Show stoppers

What Show stoppers does

ShowStoppers is a privately held, family-owned U.S. press-event production company, founded in 1996 and operating in its 29th year from Solon, Ohio. The company organizes invitation-only media receptions at the three largest global technology trade shows — CES (Las Vegas, in partnership with the Consumer Technology Association), IFA (Berlin, in partnership with IFA Management GmbH and renewed through 2028), and MWC (Barcelona, in partnership with GSMA) — connecting exhibiting technology companies with 500–1,300+ pre-qualified journalists, analysts, investors, and industry executives per event. Beyond the three flagship shows, ShowStoppers runs complementary programs including LaunchIT (startup pitch sessions, run with JETRO for Japanese founders), Power Sessions (themed pre-event showcases focused on mobility, power tools, and AI), the Future Audio-Visual Summit with WAEA (dedicated AI-eyewear vertical), and the annual Gadgety Awards.

The company is operationally lean with a core team of approximately eight people led by three Leon-family partners (Dave, Bob, and Steve Leon) handling business development, operations, and media operations respectively, plus marketing/sales, logistics, and customer-service functions. Its supporting technology stack consists of an internal ShowStoppers Portal (exhibitor login, lead management, event coordination), an online media registration system, an exhibitor online manual with lead-retrieval capability, digital press-kit and lookbook platforms, and a ShowStoppers TV broadcast format — none of which constitute a differentiated technology platform but collectively provide the operational backbone for event execution.

ShowStoppers generates revenue primarily through quote-based exhibitor registration and event-participation fees paid by technology companies seeking media exposure, supplemented by event sponsorships. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; multi-year contracts and direct enterprise sales are used. The customer base is highly diversified across enterprise brands (iRobot, Roborock, Elegoo, Infinix), growth-stage companies (IgniteTech, Worx), and startups — with no external institutional funding, no parent company, and no acquisition activity disclosed in nearly three decades of continuous operation.

Name

Show stoppers

Legal name

ShowStoppers

Website

https://showstoppers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ShowStoppers is a privately held, family-owned U.S. company producing invitation-only press receptions at CES, IFA, and MWC, connecting technology exhibitors with pre-qualified journalists, analysts, and investors. Operating for 29 years with an ~8-person team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Show Press Event Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAHABAJ

Retail, Consumer Goods & Lifestyle Shows Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Exhibition & Trade Show Organizers

SECONDARYTHAHABAC

Consumer & Public Shows (B2C) Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Exhibition & Trade Show Organizers

SECONDARYMPAGAGAK

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

Keywords

• Press events
• Trade show media receptions
• Product launch events
• Tech event management
• Exhibitor marketing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Exhibitor Registration and Event Participation: Companies pay to exhibit at ShowStoppers press events, gaining access to pre-qualified journalists, analysts, and investors for product launches and demonstrations. Pricing is quote-based and varies by event and booth size.
2. Event Sponsorships: Companies sponsor specific event elements or categories, receiving prominent branding and visibility at press events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ShowStoppers produces invitation-only, in-person press and business events at the world's largest technology trade shows — CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona — bringing together exhibiting tech companies with hundreds of pre-qualified journalists, analysts, investors, and industry executives in a single turnkey reception format. Exhibiting companies pay for tabletop showcase space and gain direct access to media for product launches, hands-on demonstrations, and one-on-one interviews, while media attend by invitation only.

Product overview

ShowStoppers is the global leader in producing press and business events for technology companies. Now in its 29th year, the company organizes invitation-only media receptions at major tradeshows including CES, IFA, and MWC. The core offering consists of ShowStoppers press events featuring product launches and hands-on demonstrations for pre-qualified journalists, analysts, and investors. Supporting programs include LaunchIT (startup pitch sessions), Power Sessions (pre-event showcases), the Gadgety Awards (product recognition), and media resource platforms including Press Kits and Lookbooks. ShowStoppers produces official press events at IFA and partners with CTA, GSMA, and CEATEC for events during major technology tradeshows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Launchit: A pitch program for startups at CES where selected companies get 4 minutes to present to press and investors.
• Gadgety Awards
• Power Sessions

