BigSpeak Speakers Bureau

What BigSpeak Speakers Bureau does

BigSpeak Speakers Bureau is a Santa Barbara-based, privately held speakers bureau founded in 1995 by Jonathan Wygant (originally as Consciousness Unlimited, rebranded to BigSpeak around 2000). The company matches event planners at Fortune 1000 corporations, industry associations, and universities with keynote, motivational, business, AI, innovation, leadership, and celebrity speakers, claiming penetration of 72% of the Fortune 1000 and approximately $370M of cumulative keynote bookings. The core product is a curated speaker marketplace organized across more than a dozen topic verticals (AI, leadership, innovation, sales, cybersecurity, emotional intelligence, habits, customer experience, future trends, etc.), supported by website-based speaker search, a "My Catalog" saved-list feature, and direct booking inquiry forms. The company is a service business rather than a technology company—it does not sell software, APIs, or proprietary platforms; its value creation rests on exclusive talent relationships (e.g., former OpenAI executive Zack Kass, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph, Pixar's Matthew Luhn, NASA leader Gregory Robinson, bestselling author James Clear) and the domain expertise of its sales agents (described as having over 200 years of combined real-life business experience).

Revenue is generated through transaction commissions on speaker fees, with disclosed per-engagement pricing typically ranging from under $7,500 to $20,000+ depending on the speaker, event type, and organization. Distribution is driven by an enterprise field-sales motion featuring Strategic Account Advisors, a phone-based booking line, website inquiry forms, and content marketing through a podcast, newsletter, blog, and social channels. Complementary offerings—workshops, executive coaching, and consulting under the "Beyond the Keynote" umbrella—extend the core booking service into higher-value recurring engagements. The management team is led by Founder & CEO Jonathan Wygant and President Barrett Cordero, supported by a CMO and a roster of VPs and Strategic Account Advisors; the firm has never raised external funding and has no disclosed parent company.

The company has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for at least five consecutive years (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019), with a 613-spot ranking jump in the most recent reported year, and serves a customer base that includes NASA, Pfizer, CNN, HSBC, Disney, General Electric, American Express, Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, Google, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Ford, Toyota, and Boeing.

Name

BigSpeak Speakers Bureau

Legal name

BigSpeak, Inc.

Website

https://bigspeak.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BigSpeak Speakers Bureau is a Santa Barbara-based speakers bureau that matches Fortune 1000 corporations, associations, and universities with keynote, business, and celebrity speakers, earning commission on each booking through an enterprise field-sales model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speaker Bureau Services

akta.pro primary industry

Speaker, Entertainment & Talent Booking (Corporate) (HSACADAK)

Keywords

• Speakers bureau services
• Keynote speaker booking
• Business event speakers
• Corporate event talent
• Motivational speaker agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Speaker Booking Commission: BigSpeak earns revenue by representing keynote speakers and booking them for corporate events, conferences, and meetings. The company takes a commission from speaker fees. They've booked approximately $370M of keynote speakers on behalf of thousands of companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BigSpeak is a full-spectrum speakers bureau that represents and books keynote speakers, business speakers, motivational speakers, and celebrity speakers for corporate events, conferences, sales kickoffs, and leadership meetings. The company curates an exclusive roster of speakers and matches them with event planners, handling booking logistics end-to-end. Beyond keynotes, the firm also offers post-event workshops, executive coaching, and consulting through its Beyond the Keynote program.

Product overview

BigSpeak Speakers Bureau is a single, unified service platform for booking keynote speakers, business speakers, and motivational speakers for corporate events and conferences. The core product is the speakers bureau itself—a matching service that connects event planners with speakers across diverse topics including AI, leadership, innovation, sales, and more. The platform includes a My Catalog feature for saving preferred speakers, a search function for browsing by topic or location, and a booking request system. Additional offerings include a podcast program featuring thought leaders, an email newsletter, and Beyond the Keynote workshops and consulting services for post-event reinforcement. The company represents speakers across categories such as Celebrity Speakers, Business Speakers, AI Keynote Speakers, Leadership Speakers, and Innovation Speakers, but does not offer distinct technology products, modules, or APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Keynote Speakers Bureau Services
• Beyond the Keynote (Workshops & Consulting)

Quantifiable outcome

• $370M of keynote speakers booked for thousands of companies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Keppler Speakers: Long-standing U.S. speakers bureau serving corporate and association clients with business, leadership, and motivational talent. Overlaps directly with BigSpeak's core business speakers niche and Fortune 1000 client base.
• Premiere Speakers Bureau: Speakers bureau representing business, leadership, and motivational keynote talent for corporate and association audiences. Directly competes with BigSpeak in the business speakers category with overlapping client profiles.
• All American Speakers Bureau: A broad-line speakers bureau offering celebrity, business, and motivational speakers for corporate events and associations. Overlaps with BigSpeak in business and motivational categories for Fortune 1000 customers.
• The Lavin Agency: Speakers bureau specializing in authors, business thinkers, and thought leaders for corporate and association events. Direct competitor in the business speakers niche with similar exclusive-talent positioning.
• Executive Speakers Bureau: U.S. speakers bureau focused on leadership, sales, customer service, and motivational keynote speakers for corporate audiences. Comparable in target customer (corporate event planners) and topic categories to BigSpeak.
• Harry Walker Agency: One of the longest-established and largest U.S. speakers bureaus representing celebrity, political, and business keynote talent. Directly comparable to BigSpeak in serving Fortune 500 corporate events with a similar commission-based booking model and overlapping speaker roster.
• Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB): A premier U.S. speakers bureau with deep relationships among political leaders, CEOs, and thought leaders. Competes head-to-head with BigSpeak for Fortune 1000 keynote bookings, especially in policy, leadership, and business categories.
• Celebrity Talent International: Talent booking agency covering keynote speakers, celebrities, and entertainers for corporate events. Comparable service offering to BigSpeak with a similar commission-based model serving corporate event planners.
• Leading Authorities: Full-service speakers bureau and event production company representing business thinkers, politicians, and authors for Fortune 500 events. Closely comparable business model, customer profile, and speaker categories to BigSpeak.

Emerging players

• eSpeakers: Technology-enabled speakers directory and booking platform serving independent speakers and smaller bureaus. Represents a more tech-forward, marketplace-style alternative to the traditional full-service bureau model that BigSpeak operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheBigSpeak
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/BigSpeak/1537784356442569
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1045467
• Instagraminstagram.com/bigspeak_speakers_bureau
• Xx.com/bigspeak

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 BigSpeak Speakers Bureau