GigSalad co-founder and CEO Mark Steiner owes much of his ethos to being a lifelong learner as well as a former actor, talent agent, and New Yorker. He came to tech from the industry he wanted to disrupt--and kept his heartfelt commitment to those his business serves. With traffic of over a million users per month, GigSalad matches 80,000 musicians, inspirational speakers, comedians, clowns, bagpipers—you name it—with a million event planners for near-frictionless entertainment booking.

“We’ve grown every year, every quarter, and every month,” enthuses Steiner. In fact, GigSalad was recognized among the 2015 Inc. 5000, a list of the fastest-growing private companies in America, and was ranked 682^nd for its 664% growth that year.

To achieve this growth, Steiner challenges himself and his staff to be as “shrewd as a serpent and innocent as a dove.” To Steiner, that means embracing every person along the way with good humor and personal engagement (the dove part), while working hard and takings risks, hammering away at maximizing GigSalad’s visibility, keeping a sharp eye out for new ways to build relationships and revenue (where the serpent comes in).

Steiner breaks down the specific values and approaches that have propelled GigSalad to generate over $10 million in bookings so far.

Know Your Industry First, Build Your Platform Next

Steiner and his team avoided many of the pitfalls of tech startups by knowing the industry they longed to disrupt, inside and out. Steiner was an actor and a talent agent before he was an online entrepreneur, and that experience reverberates in every aspect of GigSalad’s structure and management.

“Being a veteran in the industry, I’m aware of the many obstacles that arise for performers,” says Steiner. “I’ve lived them. Ultimately, my goal has just been to help artists make a living doing what they love. And by connecting them event planners in search of entertainment, we’re able to help create these extraordinary experiences for everyone involved.”

This means ensuring talent providers get paid transparently and swiftly, that talent buyers have ways to evaluate exactly what they’ll be getting, and that the process is as seamless and simple as possible. “It’s a big change,” Steiner comments, “from some of the past ways in this business.”

Attract Eyeballs with Laughs

GigSalad’s potential customer is anyone out to create and share extraordinary experiences, be they brides-to-be or cruise directors. Conscious of this broad base and that “people need to see our logo seven times,” Steiner has found fun but effective ways to bring the logo to potential event planners: He had a van wrapped in GigSalad’s logo with a hilarious graphic showing a cast of caricature entertainers that appear to be passengers. People laughed, took photos, and booked through GigSalad.

Then he wrapped a trailer. Musicians yelled, “Yeah! We know GigSalad,” flashed the thumbs up, and signed up for GigSalad. So he wrapped a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van.  “Whether those vehicles are out on backwoods country byways or parked outside a wedding planners’ convention,” he said, “they are doing their jobs. We consider everybody a potential customer.”

Tiers Help Users and Services Grow Together

Steiner discourages a “one-size-fits-all” customer service model. Offering tiered memberships has won GigSalad revenue and ensured member satisfaction. Beginners and dabblers can join the roster for free and receive a small suite of benefits. For higher visibility, web links, more photos, phone support, and uploaded audio/video files, members pay for “Pro” memberships. For a little more, “Featured” members get top visibility.

“Some people need more services than others,” explained Steiner. “If you’re a musician wanting 50 pictures and listings in 15 searchable categories, you’re motivated to buy a membership. But if you’re a face painter needing only three photos and fitting into only two categories, we’re happy to offer our free membership. We give performers flexibility, so they can make a greater investment when they are ready.” Those who do, who opt for a “Featured” membership report that that investment is easy to make back in successful gigs. And as the members’ careers expand, so does GigSalad.

Keep Innovating, Even When Things are Great

In the face of steady growth, Steiner still insists on improvements, refinements, helpful changes. Considering what artists and performers actually need to boost their careers, GigSalad created a booking platform to generate contracts, collect deposits, and distribute payments for a 4% booking fee—a very modest rate by industry standards. “The local talent didn’t use contracts,” said Steiner. “They’d say, ‘We put you on our calendar. We’ll see you in a year and a half’ with nothing on paper.”

