Founders Everywhere: Jennifer Brisman
Founders Everywhere: Jennifer Brisman
Jennifer Brisman is the founder and CEO of VOW, a powerful event and guest management technology for live experiences.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Planning live experiences and events is hard and tedious work. There’s constant moving pieces and only one opportunity to get it right. VOW is the first-of-its-kind guest management technology for live events and experiences. It’s trusted by many of the world’s biggest brands and facilities, and supports event professionals and guests alike, with 24/7 live support for all. Gone are the days of juggling multiple systems and stressing over disjointed processes—VOW streamlines operations, reduces manual errors, boosts revenue and enhances the experience.
Founder and CEO Jennifer Brisman spent two decades in the live events industry. She’s produced over 600 events and has been featured in CNN, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NBC and Forbes. She turned her passion for live experiences into modern leading-edge technology that now powers live events across sports, media, and entertainment.
The future of live events is VOW!
Why VOW and why now?
I've always been passionate about live experiences and streamlining processes. After 20 years as a live event producer, I was exhausted from shuffling between dozens of disjointed systems and tools to manage both event details and stakeholders. The idea for VOW came in 2019 at a large gathering of event professionals; one of the main topics of conversation was the absence of a modern all-in-one solution to accelerate operations and elevate stakeholder experiences, so I quickly set out to build VOW!
What’s VOW’s North Star?
VOW aims to transform live experiences and events for those who plan and attend them. VOW’s B2B2VIP tool unifies event and people management under one roof. As VOW’s product and engineering often remark, "we want our tech to be an event pros team.” Notably, the future of VOW is hands-free, keys-free, always-on planning; a virtual co-pilot that works side-by-side with event professionals to enhance efficiencies, increase top-line revenue and eliminate losses in data, time, money, and unnecessary stress.
What sets VOW apart?
We set the bar high and leverage technology to enhance live experiences, which are irreplaceable aspects of humanity. VOW helps organizers do more with less by streamlining operations, reducing manual errors, and providing real-time insights. Without VOW, organizers must rely on outdated, disconnected systems that don’t talk to each other. Our end-to-end solution is critical for both organizers and guests. Our commitment to and focus on enhancing all stakeholder experiences - both professionals and guests - sets us apart.
What have been the greatest challenges founding VOW?
We had to navigate a pre-pandemic product, a pivot during the pandemic, and adjusting post-pandemic, which has been challenging, but also filled with amazing opportunities. Separately, the time-sensitive nature of events means that any issues have a ripple effect on clients and guests, often in real-time, requiring us to be precise and quick in fixing problems. There’s no second chances when it comes to live experiences and events.
Any favorite book recommendations?
I recently listened to Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence―and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk. I really liked the way that he communicates to get out of your head and into the game on your own terms, and just do it.
What makes you a unique founder?
I am relentless and passionate about live experiences and innovation and I never give up. My deep domain experience and drive for streamlining interactions across stakeholders have been crucial. In college I was pre-med and one concept I learned was to stay focused on constants and variables, which has influenced my approach to problem-solving in the startup world.
Listen to Ben Huffman with Joy Jing on the Venture Everywhere podcast: The Contra-conomy, Listen now on Apple & Spotify and check out to all our past episodes here!
