Join us every week on #EventIcons where Will Curran and the audience get a chance to ask the most iconic people in the event industry about the industry’s best trends as well as the coolest tips and tricks. As this is the first episode, you have to get to know the host first. Will is interviewed by Dan Tyre, #6 employee of HubSpot who speaks at hundreds of events. He grills Will on the Endless Events story and his tips to making events run smoothly.
But first, Will welcomes #EventIcons’ first guest, Dan Tyre. And what an icon this man is! He went from being a musician, a nanny, and a truck driver, to the top salesperson for the Computer Store, a company that once sold Apple computers east of the Mississippi. Then, he founded not one, not two, but five startups! As a HubSpot speaker, he attends events all the time, and so, he met Will.
From A DJ To Endless Events: Will’s Origin Story
Dan asks Will how he ended up where he stands today. “I don’t think anyone that gets into the events industry planned on getting into it at all. For me, it started in high school. I used to be the geeky, web-designing kid. I started an internet radio station in my bedroom. Then, I started deejaying at backyard parties and middle school dances.”
He deejayed in college, but soon, he got tired of it and looked for new challenges. “I saw this company on the East coast doing these awesome high school dances with 6,000 kids and $60,000 production budgets. I learned how to do higher production companies,” says. Will. He learned everything all on his own. “I learned how to program lights, how to run video setups, what gear is good.”
The next big thing on Will’s agenda was an event production company that goes beyond high school dances. “We realized there was this huge gap in the market with production companies. Production companies are a little bit harder to deal with than a typical event planner. They’re very tech-centered, but the people skills don’t come naturally. “Let’s start our own AV company and bring this awesome customer experience.” And that’s a wrap on the Endless Events origin story!
What Makes Endless Events Different?
Next up, Dan asks Will what makes his production company different. Will says it’s three things. The first is the company’s culture and people. “We wear bright green shirts because we love to be seen, so people can come and talk to us. The second thing is our creativity. We can create a really awesome stage design for you, just like everybody. What makes us different is our creativity on the business end as well. We found ways to do things smarter, faster, cheaper, and of better quality,” says Will.
“The third part is definitely our level of service that we do. Most AV companies, they give you a quote and they hand it over and they expect you to understand what all that gibberish means.” Unlike them, Endless Events helps planners compare AV quotes. “We walk our clients through every single line and through our competitor’s quotes. We want to make sure that they really understand exactly what they’re getting for their money, just because it definitely is confusing, especially if you don’t do production every day.”
Endless Events Story Is A Story Of Success
The conversation then moves from Will and his company to the events themselves. “If I’m running an event for a hundred people, [which is the ideal number of attendees for most planners], what are the things that I should remember to help me run a world-class event?” asks Dan.
The first thing to think about is managing client expectations. “You have to first put yourself in the shoes of your attendees. Take the real good time to think about what they’re looking for. The way you can do that is just by surveying people, calling them up, talking on the phone, and doing your like persona research.”
Among the rarely talked about things that make an event fantastic are the basics. “For shows a lot of times, things like, for example, AV, food or the room get forgotten. But if you treat every show like it’s a big show, you can really amplify the experience and make it go super smooth,” says Will. Nobody talks about those things – unless they go horribly wrong, of course.
Endless Events Can Put On A Show Tomorrow!
Dan asks how much lead time he needs to put on a jaw-dropping show. Will shares that he has been asked to put on a show the next day before. “We’re going to make it happen. I’m not going to say that I’m going to be able to pull it off for the same budget that I could have done before. I’m going to have to bring in a lot more people or figure out how to make this happen. But if I have to stay up until 2:00 AM and knock out all the details and get you all taken care of, I’m going to make it happen.”
Is There A Bad Chapter In The Endless Events Story?
Will has done more than 1000 events in his lifetime. Rather than asking what event he’s the most proud of, Dan asks what was the worst thing that has ever happened to Will as an event coordinator.
“I haven’t had any major disasters. We were really focused on event safety. I don’t have any stage crashing down stories. But I do like to share this story of when I was starting the DJ company. It was the moment where I realized that systems and processes are needed to make sure an event goes perfectly.”
“This happened when we were actually adopting our first CRM. The client called up and told us what time the event starts. We never updated the time inside of the CRM.” Will was done setting up the event really early, so he decided to go grab some lunch. Unfortunately, he got the hours wrong. “The time in the CRM was wrong. The show started at 7, not 8 PM. It was 6:55 and I was an hour away from where the show was,” says Will. Long story short, he managed to get there 10 minutes late and apologized to the client. “Details are so important in the events industry. And that’s where I learned my lesson,” he concludes.
Conclusive Thoughts
Endless Events have done a wide variety of events. From Comic-Con to an event for United synagogue of conservative Judaism, Will and his team does it all. It’s true what Will says: “Events can be used to bring an awesome experience to educate, to entertain, and to sell.”
Here at Endless Events, we know how to throw an amazing event and we love to share our knowledge with the world. Whether you’re planning a virtual event, a hybrid event, or an in-person event, we can answer all of your questions.
Editor’s Note: This post was updated on May 12th, 2021 for clarity purposes.