Products and services

• ShowStoppers @ CES Annual invitation-only press reception held at CES in Las Vegas where exhibiting technology companies meet pre-qualified journalists, bloggers, analysts, VCs, and executives for product launches and demonstrations.
• ShowStoppers @ IFA Official press event of IFA in Berlin, a three-hour invitation-only media reception connecting exhibiting consumer-tech companies with 700+ pre-qualified journalists, analysts, and influencers.
• ShowStoppers @ MWC The largest media reception at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, showcasing mobile and connected-device products to 500+ pre-qualified journalists.
• LaunchIT Startup pitch program held during CES in which selected startups receive four minutes to present to press and investors, including cohorts organized with JETRO.
• Power Sessions Pre-event showcase sessions held one hour before the main ShowStoppers reception where select companies demonstrate new technologies around themes such as mobility, power tools, and AI.
• Future Audio-Visual Summit (FAVS) Press conference program at CES featuring AI-eyewear product announcements, panel discussions, and keynote speeches, including the Future Audio-Visual Zone for hands-on demonstrations.
• Gadgety Awards Annual awards program recognizing the best and most cutting-edge consumer electronics and home appliances launched at ShowStoppers events, judged by tech journalists and influencers.
• ShowStoppers Portal Online portal for ShowStoppers exhibitors enabling event registration, lead management, press kit hosting, and event logistics coordination.

Quantifiable outcome

• 109.4 Billion online, print, broadcast impressions generated for exhibitors (IFA)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World AI Eyewear Alliance (WAEA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 December 2025Global non-profit initiative for advancing AI-powered eyewear ecosystem. Founding partners from Asia, America, and Europe co-creating international standards and certification frameworks. Produces Future Audio-Visual Summit (FAVS) press conference and Future Audio-Visual Zone (FAVZ) demonstrations at ShowStoppers CES events.
• JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025Six-year partnership where JETRO organizes and selects Japanese startups to present at ShowStoppers events during CES. JETRO assists innovative startups in expanding into global markets through funding and educational programs. JETRO has organized the CES JAPAN Pavilion (J-Startup Pavilion) since 2019.
• OmdiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology research firm providing marketplace assessment and actionable insights for tech markets. Brings world-class research and consultancy to ShowStoppers events.
• GSMAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduces largest media reception at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Partnership for ShowStoppers @ MWC events.
• CTA (Consumer Technology Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner producing Launchit event during CES. CTA is the producer of CES trade show.
• IFA Management GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduces official press events at IFA in Berlin. Partnership renewed for 2026, 2027, 2028. IFA is the world's largest trade fair for home & consumer tech.
• CEATECminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CEATEC for producing events during the Japanese technology trade show.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Cision: Cision is a PR and earned-media analytics platform that ShowStoppers uses to measure exhibitor ROI (impressions, Ad Value Equivalency). They are not a competitor but rather an ecosystem partner and adjacent PR-tech vendor serving the same marketing/PR buyer.
• Business Wire (Berkshire Hathaway): Business Wire is a press release distribution and regulatory disclosure service serving many of the same enterprise tech exhibitors that ShowStoppers serves. It is an adjacent channel rather than a direct competitor, representing an alternative way companies generate launch coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Consumer Technology Association (CTA): CTA owns and produces CES, the largest consumer electronics trade show globally. While not a direct competitor, CTA controls the venue and timing context in which ShowStoppers operates its CES press event, and is a strategic official partner (Launchit).
• Reed Exhibitions: Reed Exhibitions is a major global trade show organizer operating hundreds of B2B exhibitions. While not a direct competitor to ShowStoppers' press-event niche, it competes for the same exhibitor marketing budgets across consumer electronics and tech.
• IFA Management GmbH / Messe Berlin: IFA Management operates the IFA trade show in Berlin, ShowStoppers' largest European anchor. ShowStoppers' exclusive media reception partnership is renewed through 2028, making IFA Management both an official partner and the host venue.
• Informa: Informa is one of the world's largest events and exhibitions companies, operating major B2B trade shows across technology, healthcare, and beyond. They overlap with ShowStoppers as an incumbent trade show organizer serving the same exhibitor customers at larger scale.
• GSMA: GSMA produces Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, one of ShowStoppers' three anchor shows. GSMA sets the underlying trade show at which ShowStoppers' MWC media reception operates.

Direct peers

• Pepcom: Pepcom organizes invitation-only press events at major consumer electronics trade shows (notably CES and Holiday Pepcom), using a near-identical model: pre-qualified media, exhibitor booths, and curated networking. It is the closest direct competitor to ShowStoppers in the tech press-event niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/showstoppers
• YouTubevimeo.com/showcase/7874074
• Facebookfacebook.com/showstopperspress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/showstopperspress
• Instagraminstagram.com/showstopperspress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Show stoppers