In another push to serve artists better, GigSalad adopted Bold, a powerful payment tool used by marketplaces like Airbnb and Saucey, making GigSalad’s payout process the fastest in the industry. About 31% of members have now opted in to using the Bold payment tool, with members increasingly turning to the option.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel, but Roll it in New Directions

Customer reviews are integral parts of any online marketplace. “I don’t buy anything online unless I look at what other people have said about it,” commented Steiner. “So of course we’ve built that in.” GigSalad performers can easily request reviews from their clients, and the feedback is displayed in their GigSalad profile for other potential buyers. Steiner chose a classic five-star rating scale, remarking, “We didn’t think we needed to reinvent the wheel just to be quirky. People know what five stars mean.”

But while they may follow online conventions, reviews do more on GigSalad than simply guide potential event planners’ decisions.They also help GigSalad entertainers improve their creative and business sides. GigSalad offers phone support to members, and GigSalad staff go out of their way to advise acts that need polishing. “We want to boost careers,” stated Steiner. “We’ll recommend best practices for honing their talent, communicating clearly, creating client relationships, and ensuring prompt responses to quote inquiries.”

Be Contagiously Positive

“Customer Happiness Agents” are GigSalad’s front line. They are trained to help customers and members with anything they need, before they know they need it. They’re also a main conduit for that all-important customer feedback. Steiner seeks employees who “know when to be austere and when to be absurd, who are confident in their talents and humble about their inevitable deficiencies.”

Always aspirational and easily engaged, Steiner’s biggest challenge is carefully channeling his own optimism—balancing that pristine enthusiasm with careful shrewdness. “It takes a great amount of discipline to not get sidetracked by big ideas that would exhaust our resources,” he warned. Steiner believes incremental growth and prudent enhancements are the right way to build a business.

But none of this can be achieved without that exuberant urge to rush ahead and try something zany. It’s the tension between the two that makes GigSalad stand out among entertainment-related tech companies.

About GigSalad

GigSalad is  the largest and most diverse marketplace for booking bands, performers, speakers and services for events, parties, and productions of all types and sizes. With millions of users across the U.S. and Canada, it connects event planners and party throwers with over 80,000 talented professionals for hire, making it simple to search and book on all devices.

GigSalad co-founder and CEO Mark Steiner multi-tasks to the extreme. He reads the news while watching the news. He developed a first-in-its-class technology platform while toiling as a talent agent. He challenges himself and his staff to be as “shrewd as a serpent and innocent as a dove.”

Steiner owes much of his ethos to being a lifelong learner as well as a former actor, talent agent, and New Yorker. With traffic of over a million users per month, GigSalad is a directory and booking service for entertainers across the U.S. and Canada. It matches 80,000 musicians, inspirational speakers, comedians, clowns, bagpipers—you name it—with a million event planners. The 580 service categories include not just performers, but florists, caterers, photographers, equipment renters, and more. Shoppers get free quotes and book online. “We’re not rich and famous yet,” admitted Steiner, “but we’ve grown every year, every quarter, and every month.” In fact, GigSalad was recognized among the 2015 Inc. 5000, the fastest-growing private companies in America, ranked 682^nd for it 664% growth that year.

Steiner weaves business strategies together with corporate values celebrating serpents, doves, and “ambitious pathfinders who do not know mediocrity.”  To Steiner, that means working hard and takings risks, hammering away at maximizing GigSalad’s visibility, keeping a sharp eye out for new ways to build relationships and revenue, and embracing every stakeholder with good humor and personal engagement. Fearless optimism and what he calls a “Barnum and Bailey mentality” have helped the company flourish. Here are the values leading GigSalad to generate over $10 million in bookings so far:

Heed Instincts

“I want to thank the guys who ditched me,” said Steiner, whose approach is spontaneous and intuitive. His gut always told him to keep full ownership of the company that sprang from his drive to bring talent booking to a new level of seamlessness and breadth. He didn’t court investors. He respectfully declined offers until one venture capital firm charmed him so much he took their staff to an Aerosmith concert and shared financial information. And never heard from them again.  “It was heartbreaking, yet it affirmed what we knew in our hearts all along.  We didn’t want to go down that path.” So Steiner’s first and foremost advice to entrepreneurs is: Go with your gut.

