A talk with techsytalk award-winning blogger Liz King: an Eventex Awards judge
Liz is an event planning superhero by day, and closeted tech geek and introvert by night. Distraught by the thought of everyday civilians being conquered by spreadsheets, she resolved to re-channel her organizational and tech savvy superpowers and launched Liz King Events while still running events full time for Columbia University. Liz voraciously shared content on event best practices via social media and quickly became a thought leader/influencer amongst her peers. Her hopes of being an incognito event superhero went down the drain as her cover was blown once she started making cameos on lits like ‘Successful Meetings list of 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry” and ‘Connect Magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 Up-and-Coming Event Planners in 2011″. Liz now comfortably wears her cape and employs her superpowers to helps entrepreneurs/brands like Claudia Chan and Ramit Sethi plan smart, tech-savvy events to better engage their attendees.
How does your job relate to the event industry?
I work in the industry in a variety of ways. First and foremost, I own an event planning firm in New York City that works with startups and brands to help them grow their companies using events. We plan product launches, conferences, brand events – anything that will help a brand reach their target market and grow. We also run a blog called techsytalk.com where we do what we can to educate other event planners on technology and it’s role in our industry.
What are your most important duties?
This is a hard question. Running my own business, I get to do a lot of different things – event planning, marketing, finances – everything ties in to make a successful business and I get to have my hands in all of it.
How do you describe your work style?
I am an intense worker. I could work for hours at a time if I wanted to, but I try to live a well-balanced life. I do whatever I can to streamline my work, be maximally productive and enjoy time with family and friends when I can.
What motivates you to judge Eventex Awards?
I always love learning about new technology in our industry so it’s exciting to see companies in this forum.
How do you recognize a winner?
Great companies have a product that addresses a major need and they’ve done the research about their competitors and a solid marketing strategies. There are plenty of great ideas out there, but they have to have the budget and plan to make it into the market.
What do you find unforgivable in an application?
Lack of targeting. Know your audience and your competitors and address needs directly.
Your advice to contestants?
Have fun! If you love talking about your product, we will love learning about it. Do what you love and let it show!
What aspect of event planning inspires you the most?
I love the innovation that our industry allows us. We are always reinventing for our clients which makes us better every time we get in the event planning ring.
