Thoughts

Signals vs Smoke

Where we say what others won’t. A lens on the event world — where prestige is too often undone by bad tech, lazy templates, and shallow strategy. These are our observations, rants, and truths — for those building experiences that actually mean something.

The hidden tax on every ticket you sell

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Eventbrite takes 8.7% of every ticket you sell.

Here is what that means in numbers you can hold.

You run a 200-person conference. Tickets are £150. You gross £30,000.

Eventbrite keeps £2,610. Before VAT. Before payouts. Before you have paid the speakers.

Two thousand six hundred and ten pounds. For a payment form and an email.

Most organisers do not notice because the fee hides inside the buyer-pays toggle. The buyer sees £163.05. You see £150 land in your account. The £13.05 in the...

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Saturday, 16 May 2026
Ticketing isn’t a business model. It’s a feature.

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So why are event platforms still pretending it justifies a 5–10% cut?

Let’s break this down:

Stripe takes ~2%. Fair.

It handles actual infrastructure. Risk. Fraud. Regulation.

Then your “event platform” shows up and adds another 5–10% for what?

Selling your event to your audience on your brand.

Most of them aren’t even building real tools. They’re selling access.

You do the work. They charge the rent.

And it’s not small money. On a £1M event series, that’s £70K+ in...

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Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Why the Best London Networking Happens After Everyone Leaves

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The best professional networking in London right now doesn’t look like Q2.
It looks like a whisper.

Terrace venue.
25 people.
Sharp timing.
Tighter list.

Not a mixer.
Not a summit.
Not a shotgun RSVP blast.

This is where August gets interesting:
When you stop chasing crowd size and start curating collision quality.

Because the ones still in London?
They’re not just around.
They’re ready. Available. Present.

And if your event matches that energy, a little slower, a lot more...

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Monday, 21 July 2025
Networking Is Broken (Here’s How Smart Events Are Fixing It)

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Everyone says their event is “great for networking.”
Spoiler: most of them aren’t.

What you actually get is a lukewarm panel, a cash bar, and a stack of business cards you’ll never look at again.

In London, the problem isn’t access.
The problem is context.

The Lie of the Room

We’ve been sold this myth: put ambitious people in a room and magic happens.

But proximity ≠ connection.
Just because someone’s at your event doesn’t mean they’re primed to meet the right person, say the...

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Monday, 30 June 2025
Small Event Apps Should Prioritise Simplicity and Networking

Let’s say it straight.

If your event has under 100 people and you’re using a platform built for 10,000 - you’ve already lost.

You’re not building intimacy.
You’re just burying it in features nobody asked for.

Coffee booth matchmaking?
In-app Zoom?
Gamified Q&A with leaderboard badges?

Please.
You don’t need a Swiss army knife.
You need a scalpel.

Small events don’t need complexity.
They need connection.

Attendees aren’t confused. They’re just annoyed.

They’re staring at 12 tabs...

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Thursday, 26 June 2025
Stop Designing Event Tech Like a Dashboard.

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Most event tech is a graveyard of good intentions.

Dashboards. Features. Portals. Widgets.

A Frankenstein of functionality - with zero psychology.

Here’s what gets missed: attendees don’t want tools. They want momentum.

They arrive disoriented. Their attention is scattered. They’re looking for one thing: traction.

Where do I go?
What should I care about?
What am I missing?

Every second they hesitate is a drop in perceived value. Not just of your platform - of the entire...

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Friday, 20 June 2025
Network With Purpose, Not Proximity

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If your networking event still relies on badges, drinks, and vibes — you're losing deals in the room.

Here’s the play:

🧠 Pain:

High-level professionals aren’t attending your event for fun. They’re hunting leverage — insight, access, alignment. But most event formats still trap them in random conversations, one-size-fits-all schedules, and inboxes full of “Hey, great to meet you” follow-ups that go nowhere.

⚡ Insight:

In professional networks, time is currency. Proximity isn’t...

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025
WhatsApp is not a networking app

The connections are the product.
The right intros. The right energy. The right follow-up.

And yet — most events still treat networking like a side effect.
A free-for-all chat group. A last-minute QR code. A hope.

WhatsApp is great for afterparties.
But not for high-stakes intros.
Not for calibrated, reputation-backed access.

When the room is full of people who shouldn’t waste their time —
you can’t leave serendipity to chance.
And you definitely can’t trust a messaging app to deliver...

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Monday, 16 June 2025
Simplicity Isn’t Minimalism. It’s Strategy.

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Clean isn’t simple.
Minimal isn’t strategic.
And most event tech gets this backwards.

It’s the disease of design theatre.
Shiny apps. Sparse layouts.
Zero logic.

Minimalism is visual.
Simplicity is structural.

A progressive event experience isn’t about decluttering.
It’s about deciding.

Deciding what your attendees need before they ask.
What they never need to see.
Where time can be shaved, and friction cut — without losing soul.

Most ‘modern’ UX?
Fluff on...

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Wednesday, 11 June 2025
AI shouldn't be telling you where the toilets are

Event tech has lost the plot.

Everyone’s building features. Nobody’s building sense.

We’ve seen this before: the AI matchmaker, the chatbot concierge, the smart map with animated footfall heat zones. All singing. All dancing. All distractions.

Here’s what your attendees actually want:

The agenda
Their peers
A way to connect
Then? To be left alone

Simplicity isn’t minimalism. It’s strategy.

It means saying no to the noise, fast.
It means shipping what matters, then listening.
It...

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Monday, 09 June 2025