Virtual Events Vendors
It’s 2023…Covid is finally in endemic stages, people are returning to the office, remote companies are doing more frequent IRL offsites, and Zoom is back to its primary use. All signs point to virtual events being a thing of the past, right?
Wrong!
No matter what working model your company follows, virtual events are still a super relevant, necessary tool in your team's culture kit. Not only are they incredibly inclusive, allowing for a more diverse, wider audience to participate in an event; But, they serve a vital purpose in sustaining team connection in between IRL experiences.
That is of course, if you are using the right virtual vendors. That’s why, today I’m going to save you the time and frustration of trying to sus out the crappy ones, and hand you my top 4 virtual events vendors on a silver platter.
(Disclaimer: These are not paid endorsements. I did not receive any compensation for recommending them…yet. 🤪 Just playin! Seriously though, I’m spotlighting them because they are super good at what they do and deserve the recognition. Simple as that.)
TeamClass
Backstory: Austin Arts and Chris Maggio started their journey with TeamClass in Austin, TX at the beginning of the pandemic. It began as a philanthropic effort to support local businesses affected by shut-downs. They partnered with bartenders and artists who could authentically engage people via video conferencing. (Not a commonplace talent, I might add) Together they organized virtual mixology classes and wine tastings for Austinites. To level up the experiences they arranged custom ingredients kits; packaging and shipping them to each customer, even hand delivering them when they hit a shipping error. They quickly realized their side hustle might actually be a main hustle, and Viola! Teamclass is born.
I discovered Teamclass as most people found virtual vendors during the pandemic…Google. I was on the hunt for amazing remote connection tools, so I vetted A LOT of vendors. Some were great, others were eh, and a few didn’t even bother to show up. Honestly, I was pretty frustrated and a little cynical when I finally came across Teamclass. However, their customer-centric approach diffused me almost instantly. My first event was led by their Sr. Events Coordinator, Che Wisdom. She was responsive, organized, and a masterful problem-solver. For example,my second event with them was a coffee workshop. Each participant received a kit with a bag of fresh ground coffee, a french press and a few other goodies. One of the kits never made it to its destination. Instead of taking the easy way out, and just refunding our money for that participant, Che tracked down a coffee roaster local to that participant, and arranged for them to deliver not only fresh coffee grounds, but a french press…the same day as the event!
I was sold on Teamclass from that moment on. They became my #1 virtual vendor, and Che remained my coordinator for every one of the 30+ virtual events we would do together. I believed in them so entirely I even became an advisor in 2021.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a virtual events vendor to bolster your offerings menu, give TeamClass a try. Tell them Liz Leary sent you. 😉
Website: TeamClass.com
Average Price range: $75-$115pp (USD) (significant discounts with membership)
Team sizes: 5 - 100+, but varies depending on activity chosen.
Int. Participation/Shipping: Yes, but varies depending on activity chosen.
Favorite offerings: Succulent Terrarium Workshop, Trivia Tag, Chocolate Candy Making Class.
The Go Game
Backstory: You might recognize The Go Game name. That’s because they’ve been a leader in IRL team-building experiences for well over 2 decades. Yup, you read that right…IRL experiences. Like the majority of companies they were forced into hard decisions as a result of the pandemic. Either bunker down, wait it out and hope to rebound OR leverage their years of experience in a pivot to virtual events. They boldly chose the latter.
However, their customers were used to high caliber experiences, something they knew they would not be able to deliver using Zoom or Google Meet, so they took it a step farther. They designed and built their own gaming platform called, Weve. With this innovative and brilliant technology, teams were now able to connect with a live host, and play a range of interactive and engaging experiences from anywhere in the world!
I discovered The Go Game right after they launched Weve, and even in its early versions it was a beast of a platform. I was most impressed with their game design. I’m a sucker for trivia, but I sometimes find it difficult to find questions for work-based events. Either they are too general, not culturally diverse, inappropriate, or just plain boring. The Go Game were experts! They customized each game specifically to the team I was planning for. I just filled out their incredibly detailed questionnaire before my event. It asks for details like, special occasions, team-building goals, areas of concern, and even gives you the opp to create questions yourself. (A super bonus for a control-freak like me)
Bottom Line: Every event I did with them was thoughtful, intentional and brought a welcomed respite to its attendees. Bravo Weve! You got an advocate for life in this experience designer!
Website: TheGoGame.com
Price range: $400 - $1700 (USD)
Team sizes: 10-100
Where is it available: Worldwide - just have to have a reliable internet connection.
