Spotlight On: Startup Sioux Falls
When we introduce ourselves as an event planning company, the first thing to come to mind for most people is the wedding industry. It’s true, we love to highlight our weddings, but we also get to work with fantastic corporate clients on a whole range of unique events. One of those corporate clients is Startup Sioux Falls.
“We have the privilege of working with Startup Sioux Falls on three of their marquee events each year; the Alumni Luncheon, Founders Reset and Pitch Night. All focused on celebrating businesses and founders in the Sioux Falls Community.” says Ashley Anderson, the planner behind our work with Startup Sioux Falls. She collaborates with their team to bring their visions to life.
Photo Credit: Kelcey Schroder Photography
This collaboration starts at the very beginning of creating the event and includes designing the event, meeting consistently to iron out the details, coordinating the vendors, and running the show on the day of the event. With corporate events, we get to really stretch our creativity because each event can be so different from the last.
Photo Credits: Kelcey Schroder Photography, Corey Gross Photorgaphy
At this year’s Founders Reset day, attendees were invited to plant seeds without knowing what kind of plant would grow. This was a reminder that the best leaders support their team members in what they need without expecting them to become something different than who they are.
Because Ashley gets to work consistently with Startup multiple times each year, she gets a strong sense of their culture and what they want to accomplish through their events. She says, “What sets any of the Startup Sioux Falls events apart is their genuine desire to celebrate people within the community.”
Photo Credit: Kelcey Shroder Photography
Pitch Night is an event that allows local business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to present ideas for their business to a panel. This event is a great opportunity for exposure as well as the opportunity to win funding for new endeavors.
One of Ashley’s favorite events to work on especially highlights this celebration by uplifting local business owners. At Founders reset, “We work collaboratively to create a space for business owners to come and be intentionally working on their business rather than in their business for the day. We make sure that they have all basic needs met for the day with great food and coffee but also great facilitators who challenge them to think in different ways about their operations and goals. It is an intense day but people leave feeling encouraged and inspired and it is pretty awesome to be a part of that.”
Maybe the best part of corporate events is the relationships we get to build over time. “I just really love the team at Startup,” Ashley says, “they have such incredible ideas so to help bring them to life and share in the energy is so great!”
Photo Credit: Kelcey Schroder Photography
xoxo, Rebecca
