The Web site Kapow Events wants to make your life easier and your plate less full. Browse the site’s ever-growing catalog of curated small-event packages, click to book, wait for confirmation of availability, type in your credit card information, and then just show up.

No brainstorming new and engaging ideas for your executives or customers, no googling venues with private space, no back-and-forth about menus. The Kapow staff (all client account managers have either event planning or destination management company experience) have done all that for you, and bam, there’s your per-person price.

It sounds so easy it’s no wonder the site’s growth is off the charts. Kapow booked 300 events in January 2015, its best month ever, says Iggy Rodriguez, national partnership director. The company has grown from 10 employees in January 2014 to 125 employees today, and from one city to eight (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Phoenix). Philly, D.C., and Houston will be added by the end of March; and Kapow will launch in three new markets every two months through the end of the year. International expansion is expected by the end of 2015 as well.

Packages range from the traditional to the irreverent, Rodriguez says, from tequila tasting to glass blowing, in venues from restaurants, to museums, to sports arenas (one event gives you NBA tickets followed by an opportunity to play a pickup game on the Boston Celtics home court).

Kapow works mainly with Fortune 500 companies, and the internal contact might be the chief sales officer, a marketing coordinator, an event planner, or an executive assistant.

Events can be booked for a handful of guests up to about 100 people. Rodriguez says the average event package comfortably accommodates about 50 guests.

The site makes money through revenue-sharing agreements with its venues. You pay Kapow, then Kapow passes the bulk of that payment to the venue. Venues, says Rodriguez, have been eager to work with Kapow because these types of events fill downtimes, primarily Monday through Thursday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Adding Value
In addition to booking experiences, clients can take advantage of complimentary photography (Kapow sends a photogapher) at an event and complimentary digital invitations. “We’re always looking to innovate,” Rodriguez says. “Our tech staff is the biggest portion of our company.” The focus is on the booking and browsing platform, the centerpiece of the service, and ensuring a seamless process for both the client and the venue.

“We are doing as much as we can on the technology side to be a true digital solution to a cumbersome archaic process,” he says.

Browse the site to get a feel for the curated events, and find more details in the Kapow blog, which includes a series called “Why this Works”—narratives about some of the specific experiences available for groups.

Source: http://meetingsnet.com/event-planning/fully-packaged-corporate-events-ready-book-online?NL=CMI-06&Issue=CMI-06_20150304_CMI-06_795&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_3&YM_RID=CPLSM000000700098&YM_MID=829