Attract Eyeballs

GigSalad’s wide-ranging consumer profile encompasses all people out to create and share extraordinary experiences, so Steiner swings for the demographic fences. He aims to make GigSalad a destination website for brides, moms, concierges, cruise directors, corporate trainers, and the like. Conscious of the “people need to see our logo seven times” principle, Steiner had a van wrapped in GigSalad’s logo with a hilarious graphic showing a cast of caricature entertainers as if they’re passengers. People laughed, took photos, and booked through GigSalad. Then he wrapped a trailer. Musicians yelled, “Yeah! We know GigSalad,” flashed the thumbs up, and booked through GigSalad. Then he wrapped a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, and so on.  “Whether those vehicles are out on backwoods country byways or parked outside a wedding planners’ convention,” he said, “we consider everybody a potential customer.”

To raise visibility and amplify what’s fun, GigSalad sponsors annual events like the trendy-edgy music and tech festival South by Southwest, the CD Baby DIY Musician Conference, and Chamber Music Week. “My team really enjoys the conferences and shows we sponsor,” he said. “We help bring the fun for everybody, which makes other companies want to partner with us.”

Steiner also builds nationwide strategic partnerships fervently. For example, GigSalad facilitates bookings for users of Bandzoogle, a website builder for artists. It also awards Featured memberships to winners of the annual International Songwriting Competition. And partnership with CD Baby, the world’s largest distributor of independent music, puts GigSalad in front of over 430,000 music makers, most of whom hanker for gigs.

Tiers, not Tears

Steiner discourages a “one-size-fits-all” customer service model. Offering tiered memberships has won GigSalad revenue and members’ gratification. Beginners and dabblers can join the roster for free and receive a small suite of benefits. For higher visibility, web links, more photos, phone support, and uploaded audio/video files, members pay for “Pro” memberships. For a little more, “Featured” members get top visibility. “Some people need more services than others,” explained Steiner. “If you’re a musician wanting 50 pictures and listings in 15 searchable categories, you’re motivated to buy a membership. But if you’re a face painter needing only three photos and fitting into only two categories, we’re happy to offer our free membership.”

Add Extras

With steadily growing numbers of entertainers jumping on board and party-throwers scooping them up, Steiner continues to envision and grasp new opportunities. First income came only from member entertainers’ subscription fees. Then GigSalad created a booking platform to generate contracts, collect deposits, and distribute payments for a 4% booking fee—a modest rate for artists looking to manage their own acts. Recently GigSalad adapted Bold, a powerful payment tool used by marketplaces like Airbnb and Saucey, making GigSalad’s payout process the fastest in the industry. “The local talent didn’t use contracts,” said Steiner. “They’d say, ‘We put you on our calendar. We’ll see you in a year and a half’ with nothing on paper.” About 94% of members have now opted in to using the Bold booking system.

Rely on Reviews

Posting customer reviews is key for any online marketplace. “I don’t buy anything online unless I look at what other people have said about it,” commented Steiner. “So of course we’ve built that in.” GigSalad performers and vendors can easily request reviews from their clients, and the feedback is displayed in their GigSalad profile for other potential buyers. Steiner chose a classic five-star rating scale, remarking, “We didn’t think we needed to reinvent the wheel just to be quirky. People know what five stars mean.”

Displaying client reviews within members’ profiles helps buyers choose entertainment they’ll enjoy, and more importantly, it helps fuel quality control. GigSalad shares comments with members and also offers advice for photos, customized PromoKits, and presentation. Staff goes out of its way to advise acts that need polishing. “We want to boost careers,” stated Steiner. “We’ll recommend best practices for honing their talent, communicating clearly, creating client relationships, and prompt responses to quote inquiries.” Besides hosting a review system for performers and vendors, GigSalad receives reviews of its own customer service through Trustpilot, one of the largest, most trusted review platforms available.

Be Contagiously Positive

“Customer Happiness Agents” are GigSalad’s front line. They are trained to help customers and members with anything they need, before they know they need it. They’re also a main conduit for that all-important customer feedback. Steiner seeks employees who “know when to be austere and when to be absurd, who are confident in their talents and humble about their inevitable deficiencies.”

Always aspirational and easily engaged, Steiner’s biggest challenge is carefully channeling his optimism—balancing genuine enthusiasm with careful shrewdness. “It takes a great amount of discipline to not get sidetracked by big ideas that would exhaust our resources,” he warned. He truly believes incremental growth and prudent enhancements are the right way to build a business. He just has to constantly remind himself.  

