Having heavily relied on in-person events pre-pandemic, Village Global shifted to a virtual-first approach along with the rest of the event industry in 2020. Frustrated with their previous event solution, they turned to Splash and experienced immediate benefits. With Splash, they are able to quickly set up on-brand, high quality in-person and virtual events, streamline event communications, and repurpose event content virtually to align with the evolving needs of attendees.
A seed-stage venture capital firm with a global portfolio, Village Global services multiple audiences and geographies. Their network services innovative founders and entrepreneurs looking to start new companies, angel investors and co-investors who bring domain and geo expertise, and luminary Limited Partners (LPs) -- some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, like Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Sara Blakely, Anne Wojcicki, Diane Greene, Jeff Bezos, Eric Yuan, and more.
Splash sat down with Sheila Goodman, Village Global’s VP of Events & Partnerships, to talk about the Village Global approach to events.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Village Global was doing solely in-person events for their network. Whether it was an intimate dinner, a multi-day retreat, or a larger gathering with built-in breakout sessions, Village Global was doing the heavy lifting to pull all these in-person events together with their small events team.
Sheila commented, “Everything was in-person before the pandemic. I'm trying to think if we did a single virtual event, and I honestly don't think we did, beyond very basic Zoom meetings. And then, of course, when March 2020 came along, everything went 100% virtual.”
Like all organizations that relied heavily on in-person events, the onset of the pandemic brought about a shift in how Village Global operates. Sheila says she and her team 'made it work' but also talked about some of the more fundamental differences in how they approached events at Village Global.
"Part of the challenge," Sheila explained, "was that we all have a much shorter attention span virtually. No one wants to sit behind their computer for the same amount of time they would have otherwise attended an in-person event. We had to ask ourselves how to provide top quality content in the shortest timeframe and continue creating a vehicle for thoughtful 1:1 connections."
Village Global was using a competitor before using Splash. And, while they had their frustrations, the team was too busy to address the issues. Sheila shared, “At the time, I didn't find it to be a negative that I couldn't have a nicely designed event page. Sometimes when you don’t know there is a better way to manage something, you work through it without recognizing the challenges.”
After a chance run-in with Splash executive chairman and co-founder Ben Hindman back in 2018, Sheila and her team knew they had to at least give Splash a try.
“Once I learned about Splash, we signed up for the free plan. Three events later, we were on the Pro plan. It was a pretty quick transition to Oh! This is great!" Sheila reported. "I didn't even need to talk to a salesperson! When you produce events at the velocity we do, it's easy to figure out the benefits and how-tos of Splash yourself.”
With Splash’s easy-to-use, all-in-one platform, Sheila and her team's event communications immediately became more sophisticated.
I believe that the experience of an event begins when the invitee first hears about it, and Splash facilitates all of that. It’s great to have that feeling that you can create and promote within a simple RSVP form or even an event landing page… It was only when I started making really slick pages that I realized this is a totally different, and much more positive, experience for our attendees.
Sheila Goodman, VP of Events & Partnerships
While proving event ROI is a complex and long-term activity for a firm like Village Global, Splash helps make it a bit easier. The team collects relevant data, polls attendees on how to cater events to fit their needs, and confidently sends out sophisticated event communications worthy of their high-status network.
After all of the ups and downs of the last few years, what’s next for the firm's event strategy?
“We’re definitely coming back to more in-person events,” Sheila said, “but the way we've come back to in-person is different. There is a preference for smaller, more intimate events where attendees can focus on meaningful relationship building.”
Sheila also believes that virtual events are here to stay. And, with Splash, the Village Global team can easily streamline their pre-event communications and repurpose event content virtually to better align with attendee needs.
“Everyone isn't coming to the Bay Area for events like they used to. And sometimes, even a live virtual event isn't significant enough for people to actually carve out the time in their day. But, since we can now leverage that event content afterward, it makes for a seamless way for people to attend the event virtually when it's convenient for them.”
Because they've implemented the right tools and resources, Village Global can continue serving as a connection point for entrepreneurs, investors, and business experts.
