top of page
Business & Enterprise
Event Technology
Event Management Software
Hubilo
Built a pandemic-era virtual-events position by converting an in-person event-tech company into a fast, engagement-focused virtual and hybrid platform, then faced the structural risk that demand and category value would normalize.
1
MODEL
BUSINESS MODEL
SaaS
- Founded in 2015 by Vaibhav Jain and Mayank Agarwal as an event-tech company for in-person events. - Built attendee engagement technology before pivoting to virtual events during COVID-19. - Built a virtual-events MVP in under a month and acquired its first customer by offering the product free. - Added registration, custom venues, live streaming, breakout rooms, networking, sponsor booths, gamification and analytics. - Introduced subscriptions in October 2020 for repeat customers, after initially charging per event. - Later repositioned around webinars and B2B engagement, and was acquired by Brandlive in 2024.
1. Identify a sudden behavioral shift that makes an existing workflow impossible or inefficient. 2. Ship the minimum credible workflow fast; speed to first customer matters more than completeness. 3. Charge for the event outcome—attendance, engagement and sponsor value—rather than merely streaming. 4. Convert one-time event buyers into a program subscription once they run multiple events. 5. Expand into adjacent formats—webinars, hybrid events and content repurposing—before the original demand normalizes. The common mis-build is treating a temporary demand spike as a permanent category and scaling cost structure ahead of durable retention.
DISTRIBUTION MODEL
When in-person events collapsed in 2020, enterprises needed to run conferences, summits and internal meetings remotely without losing engagement or sponsor value. Hubilo pivoted in 26 days to a virtual-events platform, enrolled its first paid customer in April 2020 and reached a $10 million bookings run rate by late 2020. By 2021 it had run nearly 13,000 events for more than 900 clients, including the United Nations, Roche, AWS, Siemens, Walmart and Verizon.
HOW THEY BUILT IT
HOW TO ARCHITECT IT
Direct Sales, SEO, Partnerships, Product-Led Growth
HOW THEY OPERATIONALIZED
HOW TO REPLICATE WHAT WORKED
dm
- Direct sales targeted event marketers, B2B demand-gen teams and enterprise event owners. - SEO captured demand for virtual-event platforms, webinar software and hybrid-event tools. - Partnerships with event organizers, agencies and technology providers expanded reach. - Reference customers such as the United Nations, Roche, AWS, Siemens and Fortune validated enterprise-scale delivery. - A free first event created a low-friction path to paid conversion.
What worked: Use a time-sensitive customer need to win a first deployment, then convert repeat use into a subscription. Trap if copied blindly: Crisis-driven demand can create high one-time revenue but weak retention; the vendor must build a repeatable program workflow before the spike fades.
| PATTERNS OF THIS MODEL
PATTERNS IN EVENT-ORCHESTRATION SAAS: 1. The event is a campaign, not a product. Customers buy registration, engagement, pipeline and sponsor outcomes, not video infrastructure. 2. Repeat programs create recurring revenue. Organizations that run many webinars or conferences need a system, not a one-off vendor. 3. Demand cyclicality is structural. Event formats shift with workplace behavior, budgets and platform-native tools. THE WEAKNESS: A virtual-events platform can become commoditized as Zoom, Teams and webinar-native tools absorb basic use cases.
What companies with this model reveal
| OPPORTUNITY INTELLIGENCE
GOLDMINE 1 — EVENT-TO-PIPELINE OS. The gap is connecting registration, attendance, content engagement and follow-up directly to CRM pipeline and revenue attribution. GOLDMINE 2 — CONTENT REPURPOSING ENGINE. Event sessions contain high-value assets; automatic clips, summaries and nurture sequences can extend ROI beyond the event date. THE PIT — PANDEMIC DEMAND TRAP. Virtual-event growth was partly a temporary substitution effect, not a durable replacement for all in-person events. THE SECOND PIT — SPONSOR-VALUE GAP. If sponsors cannot measure qualified engagement and pipeline, they will reduce event budgets. MOVE WITH CAUTION: Do not scale a high-touch event-services model while claiming SaaS economics; delivery intensity must be designed out of the product.