About GigSalad:

GigSalad is the largest and most diverse marketplace for booking bands, performers, speakers and services for events, parties, and productions of all types and sizes. With millions of users across the U.S. and Canada, it connects event planners and party throwers with over 80,000 talented professionals for hire, making it simple to search and book on all devices.

By all counts, entertainment booking service GigSalad has exploded over the last several years. Since its launch in 2007, it has become the world’s largest marketplace for booking performers and services for events, and 2015’s year-end stats topped all expectations. The company engaged its members in 21,963 events in 2015, compared to 6,071 events in 2013—a 360% increase. Even more impressive, in 2015 the company generated $2.2 million in booking revenue, compared to $474,000 in 2013— a 465% increase. In that same time, overall revenue for the company grew 260%, from $1,585,576 to $4,181,598. This is what happens when innovators connect the dots between fun-seekers and fun-providers—and have fun doing it.

A key driver of this feat has been making it simple for members to get paid for their talent. GigSalad’s roster now holds over 80,000 musicians, inspirational speakers, comedians, clowns, bagpipers—you name it—in 580 service categories. Members also include florists, caterers, photographers, equipment renters, and more. Event planners get free quotes and book online securely. The platform generates contracts, collects deposits, and distributes payments to entertainers and vendors. And strategic partnerships with CD Baby, Bandzoogle, Digital Music News, and other titans of music technology showcase GigSalad to artists ready to perform and comfortable with getting paid online.

Another driver is the irrepressible attitude at GigSalad’s HQ. Lead Developer Locke Bircher commented, “At no point in my mind has the goal ever been to reach X members or Y event planners. It's been to build a trustworthy and easy-to-use marketplace. To provide tools to empower talented individuals and groups to promote themselves. If we stick to these principles, our growth is inevitable.”

CEO and Co-founder Mark Steiner agreed, saying, "As the wild-eyed dreamer of the group, at the beginning I picked the biggest, boldest number I could, then said, ‘Let's do this, guys,’ and pointed into the distance. I'm still pointing into the distance, encouraging growth and imagination. But more importantly, I’m focused on running a happy, healthy company." "

Bircher recounted, “When we had around 1,500 members, I said that one day we would have 10,000 members.” As the company passed the 50,000-member mark, he declared that one day they would have 100,000, and so on. Co-founder Steve Tetrault echoed this: “I always think we should be at 10x our current user base. Now that we’re booking 22,000 events per year, I think we should be at 22 million.”

“Our big goals have remained the same since we started,” said Steiner, “to be profitable, minimize debt, and foster a happy culture both in the company and in the world.” This attitude keeps employee morale building from great to tremendous. And over the last two years, it has more than tripled the number of unforgettable moments GigSalad delivered to customers.

Tetrault concluded, “To me, these numbers represent a beginning, not an arrival. There is still much work to do to get into the consciousness of our entire North American audience. And we haven't even embarked upon an international presence yet. Now, it's time for the idea of booking live talent online to catch on among all event planners, everywhere.”

About GigSalad:

GigSalad is the largest and most diverse marketplace for booking bands, performers, speakers and services for events, parties, and productions of all types and sizes. With millions of users across the U.S. and Canada, GigSalad connects event and party planners with over 80,000 professionals for hire, making it simple to search and book great talent.

Springfield, MO may not seem like a likely place to find a clever, whimsical office design. GigSalad, the premier online booking platform for live entertainment and event planning, begs to differ.

Based in a 1920s brick Franklin Automobiles dealership in downtown Springfield, MO, GigSalad’s headquarters span 5,350 square feet, two floors, and more than the typical open workspaces and meeting rooms. GigSalad also boasts its own green room inspired by the lounges in theatres where talent relax before their entrance.

GigSalad’s green room is outfitted with an antique bar, an assortment of musical instruments, and a punching bag. “I wanted everybody to feel like a rock star. If my team ever needs a place to chill, they have a place to do it right in their workspace” says Mark Steiner, co-founder and CEO of GigSalad.

