EventBrite vs. Competition (A Comparison of Event Services)

Disclaimer: I didn't dig into all features offered by all providers.  In some cases, I bailed out early if I encountered issues or it didn't fit the parameters presented.  Still, this should be helpful if you want to start with a shortlist to find the right eventing/ticketing service for your situation.

Result: For you lazy bums, we ended up choosing TicketLeap.  Were TicketLeap ever to fail, we would fall back to EventBrite, then TicketBud, then BookWhen.  We excluded all others.  You lazy bums.


Objective: Determine the most effective event booking/ticketing/calendaring service for a client

Client Parameters:

1. Not paying for tickets issued when the event itself is free.
2. Expect around 15 participants per event, but it could hit 20.
3. Want to show the calendar or list of events directly in the website from the perspective of an anonymous visitor
• Without putting in to much work.
• It doesn't matter if the eventing/ticketing service logo is visible.
4. Website is powered by Joomla.  A plugin to the service is ideal, but not required. 

Process to Shortlist:

1. Determine a basis for comparison.  I chose EventBrite because I've used it.
2. Identify alternatives.  I googled EventBrite Alternatives.  One of the top results was from AlternateTo.net, a site I have found to be mostly accurate and relevant.  These are the results.
   Note: Since these links are live, results may differ from the ones I discovered when doing my examination.
3. Eliminate services without free ticketing for free events.  This left me evaluating 9 services, listed in no particular order:
   EventBrite, EventStorm, GuestList, BookWhen, EventZilla, TicketBud, Amiando, TicketTailor, TicketLeap.
4. Sign-up for each and review

EventBrite
Allows an organization URL and an event URL, but they are unlinked (org.eventbrite.com vs. event.eventbrite.com)... this can be an advantage to some, but is a disadvantage to us (we want our org recognized for the event).  It's easy enough to create events here, and EventBrite is very popular among entrepreneurs, which gives additional confidence in its ability to survive.  However, TicketLeap is somewhat easier to work with, although I can't quite put my finger on why... something about the layout, the design and the workflow that made it super easy.
Verdict: Top 3.

EventStorm
Good system overall, again making event-creation easy for the user.  Bonus points for the ability to login with my Google account.  They have my events listed in a calendar, but their URLs are not SEO / human friendly, making it difficult to share any specific aspect of the site.  In particular, I have yet to see how to publicly share that calendar.  I've sent them a message; awaiting a response.
Verdict: Excluded.

GuestList
Very intuitive to use their site, and very easy to generate events.  I love how it actually shows the invite the way the customer will see it online, and allows me to edit each of the sections from that perspective.
The splash page shows me the status of all my events with the ability to quickly select relevant ones.
I can link to each event from my website... but I can't link to all events as a visitor (be it a list or a calendar). Thus, for each event, I have to create the event and then link to the event from my site, rather than having a list/calendar that auto-updates.
Verdict: Excluded.

BookWhen
Quite easy to create an event, very few fields to fill out.  I can book an event and repeat the schedule, or add arbitrary dates for the same event.  One event can have multiple dates, and I can limit total tickets.  I can limit each order to 1 ticket or 1+ tickets, but can't set a min/max.  An organization URL is made available and shows a simple page with upcoming events.  It's a good choice, but we found TicketLeap to be just a little cleaner to use, and had a few extra options available.
Verdict: Top 3.

EventZilla
The first few screens of creating my event were good.  But then it started to get complex.  The options are powerful for those creating a large event or complex ticketing schemes (eg: "Collect drivers license of participants").  It's overcomplicated for our purposes, but what really drove me nuts was that on 3 different screens, performing an action resulted in "The system has encountered an unexpected error".  Once I can understand - a hiccup on the network, or a blip.  Repeated errors on one screen I can also understand, albeit a little more frustrating - you've got a bug on a given page.  But consistently across 3 pages???
Verdict: Excluded.

TicketBud
Dead simple to create an event.  Includes a customized URL for my organization, and each event can be tied to the URL.  I can create direct links on my website to the specific events or, thanks to the public URL, to all of my events.  Enough customization is available without getting complex.
Verdict: Top 3.

Amiando
Very complex to get a ticket created, even more complicated to sign up as a participant.  Terrible design considering the options available.
Verdict: Excluded.

TicketTailor
Meets all the criteria, and provides a friendly URL that can be shared with potential guests showing all upcoming events.  However, when signing up as a guest, the site requests more information than we require, and in some cases might be a deterrent from registering.  
Verdict: Excluded.

