Playing Matchmaker to Transform the Events Industry

Three years ago, my co-founder Matt and I set out to tackle a problem we had faced constantly during our professional careers – anytime we’d be outside of our offices it would be virtually impossible to access productive space in a timely and efficient manner.  At the same time, we noticed hundreds of incredible locations sitting idle in our congested cities.  When we visited spaces like this and spoke with their owners we were taken aback by how creative and unique the spaces were, but also how much downtime they experienced.

We launched Peerspace with the vision of creating an events platform that would connect beautiful locations with guests organizing memorable and productive experiences.  We wanted to eliminate the painful process of searching for, communicating with, and booking locations.  I’m so thrilled to see the wide variety of organizations turning to us for something better than a hotel ballroom or old-school event venue.  From automotive to healthcare to fashion and tech, companies large and small are finding value in using unconventional spaces for meetings, productions, and events. For example, in San Francisco, over 20 of the top 25 tech employers are using Peerspace. In New York, over 20 of the world’s biggest media companies have booked with us.

As our community has grown to over 300,000 guests that have attended a Peerspace experience, we’ve challenged ourselves to continue innovating the antiquated events industry.  One such innovation is our new matchmaking technology which analyzes millions of historical data points to accurately match a guest’s request with the best host locations.  Our goal with this new technology is to become the most user-friendly product for finding and booking a space you can be confident will support your activity’s needs.

As our marketplace has continued to grow rapidly, I’m humbled to announce that we’ve raised $11 million from Foundation Capital, Mitsui Fudosan, Carthona Capital, and Red Bridge Partners to support our vision of disrupting the way we find and book idle space.  A key component of bringing a disruptive idea to life is to partner with investors that share your vision. The investors who have chosen to join us on this journey are among the most respected names in peer-to-peer marketplaces and in commercial real estate. Their vote of confidence in Peerspace fuels our efforts with an invigorated sense of tenacity and focus.

When I look at the cross sections of companies who are using Peerspace it is clear that we are seeing the ongoing erosion of formal business culture and a heightened demand for unique experiences at professional gatherings. (For more context on these cultural factors driving the demand for services like Peerspace, check out Eventbrite’s recent report on this topic.)  Our team is passionate and laser focused on building transformative technology that will bring the event venues industry out of the dark ages. We are well on our way to making this goal a reality and are eager to tackle the journey ahead.