Event Hollow

Event Hollow is an e-commerce marketplace that helps couples plan their wedding.

Unlike its competitors, this company’s platform enables couples to view pricing and availability for wedding services ranging from caterers to photographers to DJs. Couples can select from pre-set packages or customize their own, and can pay for their entire wedding through the platform.

Weddings are a $100 billion market in the U.S. Each year, 2.2 million couples get married.

But planning a wedding is stressful. Couples have to communicate with vendors to book each aspect of their “big day,” and have to keep track of schedules and pricing options.

Couples often run into a lack of transparency with respect to a vendor’s pricing and quality of their services. As a result, the average couple spends double their initial budget.

Stress also impacts wedding vendors. Vendors last an average of five years in the industry before suffering from “burnout.” They also spend more than $10,000 a year in advertising that often generates little increased business.

Event Hollow’s two-sided marketplace provides a solution for couples and vendors. It offers couples a fully-integrated platform to plan their wedding. And it enables vendors to market their business to potential clients.

Simply put, Event Hollow’s marketplace offers everything a couple needs to plan their wedding. This includes a curated vendor network, wedding planning concierge, full pricing transparency, and a single contract to review and sign.

Couples start by reviewing vendors for different services. These services include bartenders, cake makers, caterers, DJs, floral designers, hair stylists, makeup artists, musicians, officiants, and photographers.

Couples can browse based on their budget, availability, or personal style. The marketplace uses an algorithm to “match” couples with suitable vendors. Vendors provide transparent pricing options, including pre-set packages or options for couples to customize their own. As an example, a local florist might offer four different arrangement options, but also enable the couple to build their own package.

As couples select various services, each one goes into their “cart,” similar to buying items on Amazon.

Once they’ve chosen the specific services and vendors they want, couples can choose a wedding planning company to oversee the event. Couples can review each company’s profile and see pictures of previous events.

Finally, when they’re ready to pay, couples can choose to pay the entire bill up front, pay half up front and half later, or finance their wedding and pay over time.

Event Hollow earns 20% for each service booked. According to the company, services range from $100 to $15,000, with an average cost of $4,000. The company estimates that each couple books an average of three services — an average total of $12,000 — meaning Event Hollow brings in an average of $2,400 in revenue per couple.

Event Hollow is initially targeting couples in the Bay Area. This presents a $2.5 billion market opportunity. 65,000 couples get married each year in this area.

More than 350 Bay Area vendors have signed up to advertise on Event Hollow’s marketplace, and the company has 150 “active” couples planning their weddings. The marketplace is still under “pre-launch” status; however, couples have put more than $500,000 worth of services in their carts.

As soon as its marketplace is launched, Event Hollow expects to generate $1.8 million in revenue in Year 1. This is based on 369 weddings being planned through the company. In Year 2, Event Hollow aims to expand to target markets on the west coast, and increase revenue to $7.2 million.

With funds raised, Event Hollow will increase marketing efforts through Facebook, Pinterest, and Google. It will also further develop its matching algorithm.

Team Background

David Stone-Resneck - Co-Founder & CMO

David has 16 years of startup experience, including expertise in marketing, operations, and event planning.

Most recently, he was Head of Marketing for EmPowerYu, a company creating software for the home care management market. Before that, he was Head of Product and Operations for MyData, a company that developed a mobile app to help users track health metrics.

He spent four years as Vice President of Operations for Greenteaspoon, a therapeutics company focused on microbiome research. Prior to that, he was a co-founder of Thalea Technologies, a company that created mobile apps, which was acquired in 2018.

David earned a Bachelor’s degree from University of California Davis and a Master’s degree in Communications from The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia.

Jen Edmon - Co-Founder & CEO

Before starting Event Hollow, Jen spent 10 years as Owner and Creative Director of Blue Daphne Events and Floral Design, a wedding planning company.

Prior to that, she worked in advertising for Conde Nast, where she managed digital media operations for various online publications.

Jen earned a degree in Communications from Bethany University.

Danielle Correa - Head of Customer Success

Danielle has seven years of experience in wedding venue and catering management.

She was a special events and catering coordinator for The Club at Ruby Hill, an event space, where she coordinated more than 70 weddings in a single year.

She studied Resort and Lodging Management at California State University.

Joey Bisagno - Chief Design Officer

Before joining Event Hollow, Joey was a product designer for Robert Half (NYSE: RHI), a management consulting company.

Prior to that, he spent nearly five years in the same position with Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).

Joey earned a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Studies from Azusa Pacific University.

Robert Sweeney - Chief Technology Officer

Robert has spent nearly two decades designing and building software solutions.

He was Lead Software Engineer at Springshot, a computer software company, and was a senior software engineer for Medpricer, a healthcare company.

He spent six years as a principal consultant for Dell (NYSE: DELL), and earlier was a senior consultant for Allin Consulting.

Co-Investors