Steiner and designer Denise Wright were inspired by the classy boutique interior of The Bowery Hotel on the Lower East Side, to which they added their own humorous accents. “As an entertainment business, we like to be playful, poke fun at ourselves, put smiles on people’s faces, and inspire curiosity.” The décor is reminiscent of a historic theater with deep velvet drapes, leather furniture, plush benches, and antique furniture invigorated by electric colors, shag carpet, and playful artwork.

There’s a lot of talk about the disappearance of the middle-class creative, about the end of steady gigs and reliable income. Yet a young generation of performers is bucking the trend, leaving their day jobs behind thanks to the traction they’ve gained on GigSalad, the online marketplace where event planners can discover just the right talent.

Take Austin Ellis, a former competitor on The Voice. Though he gave the popular TV show all he had and followed his on-air run with a standing gig in Vegas, eventually things slowed down. “My advisors told me there would be a hangover,” recalls Ellis. “You have an existential crisis, and you have to come back to reality. Right around when things calmed down, at a rehearsal with a band I was trying to put together, I asked a buddy what gigs he was doing. He said, I joined this thing called GigSalad.”

Ellis went in for a $300 featured profile. That year, he earned around $30,000. “Take that to the stock market!” he laughs.

Of course, someone who spent a season on a widely watched national show might make it seem too easy. However, many performers without that media boost behind them, from meticulous face painters to heartfelt musicians, are seeing similarly impressive streams of income from the relationships they’ve built on GigSalad.

Zach Freedom is a Cedar Rapids-based musician who, after moving to the area from Des Moines, wanted to continue pushing his music career. A father with a family to support, he had worked side jobs as he made inroads into the new scene. He gave GigSalad a try, and the leads began pouring in. “I reached a whole new, national audience,” he reflects. “I got leads from as far away as Oklahoma. It’s resulted in about $12,000 of income directly via GigSalad and at least that same amount of income from leads to my personal site.” Zach credits the increase in traffic to GigSalad. He has had to turn down inquiries, as he had prior performing commitments.

Austin and Zach are not alone. In 2015, more than 2000 GigSalad members received at least two leads a week. Around 125 members made more than $5000 last year in deals closed via the marketplace. That number has more than doubled over the previous year. This is a rapidly growing segment of working performers.

“There has been a quiet shift going on in how artists and performers find gigs and make a living,” reflects Mark Steiner, GigSalad CEO and veteran talent agent. “More and more people are realizing they can book unique, thoughtful, affordable live performances that fit their life event or celebration. The artists who can tailor their creativity to enhance these moments are feeling the benefits, and it’s making a difference in their day-to-day lives.”

To be more exact: they are quitting their day jobs and making more art. Thanks, in part, to GigSalad.

Online Talent Marketplace GigSalad.com Brings Shows to the Masses

In 2000, the top 100 musician tours got 90% of the live music income. Their share today is a mere 44%.  The more digital we get, the more real life experiences people yearn for, which is one reason why live music is alive and thriving. But there’s an interesting, surprisingly democratic twist: Though stadium tours and big mega-festivals may capture attention, they are losing ground to a swell of independent performers, who are grabbing ever-larger slices of the live music income pie.

It’s no surprise: As festivals grow, they become less accessible; higher prices equal more lines. The desire to connect is winning out over the desire to be present in a large venue with thousands of fellow fans to witness a spectacle.

We’ve come to live music’s Uber moment, that tipping point when music lovers turn from passive audiences to active event planners on a micro-level. New online platforms are offering more intimate, low-key live music experiences music lovers can book themselves, and at a reasonable price point. What Uber did for transport and Airbnb did for lodging, an online live performance marketplace called GigSalad is doing for live entertainment.

“People are under the impression that live entertainment is expensive,” explains Mark Steiner, a former talent agent who wanted to find a better way to help performers connect with prospective gigs. “We’re watching that change, as people realize they can book a classical guitarist to add something to their next dinner party.”

GigSalad gives the everyday person a chance to book their own musical or other performance experience according to their exact tastes, needs, schedule, and event. At the same time, GigSalad is creating new paid opportunities for thousands of performers. Some entertainers have lived through significant economic or career crises thanks to GigSalad. Others are making their entire living this way. “We field more than 1,500 leads a day,” says Steiner. “That means performers who once worked a few times a month are looking at gigs several times a week.” It’s a turning point in the way people listen to and enjoy music: from seats in the stadium to seats on the sofa, for a more meaningful, personalized experience.