Untapped Business Model / Gaps / Goldmines / Pits
Patterns & Insights
2
MARKET
mkt mt es
Before 2020, virtual events were a niche format; enterprises primarily bought event-management tools for physical conferences. Hubilo reframed the category around virtual and hybrid engagement: registration, networking, breakout sessions, sponsor booths and analytics in one platform. This helped establish a distinct buying category during the pandemic, even though demand later normalized.
MARKET TYPE
Emerging Market
ENTRY STRATEGY
Greenfield Entry
WHY THEY WON
Virtual and hybrid events emerged as enterprises needed to replace physical gatherings during COVID-19. Hubilo exploited the opening by shipping quickly and selling engagement, not merely livestreaming. The structural blind spot was that many buyers needed a temporary substitute rather than a permanent platform, making retention and format expansion critical.
EXECUTION
Hubilo entered by building a new virtual-events platform rather than extending its in-person event tool incrementally. Its initial bet was that enterprises would pay for engagement, networking and sponsor visibility in a remote format. It reached buyers through a free first event, event-community networks and direct outreach. The approach required rapid product development, reliable streaming and engagement features. It was viable because physical events were suddenly impossible; it would fail if the buyer’s need was only a one-time broadcast rather than an ongoing event program.
FOOTHOLD STRATEGY
Wedge Strategy
Hubilo’s wedge was virtual attendee engagement for mid-to-large enterprise events. Event marketers needed networking, breakout rooms, gamification and sponsor booths—not just video streaming. These buyers were reachable through event communities, agencies and direct outreach, and could pay once they saw engagement and sponsor value. The path outward was repeat enterprise programs, hybrid events and webinars.
GROWTH CAMPAIGN
CAMPAIGNS THAT WORKED
SO WHAT: The free first event created rapid proof, while enterprise references converted urgency into larger contracts. KEY LEARNING: In a demand shock, the fastest credible deployment can win the account—but only a repeatable program workflow retains it. HOW TO USE: Offer a constrained free deployment to prove value, then design the paid product around frequency, seats, audience capacity or program outcomes.
KEY LEARNING
THE STANDARD: In an emerging market, the entrant must convert a demand shock into a durable workflow before the shock passes. RULE 1 — SHIP TO THE IMMEDIATE CONSTRAINT: Speed and reliability matter more than feature completeness during a crisis. RULE 2 — SELL THE BUSINESS OUTCOME: Engagement, sponsor value and pipeline are stronger anchors than streaming. RULE 3 — BUILD REPEAT USAGE: One-off events create revenue spikes; recurring programs create SaaS economics. RULE 4 — FAILURE OCCURS WHEN DEMAND NORMALIZES: A vendor built only for the crisis format loses relevance when behavior reverts. MARKET TYPE: Emerging Market (category).
gc
Market Context
| MARKET INTELLIGENCE
PATTERNS IN DEMAND-SHOCK PLUS ENTERPRISE-REFERENCE DISTRIBUTION: 1. Urgency creates fast adoption. Customers will try a new vendor when their existing workflow breaks. 2. Enterprise references validate scale. Recognizable customers reduce perceived delivery risk. 3. Category education creates demand. The vendor must teach buyers why engagement and analytics matter, not merely that streaming is possible. THE WEAKNESS: Crisis-led acquisition can attract buyers with low long-term retention and high service expectations.
| MARKET ENTRY PLAYBOOK
THE STANDARD: Use greenfield entry when a behavioral shift creates a new workflow that incumbents cannot serve quickly. RULE 1 — Confirm the shift is large enough to fund a company: A temporary substitution may create revenue but not durable retention. RULE 2 — Build the fastest credible workflow: The first product should solve the customer’s immediate operational constraint. RULE 3 — Design for the post-shock buyer: The product must remain valuable when the original urgency fades. RULE 4 — Reject greenfield entry if the behavior is likely to revert: A crisis-only product can become stranded capacity. Hubilo’s virtual-events pivot and Zoom’s remote-work growth illustrate the pattern; products built solely around the disruption often face normalization risk.
How to enter
| FOOTHOLD STRATEGY PLAYBOOK
THE STANDARD: A wedge succeeds when one high-value event format creates adoption and opens a broader event-program workflow. RULE 1 — Choose a format with measurable business value: Conferences and webinars create pipeline, education and sponsor revenue. RULE 2 — Expand through repeat usage: Multiple events per year justify a subscription. RULE 3 — Add adjacent formats carefully: Webinars, hybrid events and content repurposing should share the same workflow. RULE 4 — Avoid treating one event as the business: A one-time deployment without repeat usage is services revenue, not SaaS. Hubilo’s event-to-webinar expansion and Calendly’s scheduling-link expansion show the pattern; standalone event tools often fail to retain.
