A letter from our Founder/CEO Questions you may have

A letter from our Founder/CEO

I am happy to announce that Shoflo has been acquired by Cvent, a market-leading software-as-a-service company that specializes in meetings, events, and hospitality technology.
 
Over the past 8 years, we have been building software that makes producing shows easier. We started in a tech accelerator (Starter Studio) in Orlando, FL in 2013 and have grown since then to be an amazing team of 30 plus people spread across the globe. Our customers have used Shoflo to launch rockets into space, win super bowls, deliver amazing game presentations, worship together, and deliver world-class messages at events all over the world!
 
The idea of Shoflo has always been something that took strong “buy-in” from all parties. At first, it was my family and friends, then my team, investors and early customers, then entire sporting leagues and industries. The idea expressed itself in our rundown software - that there could be a better way to communicate and work together when producing a live event. It wasn’t just ditching paper-based workflows but seeking ways to innovate for the benefit of our industry. I have loved championing the idea of Shoflo and watching so many others pick up the torch to run with it.
 
This last year was transformative for both our industry and Shoflo. As we saw in-person events come to a halt and virtual events take off, the Shoflo team did what we have been doing from the beginning... we leaned into the problem and believed in the power of innovation as the way through. We started work on a new technology called “Studio”, a browser-based, live broadcasting tool that makes it easy to produce virtual events and webinars.
 
In this virtual environment, it soon became clear that Studio was something special. We needed to find a partner to help us take it and our rundown tools to the next level – this is where Cvent comes in. As a leader in the meetings and event technology space, and with more than two decades of expertise, Cvent offers an incredible team and platform to its more than 200,000 users around the world. Over the last year, they’ve accelerated investment in and development of their virtual and hybrid offerings, which opened the door for conversations about how Shoflo and Cvent could tap into the virtual and hybrid opportunity. We’re excited to join their team and for the future of our products and customers. I believe in their vision for how we return to in-person events while embracing the digital transformation of our industry. Learn more about how they’ll be using Studio here.
 
As McNeel Keenan, VP of Product Development at Cvent, said “To maximize live engagement with audiences and drive ROI, event planners and marketers need to reimagine the production levels of their events. By adding Shoflo's suite of products and expertise, we expand the capabilities of our attendee engagement solutions for virtual and hybrid events. We’re thrilled to bring Shoflo into the Cvent family.”
 
Through this acquisition, we join an experienced, passionate team of nearly 4,000 people around the world. With their size and scale, we look forward to the opportunities ahead. While our name will change, I and the Shoflo team will continue to serve you and this industry through Cvent.
 
It has been such an awesome blessing to serve this production industry that I love so very much. I want to personally thank our customers for your role in helping bring Shoflo and the ideas behind it to the production industry at large, my team who believed in me early on and leaned into the problems we were solving, my business partner Cole Schrimsher who went all-in with me, my wife Carly who was always our biggest fan, and our Heavenly Father from whom all good things come.
 
We’re excited to forge the future of meetings and events together!
 
FOSHOFLO!
 
Stephen Bowles, Founder & CEO of Shoflo
 

Questions you may have

Why did Shoflo get acquired by Cvent?

We're excited to join a larger team and expand resources for further product development & support.

Does my license or support agreement change?

Your existing license will remain the same.

Will I continue to work with you (my Shoflo rep)?

You’ll continue to work with the Shoflo team, and Shoflo will continue to handle your support and customer service needs for now. At some point soon, we’ll formally welcome you into Cvent’s customer success community.

Who do I go to for Shoflo product support?

Please go through your normal Shoflo channels for customer support for now. We’re excited to introduce you to the larger Cvent community of support in the near future.

What will happen to Shoflo products in general?

Joining Cvent brings many new resources to our team and our plan is to use these resources to bolster our efforts in delivering great software. Ultimately this means more development of features and enhancements in the app, improved support availability and resources to learn and get the most out of the software. We’re excited about the possibilities.

What will happen to Rundown specifically?

Rundown will continue to be available for license. We will continue resourcing it with further research and development as well as maintain our high level of support.

What will happen to Studio?

We recently announced the launch of Cvent Studio which leverages the respective technology expertise from both Cvent and Shoflo. Cvent Studio is available now via Cvent's Professional Services team. It will become an integrated part of the Cvent Attendee Hub for DIY use in Q4. We're excited about its ongoing development as a robust video production tool to help organizations create broadcast-quality content for virtual audiences.

What other changes should I expect?

In the near term, there should be very few noticeable changes. You'll be working with the same Shoflo team, using the same Shoflo solutions. We are exploring how both Cvent and Shoflo will work together to make the most impactful improvements in support, service delivery, and product enhancements. We’re also excited to introduce you to Cvent’s customer success community.

What will happen to the Shoflo team?

The Shoflo team is excited to join forces with Cvent, and the Cvent team is looking forward to working with their new teammates.

What if I don’t want to use Cvent, and/or what if I’m using another event management system?

No problem. Cvent knows that every event program is different and the company's event marketing and management platform provides a comprehensive portfolio of integrated solutions, so that organizations can pick and choose the set of solutions that are right for them. Our combined customer support teams will continue to work with you to determine what options are best for you to help you make the most of your event program.