“We find that performers playing for everyday people become friends with their hosts,” says Steiner. “Sure, we are set on helping performers make more money and further their career. But what I really love to see are lives being transformed from these introductions. We connect tens of thousands of performers with hundreds of thousands of event planners of all sizes. The magic happens when people are connecting directly through their talent and passion.”

While some people make the trek to Burning Man or similar festivals for transformative experiences, those who want a transformational experience with their family, with their co-workers or employers, or with a single loved one -- like while making a marriage proposal -- turn to GigSalad to find the perfect performer for the personal adventure they seek.

The setting, the flowers, the food, the guest list: all serious business. But isn’t your big day also about having fun, making memories that you and yours will remember for years to come? Hiring the right live performer can make all the difference in atmosphere.

But you can go far beyond the usual tinkling ivories or blaring DJs. Consider inviting someone who will add just the right dose of humor and personality, who may have the perfect way to create an unforgettable day.

You can find performers--from musically stunning artists playing underappreciated instruments to wildly romantic flights of fancy--to reflect every mood and taste, and at a wide range of price points. Here are some cool suggestions from around the country to spark your imagination and get you started.

Pan in Harmony (Myrtle Beach, SC): The sound of steel drums in masterful hands sparkle and soothe, whether dancing through pop favorites or calypso gems.

Sean SINATRA Reilly (Wilmington, DE): Old Blue Eyes lives on, as does his cheeky yet gracious manner for interpreting classic love songs.

The Boobe Sisters (Los Angeles, CA): Tight three-part harmony and vintage sass combine in a custom-made, comedy-filled show that puts a doo-wop spin on the hits.

Caricatures2go (Woodstock, GA): An expert cartoonist can capture up to 15 of your guests an hour--all on custom paper to commemorate the big day.

Ryan & Liz Dueling Pianos (Los Angeles, CA): Two pianos are way more fun, especially when seasoned and spirited musicians are at the keys, taking requests and tickling funny bones.

Newport Coast White Dove Release (Los Angeles, CA): Let spirits soar as these peace-loving birds take flight, and while the birds’ humane handlers record the moment to video.

Daniela Viotti (Miami, FL): Glamorous and quirky, this living statue performer strikes an unexpected pose in lavish costumes that will amaze--and give guests a fun selfie op.

Elvis Tribute Artist Michael McMullen (San Antonio, TX): From velvet voice to sequined jumpsuits, this performer has Elvis down, and he’ll even officiate the ceremony, for those who truly love the King.

For more intriguing possibilities, look for entertainers in your area on GigSalad (gigsalad.com). You can see reviews and all the other info you’ll need to book just the right people for a truly beautiful, wonderfully unique wedding.

Planning your child’s next birthday party? As you rifle through the cake recipes, decoration themes, and craft ideas, thanks to a shrinking world, you can now create a whole new type of experience for your kid: book a real live performer.

These days, you can find swimming mermaids, familiar pirates, larger-than-life robots, and more online, and read reviews of past party hosts. Or if you want an even more unique experience, hire a petting zoo, a yo yo expert, or a drum circle. Here are some cool suggestions from around the country to spark your imagination and get you started.

YoYo Joe (San Francisco, CA): This US Yoyo Champion takes the humble toy to a whole new level, with off-the-hook tricks and a knack for engaging young viewers.

ROBO DKTR (Toronto, ON): A 10-foot robot stiltwalker, complete with smoke, lasers, and Tron-bright LED display. Really, how have you had a birthday without one?

The Kinderwise Music Company (Burbank, CA): A bright, bold crew that can jump from zany to sweet, bringing their young listeners along for the very fun ride.

Animal Alley Productions (New York, NY): Have alligator, will travel! A mobile zoo with dozens of animals guests, this educational presentation demonstrates the joys of the wild in a kid-friendly way.

Magic Bubbles Show (Miami Beach, FL): Bubbles delight kids of all ages, especially when coaxed to do the beautiful, surprising things this performer manages.

