As promised…there’s a functioning product!
The last few weeks have been quite the whirlwind.
😬 In my mind, this was how things were supposed to go…
October 1: Launch the functional beta product
October 10: Have event planners sign up and get their first Hostowambe leads
October 30: Be fully on the hustle and grind of answering support emails and quickly adding more features to the product
😅 But clearly, this is one of the lessons I’m learning to get used to as a founder. Things will take twice as long as you expect them to — account for it!
The other part — is if you commit, you should also deliver or communicate if you can’t. A “new” launch was promised for October…and with the final day of the month…we’re here!
Validating the idea
Originally Hostowambe was being described as the Uber for Events.
….the reality is that it’s not. Events take a lot of upfront time and communication to execute, so an on-demand solution is not the best way to frame it.
If anything, for people who have seen the product it has been described as the Airbnb for Event Planners…which is pretty accurate in my eyes. (Side note: My dream is to one day look back on this moment having people know what Hostowambe is — and starting to describe other companies as the “Hostowambe of X”!)
But enough about the why…because we know you didn’t come here for that. Let’s jump into the how!
What can you do with the product?
We focused on 4 main areas in the first version:
🔍1. Find your event planner
If you’re like me — your family never have used an event planner growing up. Or the one time it was discussed, was for a wedding — because, who has event money like that?
But on the flip-side, who has event time like that? Imagine if instead of you trying to figure out if your aunt ordered the food, or your brother confirmed that his friend could DJ your event, or you making sure the all the decorations got ordered…someone could make sure all of that happened for you?
That’s why we love our planners! They make our lives easier and allow us to focus on the most important part of events — the experience and building relationships.
And if the need is not already clear, according to Eventbrite:
When it comes to money, ‘experiences’ trump ‘things’: More than 3 in 4 millennials (78%) would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or event over buying something desirable, and 55% of millennials say they’re spending more on events and live experiences than ever before.
So as the need increases, we’re here to support!
For Hostowambe, we categorized events and their sub-events to make it simple to filter or search based on your needs. As an event host, once you’re on the listing, you can see examples of the planner’s work, see what is covered in their offerings, as well as any other details they choose to include. Of course, the options in your search will be dependent on the volume of event planners and how quickly we can onboard them to the site.
Our priority is quality over quantity — so our founder, Joy, is personally interviewing every planner before they can start posting their services. She could never fully take off the recruiting hat!
We’ll get new planners in as quickly as possible, but for now, we will still provide services for any event you have in mind!
💰2. Plan for your budget
For both event hosts and planners, figuring out the ideal price point for services can be tough. And right now, there’s not an easy solution to compare prices across the board. Here’s a quick peak at what is done in event planning communities:
Whether you’re working with a new planner or type of event, we wanted to make it easy for people to be able to see the full range of prices.
❔+ ✉️ 3. Message directly with the event planners
Sometimes you want to know if your event planner has done your theme before or has time to do your event. Other times, you just want to better understand where the price estimates came from.
Whatever the need, we wanted to make sure you are able to ask the planner any questions upfront before you commit!
💰4. Pay your planners — with safety for you both
And once you’ve finally identified the right planner for you, there’s always a fear that a planner would take your money and run.
But we got you! Not only will your events be insured through our team, but we’re using Stripe as a payment partner. This means:
- In sending money, only Stripe has your card information — not even the Hostowambe team has access to this!
- You’re only charged if the planner accepts your request within 3 days!
- When you are charged, Stripe holds the money until your event is done.
And that’s it for the initial product!
As always, we’ll continue iterating on the features and getting more planners setup to provide you with more options. If you have a planner that would be great for us to chat with, do us a favor and invite them here. Once you’ve invited 5 new planners, we have a special gift for you 🎁!
So, what’s next?
🌟 Logo, branding, and design!
We’ve been working with a talented designer to create the logo (note: I’m in love with it already!) and overall brand going forward. We’ll share more once it’s ready to go — and you can expect a landing page to go with it.
🎉 More events!
November is a busy one for us — but for our planners overall! September to December offers some of the highest concentration of events, so we’re happy to be part of it. Make sure to follow us on instagram to see a few photos of the events!
👏Testing, testing, and more testing!
Now that the product is out, we’ll be testing and learning. Please consider letting us help out with your next event, or mentioning us to family and friends. And at the very least, if you like what you see, do us a favor and show support on this post 🙌!
As always, our mailing list will always hear what’s new first. Make sure to subscribe to hear what’s next for us.
