{Ask the Techxperts} @EventFarm Powers StartUp RockOn’s 2.0 New Media Party with Microsoft, AOL, Viacom and Others

This series is dedicated to learning from event experts on various topics. We cover event technology, meeting design, and much, more more! Today, we are pleased to interview RYAN COSTELLO, CEO of Event Farm.

First of all, please tell our readers about Event Farm – what is the company all about?
Well, where to start? Event Farm is a rapidly growing, innovation focused invitation, registration, mobile check-in, and digital activation company. Used by global brands, national associations, and non-profits, we strive to empower event professionals by providing innovative technologies that promote brands and engage targeted audiences. Recently Event Farm also opened “The Barn,” our R&D lab tasked with developing innovative, digital activation technologies to help brands further their experiential marketing efforts. The bottom line? We bring people together.

What were the 3 keys to getting the company off the ground – where did you invest your time?
There is no perfect formula for getting a company up and running but these three things definitely helped fuel our start-up fire:

1) Incessant persistence
2) Passion for our product
3) Listening to clients, acknowledging early failures and improving

What kind of clients do you serve?
Our clients take events really seriously. They are brand focused corporations and organizations that care about creating an engaging experience for their guests. Live events provide an opportunity to be more than just a product or service – they give you the chance to communicate the message, personality, and goals of your brand. We work with our clients to create an environment and experience that echoes their desired message.

How do you use events to expand the reach of your brand?
Having started out as event producers, we take every opportunity to work alongside our clients in the trenches of their events. These experiences allow us to further our understanding of the challenges they’re facing and how we can make their lives easier. This approach has also let us build some great stories, trust and long lasting partnerships with clients that has helped grow our company by word of mouth.

I heard about this awesome New Media party you had this past weekend… Please tell me more!
For the past few years, Event Farm has been the invitation, registration, and check-in engine behind dozens of WHCD weekend events. What made this year different is that we turned it up a few notches and revealed the latest in event technology at StartUp RockOn’s 2.0: The New Media Party in partnership with Microsoft, AOL, Viacom and others.

We’re talking more than social media walls and photo booths; we leveraged our NFC platform, HOVER, to raise the bar on how attendees can interact and engage at an event. For example, Blabdroids, small endearing robots, roamed the event and chatted with guests based on how they answered questions while RSVPing. There was also a digital gifting wall and large white spheres that hovered over the dance floor sending downloadable tracks from the band when tapped with the NFC badge.

This was the cool kids’ party of Nerd Prom, and we couldn’t be more proud!

Finally, what is your favorite app?
It’s a hard choice but I’m going to go with… Waze: a community based mapping, traffic, and navigation app. The reason I love it? It saves me time.

Bio for Ryan:
Shortly after graduating from Georgetown University, Costello co-founded the event production firm Volta Live. In 2007, the company developed its own software to handle ticketing and guest registration for its events when it couldn’t find anything on the market to meet its needs. Gradually, others started asking if they could borrow the software, so in January 2011, Event Farm was officially launched. Here on the Farm, Ryan is known for “harvesting” and his infectious go get ‘em attitude.