Sway

What Sway does

Sway (legally WorkBistro Inc.) is a private event marketing and fractional event management company founded around 2020 by Adam Goldstein and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company sells a four-product modular portfolio (Open, Lead Engine, Sales Engine, Growth Engine) to venue operators — primarily restaurants, bars, hotels, and standalone event spaces — that have underutilized private event capacity but lack the time or systems to fill it. Service tiers range from a $1,750 one-time trial delivering 10 qualified inquiries to a $1,500/month full-service engagement with 15% commission on bookings, plus a one-time $3,000 build fee and separately billed advertising budgets.

The underlying technology is a HubSpot-based CRM that tracks inquiries, bookings, and revenue across the venue portfolio, with automated text and email response workflows delivering a 5-minute response time on every lead. Sway also operates PrivateEvents.co, an owned consumer-facing marketplace where event planners discover partner venues by city, date, and event type, creating an organic demand channel layered on top of paid Meta and Google advertising. Performance is reported weekly and monthly to clients. Reported portfolio metrics include $2.9M+ in total private event booking value managed, a 33% qualified-inquiry-to-confirmed-event conversion rate, and a 15-day median time from first contact to confirmed booking.

Revenue is generated through monthly subscription fees ($1,500-$2,500), performance commissions on bookings Sway is involved in (12-15%), one-time fees ($1,750 for Open), and à la carte event day services. The GTM is sales-led and direct-to-venue, with transparent pricing published on the website and a low-friction entry point. The company also operates a vendor partner ecosystem (SpotHero, Allfly, Vently, Dharma College, Aces Up Casino Parties) and holds IATAN accreditation for travel-inclusive corporate events.

Name

Sway

Legal name

WorkBistro Inc.

Website

https://trysway.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sway (WorkBistro Inc.) is a Bay Area private event marketing company that helps underutilized venues fill event calendars through advertising, 5-minute automated inquiry response, and fractional booking management on a four-tier subscription-plus-commission model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Marketing Services for Hospitality Venues

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Party Venue Sourcing & Booking Services (HSACACAL)

Keywords

• Private event marketing
• Venue booking services
• Event management platform
• Event advertising services
• Venue lead generation

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue - Lead Engine & Growth Engine: Monthly subscription fees ranging from $1,500-$2,500 per month for ongoing advertising, response, and booking management services. Venues pay their own advertising budget (typically ~$1,000/month) in addition to the subscription. All engines include a $3,000 build fee billed in month 4.
2. Commission on Bookings: Performance-based commission on bookings Sway is involved in: 12% for Sales Engine, 15% for Growth Engine. Walk-in and repeat business stays with the venue. Commission comes off reservation fees automatically.
3. One-Time Service - Open: One-time $1,750 fee for delivering 10 qualified event inquiries within 90 days with a pro-rata refund guarantee ($175 back per missing inquiry). Includes a $1,750 credit toward any Engine started within 3 months.
4. Event Day Management Services: À la carte event services including event planning, coordination, day-of support, staffing, equipment rentals, catering coordination, audio/visual, and music/DJ services for corporate and private events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sway runs targeted digital advertising on behalf of restaurants, bars, and event spaces, responds to incoming private-event inquiries within minutes, and manages the full booking process through to confirmed reservations. The company packages this end-to-end service into four tiered offerings (Open, Lead Engine, Sales Engine, Growth Engine) and operates PrivateEvents.co as an owned consumer venue-discovery channel that feeds leads into its booking pipeline.

Product overview

Sway is a private event marketing company offering fractional event management services for venues. The company operates a four-product modular portfolio: Open (entry-level, 10 qualified inquiries), Lead Engine (inquiry generation plus advertising), Sales Engine (inquiry-to-booking conversion), and Growth Engine (full-service advertising through confirmed booking). All four products share a common foundation: dedicated event page creation, 5-minute inquiry response automation, and monthly reporting. Sway also operates PrivateEvents.co, a consumer-facing venue discovery marketplace. The company's revenue model combines monthly platform fees, advertising budget management, and performance-based commissions on bookings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PrivateEvents.co: Consumer-facing venue discovery platform where people searching for event spaces can find Sway partner venues.