TicketLeap
Huge bonus: I can import an event from Facebook.  I haven't tested this feature yet, but if it does indeed work, it greatly simplifies the combination of marketing and ticketing.  Even without the import, creating an event is facile.  One event can have multiple dates, and I can limit total tickets and tickets per order.   I can control the required information from participants at the time of registration/checkout, and can add my own personalized questions.
Verdict: We chose this vendor.  (I wish I had tested it first!)

Incidentally, there's space here for a missing service: A site that presents all public events from all of the above sites, much like Expedia does for flights.

Having a Business Sponsor

Having a business sponsor (a.k.a. point man) inside your target / anchor company is crucial - his presence brings a plethora of benefits. A really good business sponsor meets certain criteria, and has a role to play in bringing a venture to fruition.

Criteria of a Good Business Sponsor
Appreciation
Your sponsor must have faith in you, and appreciate your idea and/or your approach.  If you recruit someone who does not have these, he could sink your business instead of rocket it.  Here's an example:
"Hey CEO Jack, we are losing way too much because of XYZ.  I just met a bright feller at a conference, and I really think he could solve this for us!  When are you free so I can schedule a meeting?"
Versus
"Hey CEO Jack, is that XYZ thing really a problem?  I might have someone, let me know if you want to meet him".

Interested in his Company
If your sponsor is not interested in the company he works for, people know.  Most people have an intuition around people who are uninterested or don't care about their role / team / company.  If a person with a negative aura promotes something, it will result in everyone else having a negative feel for your product/solution.

Action-maker
What good is a business sponsor if he doesn't push your agenda ahead?  Your sponsor should be setting up meetings for you, getting you the information you require, and generally promoting your product whenever the pain you're solving (or opportunity you're leveraging) is observed.

Benefits
Legitimacy
Having someone on the inside pitching your idea gives your idea legitimacy.  It means that someone who understands the organization has bought into the idea... so why hasn't everyone else?

Network
He will be able to connect you to people that you hadn't dreamed of meeting, and even setup meetings with them.  Your proposals and paraphernalia can land on desks you wouldn't otherwise see.  And more people will hear about your idea within your target audience than you could have mustered at a conference.


Time for me to connect with my business sponsor again!

The Biggest Hurdle

In the pursuit of my new venture, I am oft asked about the hurdles I have faced, am facing and expect to face.
Having just crossed one of my stage-gates (namely, a business proposal that has reached one of our target customers) the question recurs.
And the answer remains the same, past present near-future: Self Motivation.

When it comes to my company, I'm driven. I really, really want to succeed.
This is true for a number of reasons, not least of which is monetary remuneration. But neither is it at the top of the list. I'm also driven by the need to constantly improve. To make existing solutions more efficient. To produce a reality from something I've envisioned. Truth is, even if I fail I succeed: I have improved myself, learned from my experiences, grown overall.
Most of the time I feel the way I just described. I'm fired up, ready to win in success or failure. But there are crucial moments when something dampens my drive. It manifests after a lengthy time period with no progress, or bad news that hits hard. When that happens, I feel incredibly alone. It's like being on a hike where I know the path, and I've seen the mountain peek, and I know how beautiful it will be when I get there ... but the fog has got me so blinded that I'm doing circles. I've lost my way, and I just don't know how to get back. I halfheartedly try one or two new tactics, but without committing to one or the other, I further obfuscate my situation. Eventually, I've expended so much energy that I am forced to sit down (which I should have done in the first place) and just soak in the mess I've created.

Motivating myself in this cycle is extremely difficult, to the point that an unsuccessful attempt will further depress my attitude, driving down my motivation to attempt to self-motivate. How Confuzzling.

Naturally, I have had to break this cycle to get to where I am. But I have yet to break this cycle by myself. I am proudly dependent on my wife, my partner and my mentors to help me through these situations. I don't do so without some effort myself, but without their help and advice, I would have sunk this ship a long time ago. My process is as follows:

• I remember that this whole venture will only be a true failure if I don't pursue it until there are no avenues left to reasonably pursue.
• I remember that I have solved this problem in the past. Even if I haven't, I imagine that I have.
• I pick up the phone and make the call. To whom is irrelevant, the act of calling one person is enough to get momentum in eventually making the call to the right person for the current situation.
• I don't complain. I don't want to bring the other party down... I want them to bring me up. I explain the situation without bias.
• I listen with an open mind. I curb my arguments and just let the information soak in.
• I take a day or two to think. Inevitably, a course of action comes to light. An advantage that can be spun from the bad news, or a

It's important to note that, most of the time, it is not my mentors / network that come up with the answer explicitly. It is something they said, or a combination of statements, that I combine with the current context to come up with a solution / go-forward action. This is something I used to overlook, but is quintessential to the success of any venture: The entrepreneur has an advantage that no one else does, be it a sixth sense, a skill or a network. This is the context that needs to be applied against thoughts / suggestions from peers.