Planned Announces $4.7M In Funding To Build The Future Of Event Planning In A Post-pandemic World
Planned is a startup that empowers corporate event planners to discover and book unique suppliers, while saving, and tracking budget, all in one software solution. Today, Planned announced that it has raised $4.7 million in venture financing with participation from Inovia Capital, Telegraph Hill Capital and N49P. This brings their total raised to $7M. The cash will continue to propel Planned forward as it gears up to tackle the future of event planning in a post-pandemic world.
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Co-founders Marc-Antoine Bonin and Emeric Noel came across the idea for Planned in 2017. Since then, Planned has launched a one-stop-shop platform with over 10,000 suppliers in 50+ markets across North America, working with clients like Google, Michelin, Amazon, Nespresso, BMO, Airbnb, and Ernst & Young.
In 2019, the corporate events industry represented a growing but highly fragmented $565B industry. Unfortunately, the market has been heavily affected by COVID-19, forcing the majority of organizations in North-America to shift their events from in-person to digital. To adapt, Planned launched a virtual marketplace to help planners find the suppliers they need until in-person events return. ‘’
It was important for us to provide value to our customers and assist them in the transition to virtual events, so we built a virtual experience marketplace with thousands of services ranging from speakers to virtual sushi-making classes. We are constantly improving our platform to meet the changing needs of enterprises and their event personnel. An example is our COVID map, which provides insight on event regulations across different states and provinces,” says Emeric Noel, co-founder of Planned.
Some of Planned’s new platform features include:
- Discovery: A marketplace of venues and vendors for in-person, hybrid, or virtual events. The marketplace has detailed information about each supplier, including health and safety protocols.
- Efficient booking: Planners can pay all of their suppliers in one centralized place. Additionally, they can keep track of invoices, compare quotes, and streamline conversations.
- Company savings: Planners can save money by accessing exclusive rates and listing prices.
- Planner tools: Registration, RFPs, day-of-event app, and much more coming up.
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