How to get the first strong position
MARKET PATTERNS & PLAYBOOK
3
MONEY
money rev pri
Hubilo initially charged per event, averaging $2–$3 per attendee, then introduced subscriptions in October 2020 for repeat customers. Later published tiers included Pro 1 at $15,000 annually for one admin seat and a 1,000-person event cap, Pro 4 at $50,000 for four seats and 4,000 attendees, Pro 10 at $125,000 for ten seats and 10,000 attendees, and Pro Max as custom.
REVENUE MODEL
Subscription
PRICING MODEL
Tiered Pricing, Value-Based Pricing, Custom Enterprise Pricing
WHY THEY WON
Customers pay annual subscriptions based on admin seats and audience capacity, with unlimited events in published tiers. Revenue expands as organizations add seats, audience capacity, channels, premium support and enterprise features; the model shifts event spending from one-off projects to recurring program software.
Hubilo used annual tiered pricing based on admin seats and audience capacity. Pro 1 was $15,000 annually, Pro 4 $50,000 and Pro 10 $125,000; Pro Max was custom. The seat-and-audience-cap structure aligns price with the scale of the customer’s event program.
TARGET AUDIENCE
B2B marketing and demand-gen teams (webinars; pipeline and lead generation); enterprise event teams (Pro 4/Pro 10; conferences, summits and hybrid programs); agencies and event organizers (multi-client event delivery); sponsors and exhibitors (booths, engagement and lead capture).
CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR
A conference, product launch, sales kickoff or webinar program triggers evaluation. Marketing and event leaders compare Hubilo with Zoom Events, Cvent, Bizzabo and Airmeet, assess engagement and integration capability, then purchase annually. Larger programs upgrade for seats, audience capacity, channels and premium support.
| PRICING INTELLIGENCE
What makes this model effective & make customers pay
Customers are not buying a virtual venue; they are buying audience engagement, sponsor value and a repeatable event program. RULE 1 — PRICE THE PROGRAM, NOT THE EVENT: Recurring event teams will pay for a system, while one-time buyers resist subscriptions. RULE 2 — CHARGE FOR AUDIENCE CAPACITY: Attendance scale drives infrastructure, support and sponsor value. RULE 3 — SELL SPONSOR ROI: Exhibitors and sponsors pay for qualified engagement, not logo placement. RULE 4 — WATCH THE FORMAT-CHANGE TRAP: A platform optimized for one event format can lose relevance when buyer behavior shifts. The buyer is really buying audience engagement and demand generation, evidenced by the marketing and events budget.
PRICE & REVENUE
| Revenue Risk - The biggest threat to revenue stability
Demand normalization: Virtual-event spending declined as in-person events returned. Platform-native competition: Zoom, Microsoft Teams and webinar tools can satisfy basic event needs. High delivery intensity: Enterprise events require support, rehearsal and reliability; services costs can erode SaaS margins. One-time buyer concentration: Event-led revenue can be lumpy and difficult to forecast. Category repositioning risk: Moving from virtual events to webinars may confuse positioning and create product overlap. Hubilo raised approximately $153 million across five rounds, including a $125 million Series B in 2021, and was acquired by Brandlive in 2024. Current ARR, profitability and retention are not publicly disclosed or independently verified.
Where the model can break
4
MOTION
motion ge cs
Hubilo’s first repeatable channel was a free first-event offer during the 2020 pivot. It acquired an initial customer by offering the product free, then converted urgency, referrals and enterprise references into paid deployments. Within 18 months it had run nearly 13,000 events for more than 900 clients and grown from 30 to more than 300 employees.
GROWTH EXPANSION MODEL
Product Line Expansion, Land & Expand
HOW THEY EXPAND
Hubilo expanded from in-person event tech to virtual events, then hybrid events and webinars. It added registration, networking, sponsor booths, analytics, content repurposing and AI-enabled workflows. Its later repositioning toward webinars targeted B2B marketing teams and recurring demand-generation programs.
COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
First-Mover Advantage
HOW THEY COMPETE
Against Cvent and Bizzabo, Hubilo moved faster into virtual-first engagement during the pandemic. Against Zoom Events, it offered richer event design, networking and sponsor capability. Against Airmeet, it competed on enterprise scale and event-program breadth. Its advantage was early speed and a broad virtual-events workflow.
GROWTH ENGINE
GTM
Content Flywheel
Hubilo’s engine begins with an event owner facing an urgent format shift. A free or low-friction first event proves delivery capability; successful events create internal champions and repeat usage. Once the customer runs multiple events, Hubilo converts them to an annual subscription and expands through seats, audience capacity and webinar products. The engine compounds when event marketing becomes a recurring program. It breaks when demand normalizes, delivery remains high-touch or the buyer returns to in-person formats. A founder should measure events per account, repeat-event rate, attendee engagement and webinar adoption.
Hubilo uses a sales-led GTM supported by product-led entry. Event owners enter through a demo, free first event or pilot; enterprise buyers evaluate reliability, engagement and sponsor ROI before committing. After adoption, repeat events and webinar programs expand the account. The primary motion is sales-led because enterprise events require delivery assurance, configuration and stakeholder alignment.
SUSTAINING MOATS
High Customer Lock-In
moat
The moat is brand power: Hubilo became closely associated with the virtual-events category during its rapid 2020–21 growth. That recognition created inbound demand, enterprise credibility and investor attention, even as competition and demand normalization increased.
| MOAT INTELLIGENCE
THE STANDARD: Brand power lasts when the company remains visibly associated with the outcome buyers seek and continues to deliver reliable results. RULE 1 — CATEGORY ASSOCIATION: Hubilo became a default consideration for virtual and hybrid events. RULE 2 — ENTERPRISE REFERENCES: Customers such as the United Nations, Roche, AWS and Siemens signaled delivery capability. RULE 3 — CAPITAL VISIBILITY: A $125 million Series B reinforced market presence. THE SIGNAL: More than 900 customers and nearly 13,000 events by 2021 indicate brand reach; the moat does not protect against demand normalization, platform-native competition or weak retention.
Why this company remains defensible
ARR & TAKEAWAY
ARR Journey - what to do at each stage
PRE-$1M ARR — VALIDATE IN-PERSON EVENT TECH: Founded in 2015, Hubilo built engagement technology for physical events. WATCH: Event services can create revenue without recurring software economics. $1–5M ARR — PIVOT TO VIRTUAL EVENTS: In 2020, it built a virtual-events MVP in 26 days, enrolled its first paid customer in April and reached a $10 million bookings run rate by late 2020. WATCH: One-time event revenue versus recurring retention. $5–10M ARR — CONVERT URGENCY INTO SUBSCRIPTIONS: It introduced subscriptions in October 2020 and scaled through enterprise references and repeat events. WATCH: Delivery intensity and event-cycle lumpiness. $10–50M ARR — RAISE AND EXPAND: Hubilo raised $125 million in 2021, served more than 900 customers and expanded into hybrid events and webinars. WATCH: Demand normalization and platform-native competition. $50–100M ARR — NOT REACHED: No verified public evidence establishes this stage. $100M+ ARR — NOT REACHED: No verified public evidence establishes this stage. Rule: Demand-shock products scale only when the vendor converts a temporary use case into a durable, repeatable program workflow.
COPY PLAYBOOK : What Worked → What Failed → What to Replicate → What to Avoid
THE STANDARD: Use a demand shock to win fast, then build the repeatable workflow that survives after the shock. SEQUENCE: 1. First, ship the minimum credible solution to the immediate constraint; prerequisite: a customer with urgent, high-value need. 2. Then convert one-time usage into a recurring program; decision gate: repeat events and multi-stakeholder adoption. 3. Finally, expand into adjacent formats that share the same workflow and buyer. WORKED: Hubilo used a free first event, enterprise references and rapid product delivery to capture pandemic-driven demand. CAUTION: Do not copy a crisis-pivot without testing post-crisis retention. Do not scale delivery-heavy event services while calling the business SaaS; repeat usage and productized onboarding determine whether the model compounds. Hubilo’s current ARR and profitability are not publicly verified.
bottom of page