Jack Sparrow (Auburn, NY): Everyone’s favorite pirate will merrily play a starring role at your party.

Children’s Drum Circles (Tampa, FL): Get everybody drumming up a storm--complete with rainstick--in an interactive rhythmic adventure that’s great for kids of all abilities.

Mermaid Minuet (Raleigh, NC): This rainbow-colored mermaid can dance, swim, stilt walk, and transform little aspiring mermaids with her set of tails and dress-up goodies.

For more good times, look for entertainers in your area on GigSalad (gigsalad.com). You can see reviews and all other info you’ll need to book just the right people for a truly memorable bash.

In some schools of acting, lived experience is the key element to accessing and expressing characters in all their fullness and humanity. A similar spirit guides GigSalad’s Mark Steiner, himself an experienced actor, in his journey to become the CEO of the leading marketplace for performers and event planners to connect. It makes sense that such a person is at the helm of GigSalad’s community of nearly  65,000 performers who are changing their own lives by sharing their talents in a diversity of celebrations and gatherings of all sizes organized by nearly a million event planners.

Steiner always wanted to be a star and decided acting was the fastest way to get there. “I am adopted, and I equated stardom with the love and attention I had always longed for,” he reflects. “It was not as if my parents didn’t provide that, but with having been “abandoned” once, you want some assurances that that won’t happen again. Being adored like a rock star, as false and empty as that may seem now, was enough for me as a youngster.”

After a brief stint in college, he headed out on the road with The Robin Hood Players, a traveling educational theatre troupe. Once that ended, Steiner headed to New York where he hoped to be discovered. His strategy: send headshots and follow-up postcards to agents and casting directors, thousands and thousands of them, every month. “I wanted to get my face in front of people,” he explains. The result wasn’t stardom, but his efforts paid off. He got his first speaking role part, earned his SAG card, and developed a decade-long career.

As Steiner pursued that big break, however, he became intimately acquainted with two, diametrically opposed moments. He experienced firsthand the constant cold-shouldering many creative people face, the slammed doors and irritated phone greetings. “It felt so harsh, so inhumane, sometimes,” he recalls. “That feeling of rejection really stuck with me,  especially when I was on the other side and was the one being sought after.”

Yet he also experienced the unexpected encouragement and support that can spring from spontaneous connections between people. “I have such powerful memories of the times when someone took an interest in me, someone who didn’t have to help but did,” Steiner says.

Steiner’s persistence as an actor translated well into his next professional role, as an agent, first at a small boutique agency, and then with his own independent company. For 20 years, he brokered some pretty big names, like the Bacon Brothers, Sinbad, and Olivia Newton John.

Steiner had hung out his shingle at the start of the internet’s more robust days, when people were turning to online search as their first option to find goods or services. They would stumble onto Steiner’s website and call his toll-free number, looking for a gig or wanting talent for an event. “I would get so many calls from performers looking for representation,” Steiner recalls. “I took every one I could. I didn’t slam my phone down. I was determined to give them some pearl, some encouragement. I was going to leave them with something.”

His inability to connect the many artists calling and looking for work, and the many people calling and looking for performers, irked him. Steiner wanted to take struggling artists under his wing, to bring people together for their mutual benefit. He tapped good friend and graphic/web designer, Steve Tetrault, and the two created the first version of GigSalad.

It was a simple online directory and a step in the right direction. But Steiner and Tetrault knew they could do more, and after a few years, they hired their first programmer, Locke Bircher, building a platform that matched talent and event planners. Artists picked up on the new marketplace, and user numbers burgeoned. They hired more and more employees and soon outgrew working around Steiner’s kitchen table.

Yet even as the company grew, and grew rapidly, Steiner remained committed to answering customer calls, to responding personally to performers and event planners via email. He knew GigSalad’s early adopters by name, and remains friendly with many of them. “I realized that I had adopted thousands of people like me, that I was finding a way to mentor all these struggling, creative people who were looking to work hard for what they loved,” he says. “I have translated my own life experience into an experience for others, a way for them to chase the same happiness I sought.”

Steiner may not be answering the phones every day at GigSalad anymore, but he still loves being in the middle of the action. During a recent move, Steiner found himself in the middle of his employees, at a desk just a few feet from his customer happiness team. “I realized how much I missed being there, sharing in the conversations, hearing what was going on during the day-to-day,” he muses. It comes as no surprise, as a CEO who has built a company as a very natural extension of his creative and personal life.

