say "behind every event is a human," we mean it literally.

The event industry talks about attendees, conversions, and revenue per ticket. Fine metrics, but they miss the point. Behind every event is a person who believes their community deserves something. That person is sacrificing spare time, sometimes personal finances, all without any guarantee it'll be worth it.

That person deserves to be seen, supported, and empowered.

Community starts here

We built Eventrise to prove a different model is possible. Fair pricing. Instant payouts. Human support. Organizer-first design. Values over profits.

Behind every event is a human. We build for them. This isn't a tagline. It's our organizing principle. Community starts here, and we’d love you to join ours.

Want to see what we built? Read about what we're shipping first (and why)