EVA, an entertainment booking platform for events, raises $2M as it expands to more cities

EVA, the platform that connects event bookers with local performers, has secured $2 million in funding as the popularity of in-person events comes back in full force. The round, which the Nashville-based startup says was more than double the target amount, values EVA at $15 million.

The recent round is timely as event organizers are witnessing a surge in attendance at in-person B2B conferences. According to a study by event management company Bizzabo, 86.4% of planners invested in more in-person events in 2023.

With the new capital, the company plans to expand its services to new markets, beginning with New York City in early December, shortly followed by Los Angeles, California. It’s currently available in seven markets: Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Nashville, and New Orleans.

EVA allows event planners to book performers for various events, including corporate occasions, private parties, public events, college events, festivals, and weddings. Upon creating an account, organizers gain access to a wide selection of entertainers, ranging from Santa Claus for Christmas parties to motivational speakers, musicians, magicians, and even Taylor Swift impersonators.

The platform also enables planners to create events by inputting details such as location, date, number of guests, budget, duration, required equipment, and attire, and more for performers to apply for. Once the event details are posted, EVA's matching algorithm suggests the most suitable entertainers and the event planner can review their profiles before making a booking. The “Teams” hub lets all team members collaborate on different events and manage invoices.

EVA not only aims to revolutionize the event-hosting industry but also seeks to provide entertainers with access to large events they may not have had the opportunity to attend previously. Many performers on the platform are emerging artists who often struggle to make a living from their craft, typically being hired for small-scale events like birthday parties or local bar gigs. EVA could potentially offer them greater exposure, serving as a reliable source of income for local performers.

Tabitha Meeks, a local Nashville singer-songwriter, told TechCrunch, “EVA has allowed me to not only grow as an artist but also live in a way that I can start to build my future...I am able to not just scrape by as a ‘starving artist,’ but actually save money.”

The company revealed to us that, over the past four years, it has helped artists earn $6 million collectively. The minimum booking fee for events is $400, however, the company shared that the average transaction ranges from $600 to $7,500.

Organizers are required to pay the entertainer 50% of the deposit prior to the event, and then entertainers collect the second half of the payment at least a week before it starts. All performers must submit a professional video before being accepted on the platform.

The company also provides both parties with performance contracts and event insurance.

“We carry a blanket, general liability, and professional liability insurance policy for our entertainers and the corporate clients,” co-founder Makenzie Stokel told us. “That was another big roadblock that corporations had with trying to book entertainers individually, is that typically these entertainers don't carry that $5 million of insurance. That's crazy for them to have to carry that, so we carry it ourselves on behalf of every event that we do.”

In 2015, the concept for EVA originated from the personal frustration experienced by co-founders Stokel and Channing Moreland when they attempted to organize events while studying at Belmont College. Both of them have music-related backgrounds and noticed that many of their artist friends were being exploited.

“At our core, we felt artists and creators deserve to be paid for their craft, and so that's what started us down this path,” Moreland said. “We first started by building an events discovery platform to help promote [our college friends]. That led us to start producing and promoting our own events and festivals, which then led us to really understand the big problem with booking and how not transparent or easy it was.”

In 2019, the platform started offering its service to corporations. Notable companies such as Amazon, BMW, Dell, ESPN, and LinkedIn have chosen EVA as their event planning partner, using the platform to connect with entertainers and interactive offerings to spice up their events.

There are more than 2,500 entertainers available on the platform.

Investors in the latest round include the founders of Songfinch -- John Williamson, Josh Kaplan, Scott Kitun, and Robert Lindquist -- as well as Justin Kalifowitz of Downtown Music Holdings, Cascade Seed Fund, Stout Street Capital, and others.

EVA declined to share its current revenue run rate. However, it said that it takes a 20% platform service fee from organizers on all booked events.