Favorite offerings: Original Game Show, Movie Buffs, Space Escape
Confetti
Backstory: Eyal Hakim and Lee Rubin founded Confetti in 2017. Which means they have had close to decade to perfect their product, and it really shows. They are an incredibly diverse, and near flawless virtual events machine. I would recommend them to any person looking for a meaningful virtual experience. However, their top-notch offerings are only part of the reason they make my top 4 list.
I had the pleasure of working with Lee Rubin when I was on the Events and Connections team at Atlassian. She is a truly authentic human and we hit it off instantly. On a call one day she told me Confetti’s origin story. In her former role she had been tasked to organize connection events for her distributed teams. At that time the virtual events game was pretty weak. She found it incredibly time-consuming and stressful to vet vendors only to come up with sub-par solutions. She knew there had to be a better way. So she and Eyal connected to build a product that would make planning complex team building events both meaningful and easy for all.
As a former executive assistant, who always got tasked with finding event vendors in a pinch, this story resonated with me so much. Lee and Eyal started a whole company not with the purpose of making money, but because they saw a way they could simplify and improve lives. They founded their company with a people-first approach, which I truly believe enabled them to build an amazing product, lead a heart-forward team and sustain success in a sometimes volatile market.
Bottom Line: THIS is the main reason Confetti will forever be a top 4 virtual vendor recommendation. You all had me at people-first!
Website: WithConfetti.com
Price range: Packages for any price point. Budget field in search function.
Team sizes: 10-1000+ - Headcount field in search function.
Where is it available: Worldwide - just have to have a reliable internet connection.
Favorite offerings: Drag Queen Bingo, Co-worker Feud, Mash-Up
Remio
Remio is a virtual reality platform founded in 2019 by Jos van der Westhuizen and Derrick van Schalkwyk. It was built with the purpose of creating interactive collaborative experiences for teams. When you plan a VR event in Remio you are assigned an event coordinator and designer who customizes a private space for your team to gather in. The environment has everything! A mirror and accessories to design your avatar, basketball courts, frisbees, clay shooting and archery games. They also have conference rooms with whiteboards and spatial audio so teams can conduct meetings and have breakouts privately. But what solidified me as a customer was their custom game hall. This large, circular space has “doors” to both internally built games, like Puzzle Race and Hide & Seek, as well as, the ability to create custom doors to your favorite Oculus apps. Essentially they’ve created a VR clubhouse for your team.
I was honored to be an early adopter of Remio back in 2020. I had just finished TTVR21, a Trello retreat completely in VR, and now that my entire team were outfitted with Oculus Quest 2 headsets, I wanted to make sure they had a plethora of options to utilize them. I became fast friends with the Remio team, especially Jos, Remio’s Founder and Ellen Mitchell, who is now Remio’s Director of Events. (Yay Ellen! Well deserved promotion!) They took so much time teaching me about the product, making me feel confident running events, they even actioned some of my suggestions on improving the user experience. (Which is not something you find these days.) I did quite a few events in Remio, including using them as my virtual venue for the 2nd TTVR.
Bottom Line: They are an absolutely incredible platform that only gets more mind-blowing as the VR tech continues to improve. I highly encourage you to try them out if you ever have need.
Bonus Info: VR headsets are not mainstream tools, so you might have written off this review due to the fact that you don’t own one. But, one of the coolest things about Remio is they rent headsets for guided team events. They are about $65 for 3 days and Remio will take care of all shipping costs. Figured that little nugget of info might make this event a bit more accessible.
Website: RemioVR.com
Price range: Check out their packages here.
Team sizes: All size teams.
Where is it available: Worldwide - just need a headset and reliable internet.
Favorite Games: Tower Defense, Puzzle Race and BarVR
(Fun Fact: BarVR was my brainchild. I’m very proud & extremely flattered that they designed a game after one of my wild ideas. I also suggested they do Wizard Chess & Quidditch. Those didn’t come to fruition…yet.)
I leave you with this…
I’m a realist. I know that people soured on virtual events due to over exposure during the pandemic. It’s fair, and I get it. But, as I said in the beginning, virtual events still serve an important function in team's culture stories. When done correctly they strengthen bonds and ensure meaningful connection moments between IRL experiences. More so, when thoughtfully designed by talented teams like the ones above, and facilitated by engaging hosts, there is a special kind of magic in virtual experiences.