For the first time ever, SXSW Music will include an Official Event Planner Meetup, hosted by entertainment booking marketplace GigSalad. This is a chance for event planners of all sizes to find each other, network, and learn about best practices in the industry for 2015. The event takes place on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 5pm in the Austin Suite on the 3rd floor of the Austin Convention Center.

There will be a brief welcome with event planning tips and plenty of time to connect with fellow experience-builders. In addition to GigSalad, come meet food truck booking king Roaming Hunger, the American Disc Jockey Association, and other event industry VIPs.

“We’ve personally connected with hundreds of event planners who come to SXSW looking for fresh ideas, for talent to book, and for best practices,” explains GigSalad co-founder and CEO Mark Steiner. “So we wanted to create a space where we can all connect and share about how to make all of our events great experiences.”

Find out three unexpected ways food trucks can solve event catering challenges, four methods a DJ uses to make your attendees ecstatic, and five acts that will inspire you to brainstorm entertainment that will blow the minds of your event clients. Then the mic roves the meetup to crowdsource what services and ideas make up your 2015 event planning SWAT team! This is your chance to find out how other event planners and their partners navigate SXSW.

"People come to SXSW to learn about the next big thing -- whether it's in technology, entertainment, education, or business," says Ross Resnick, CEO of Roaming Hunger. "It's only fitting that this meetup is taking place at SXSW, as event planners also look to understand what the current emerging best practices are as well as learn about future collaboration opportunities.”

“GigSalad is defining the event booking marketplace," adds Steiner. "We have expanded a challenged industry and have proven to 650,000 event planners and nearly 60,000 performers that hiring live entertainment can be easy and efficient. We’re excited to pull event professionals together at SXSW to share ideas on how we can all move towards more meaningful events.”

SXSW Music Event-Planner Meetup Details:

DATE: Wednesday, March 18, 2015
TIME: 5-6 pm
LOCATION: Austin Suite, 3rd floor of the Austin Convention Center
WHO: Event Planners of all types, and anyone in the media or trade groups who cover event planning
ADMISSION: Free for SXSW badge holders

About GigSalad:

GigSalad is the largest, most diverse marketplace for booking bands, performers, speakers and services for events, parties, and gatherings of all types and sizes. With millions of users across the U.S. and Canada, GigSalad.com provides an easy and secure way for event planners to book entertainment and services.

Imagine a city the same size as Nashville, Boston, or Seattle, entirely made up of event planners and performers. Right now, that’s how big GigSalad is: 650,000 event planners and nearly 60,000 performers and service providers. GigSalad.com features talent from 584 individual categories of musical acts, entertainers, speakers and other event-related services for hire.

With over 1 million monthly visitors, GigSalad.com has made it easy to find and book live local entertainment for corporate events, weddings, parties and other gatherings. The result is over 4,000 booking requests processed each day, and a fanatical following among their performers and event professionals.

The roots of GigSalad date back to 2004 when CEO and co-founder Mark Steiner directed his Connecticut-based talent booking agency. “We were flooded by calls from artists looking for gigs, and from buyers seeking to book artists. The problem was that we couldn’t efficiently connect the two sides.”

And that’s when he and co-founder and designer Steve Tetrault created GigSalad, to provide event hosts with a singular place to find entertainment and services for their unique needs and budgets.

“The event industry needed a tech solution to this problem,” says Tetrault. “Innovators had responded to similar needs across other industries, and we've done it for event planning. GigSalad is now facilitating amazing parties and gatherings across North America, while helping talented people make a great living doing what they love.”

Adds Steiner, “GigSalad is defining the event booking marketplace. We have expanded a challenged industry and have proven to hundreds of thousands of event planners that hiring live entertainment can be easy and efficient. We’re thrilled to be part of helping the world move towards more meaningful events.”

About GigSalad:

GigSalad is the largest, most diverse marketplace for booking bands, performers, speakers and services for events, parties, and gatherings of all types and sizes. With millions of users across the U.S. and Canada, they provide an easy and secure way for event planners to book entertainment and services.