Middlesbrough tech start-up acquired by top UK event publishing company

Middlesbrough's EventSneaker has been snapped up by one of the UK's biggest event publishing platforms.

A Middlesbrough technology start-up has been snapped up by one of the UK’s biggest event publishing platforms.

EventSneaker, based in the town’s Boho One building, is an innovative online marketing tool. Bosses say it saves event organisers time and money by telling them how many sales a single Tweet - and each of their other online services - has generated.

The company, launched last summer by entrepreneurs Mark Stephenson and Elliott Perry and funded through Teesside University’s business accelerator Searchcamp, has been acquired by London-based evvnt.

Since its launch, EventSneaker has gained a portfolio of clients including Exposure Events and Sunderland Live and it was awarded partner status by online ticketing giant Eventbrite after just three months.

It has also just started working with the TFM Soundworks venue on Linthorpe Road.

Mark and Elliott say theirs is currently the only technology that tracks social media activity through to a ticket sale, helping event organisers understand how effective their online communications are.

Mark said: “You can get 10,000 people on to your website, that’s no good unless anybody buys a ticket.

“We allow event organisers to review their return on investment for marketing. We see how many sales you can get to your website, we show them where they’re coming from.”

EventSneaker’s deal with evvnt, an online publishing tool that allows event managers to reach an audience of millions, came about following a chance meeting between Mark and evvnt founder and CEO Richard Green at a conference last month.

Mark added: “We are delighted EventSneaker is going to become part of the evvnt package. Evvnt is a publishing service that allows event managers to promote their event across hundreds of websites and apps at the click of a button.

“It makes sense that incorporating EventSneaker’s tracking software into this process will allow customers to not only reach a wider audience, but also measure the effectiveness of the messages and platforms being used.”

Richard said: “The ethos of evvnt and EventSneaker are very similar. After running a quick trial, we decided that evvnt would completely absorb the EventSneaker technology and begin rolling out the software.”

Eventsneaker will initially continue to operate as an independent company, providing the same service to its current customers until the software is fully incorporated into evvnt.

As part of the deal, Elliott and Mark will now move into new roles in the evvnt team, which employs 70 people worldwide.

Elliott, 23, said: “It feels like the right time to take it to the next level.”