ExpressPlanner vs. Evite

I was asked to present ExpressPlanner at Tony Stanco's webCXO event last night at the CIT in Northern VA. The theme of the event was "pitching to VC's". I've just recently been introduced to Tony but, apparently he's the man among men in Northern VA when it comes to educating young entrepreneurs on the process of starting a successful technology business in today's economy. More than that he seems very committed to the idea of networking and entrepreneurship in this area, which is very positive. When I completed the "3 minute pitch" the biggest question I received from the group was regarding our differentiators and more specifically the group asked how our product compared to Evite. (That just means that I need to do a better job of explaining how we compare to the market and I need to figure out how to fit my explanation into 3 minutes. I'm always learning.) The Evite comments however, really threw me for a loop as I was expecting questions about Cvent, Acteva and all of the other Event Reg products out there but, not Evite. Evite is a really good tool for planning parties (under 100 people). ExpressPlanner is suite of tools for end-to-end ERM. Our users generate income based on the events they plan.

We are both in the business of providing a FREE service to people who plan events. ExpressPlanner just offers the service to large event planners with more targeted discreet advertising. You'll never see pop up ads in ExpressPlanner. Our users don't appreciate it and frankly they just don’t work. I went into my Evite account last night and up popped an ad for Always Maxi Pads. My point is made. Our service directory will only return searches that our users choose. They'll never be based on random selection. If you're looking for a hotel in Las Vegas for 500 people on the 10th of March, we'll help you find it. Our Las Vegas hotel searches will never come looking for you.

Andy