Products and services

• Open

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 3 qualified inquiries becomes a confirmed event across Sway's venue portfolio
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SpotHerominorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpotHero is a parking reservations app and Sway's recommended parking partner for events. The partnership provides event attendees with convenient parking options, with SpotHero covering over 300 cities in the USA and Canada. Sway receives referral commissions for parking bookings made through their platform.
• AllflyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAllfly provides group travel management services for corporate events, streamlining booking, budgeting, and management for flights and accommodations. The partnership enables Sway to offer comprehensive event coordination including travel logistics for corporate retreats, conferences, and team offsites.
• VentlyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVently is a community management platform offering tools for ticketing, communication, member management, and event coordination. The partnership helps Sway enhance community engagement for venue events and corporate gatherings.
• With a Twist BartendingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWith a Twist Bartending provides professional bartending services for events including Bartender + Supplies, Complete Bar Package, and Bartender Only options. They are fully insured, award-winning bartenders offering customizable cocktail menus and seamless service.
• Dharma CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDharma College is a provider of work and collaboration spaces linked to meditation and wellness classes in Berkeley. Sway partnered with Dharma College to promote mindful business events in downtown Berkeley, combining event planning expertise with wellness-focused venues.
• Aces Up Casino PartiesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAces Up Casino Parties provides casino party entertainment for corporate events. The partnership was announced in August 2024, expanding Sway's event entertainment options for clients seeking casino-themed corporate events.
• PrivateEvents.cocoreTechnology or IntegrationPrivateEvents.co is Sway's owned consumer-facing venue marketplace where event planners search for spaces by city, date, and event type. This proprietary platform creates a dual demand channel alongside paid advertising, generating organic inquiries for Sway venue clients. The platform gives Sway insights into what hosts are looking for across markets, event types, and budgets.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Giggster: Giggster runs a marketplace for hourly location and event venue rentals (with particular emphasis on filming and production venues). It is a direct venue-booking marketplace peer to PrivateEvents.co, serving the same private event venue consumer use case.
• Gather: Gather (formerly known as MeetingPlay) provides event management and online booking software for hotels, venues, and event spaces. It directly competes with Sway's CRM-led booking pipeline for the same venue operations customer.
• Tripleseat: Tripleseat is a sales and event management platform built for restaurants, hotels, and unique venues, handling private event leads, proposals, and bookings. It overlaps significantly with Sway's Sales Engine and Growth Engine pipeline capabilities.
• Peerspace: Peerspace operates a peer-to-peer venue marketplace (after acquiring Splacer) where hosts book event spaces by hour. It is the closest direct competitor to Sway's PrivateEvents.co consumer marketplace, and competes for the same SMB venue customer.
• Venuebook: Venuebook is a venue booking and event management platform that connects event planners with venues and supports booking workflows — directly overlapping with Sway's venue matchmaking and booking pipeline capabilities.

Regional players

• Tagvenue: Tagvenue is a venue marketplace operating primarily in the UK and Australia, with similar venue discovery and booking flows to PrivateEvents.co. It is a regional peer — comparable product, different geographic footprint — that could expand into Sway's US markets.

Broad incumbents

• HoneyBook: HoneyBook is a booking and payments platform for event and creative businesses, integrated into Sway's stack for venue partner booking. It is a broad incumbent serving overlapping SMB event vendors with workflow, CRM, and payments tooling.
• Cvent: Cvent is the dominant enterprise event management platform for corporate meetings, sourcing, and venue selection. It is a broad incumbent competing for the corporate event planner customer Sway addresses through its Sales Engine and Growth Engine tiers.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a large-scale ticketing and event management platform serving event hosts across consumer and corporate segments. While it focuses on ticketed public events more than private venue bookings, it competes for the same venue customer GTM and exposes Sway to a much larger platform incumbent.
• The Knot Worldwide: The Knot Worldwide operates wedding and event marketplaces, including The Knot and WeddingWire, connecting couples and event hosts with venues and vendors. It is a broad incumbent in event venue discovery and competes with Sway for venue marketing spend and consumer-side discovery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/trysway
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trysway

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sway