What ESP Presents does

ESP Presents is a Chicago-based boutique event production firm founded in 2014 by Matt Woodburn and Sarah Neukom. The company partners with nonprofits, foundations, creative agencies, and lifestyle brands to produce high-impact, purpose-driven experiential events. Its services span four core modules — Project Management, Strategy Consultation, Event Planning & Production, and Graphic Design & Communications — delivered as customized, end-to-end engagements from concept through execution. The team is intentionally small, described as 'boutique, small by design,' with co-founders and senior producers directly involved in every engagement, which the firm positions as a differentiator versus larger agencies.

The company has no proprietary technology platform; it is a pure professional services business. Revenue is generated on a per-project, quote-based model with scopes tailored to client needs. Notable long-tenured clients include Ferrari Lake Forest (10+ years), the Art Institute of Chicago's After Dark series (11 years), The Kennedy Forum (5+ years), and the Illinois Housing Council (6 years), alongside marquee engagements with lululemon, McLaren, LISC, and the CARA Collective. Since 2014, ESP Presents claims to have produced thousands of events for hundreds of organizations and helped clients raise over $25 million, with single events generating seven-figure fundraising outcomes (e.g., the 2024 CARA Gala at $1M+).

The business is privately held with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no recent M&A activity. Operations are anchored in Chicago with a national client footprint. The co-founders also operate related ventures — Chop Shop Chicago (a multi-purpose live event venue opened 2013) and Exchange312 (a luxury boutique event venue) — suggesting ecosystem synergies that reinforce ESP Presents' production capabilities and Chicago market position.

Name

ESP Presents

Legal name

ESP Presents

Website

https://esppresents.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ESP Presents is a Chicago-based boutique event production firm founded in 2014 that partners with nonprofits, foundations, creative agencies, and lifestyle brands to deliver customized experiential events from concept through execution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Production Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Event Production & Technical Services (AV/Lighting/Staging) (MPAAAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

Keywords

• Boutique event production
• Experiential event services
• Nonprofit fundraising events
• Corporate event management
• Live event production

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Event Production Services: Professional services revenue from full-service event planning, production, strategy consultation, and graphic design. Services are billed per project/engagement with custom scoping based on client needs. Work ranges from specific project components to comprehensive event management from concept to completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ESP Presents is a boutique event production firm that creates purpose-driven experiential events for nonprofits, foundations, creative agencies, and lifestyle brands. The firm delivers comprehensive event services from concept through completion, including project management, strategy consultation, event planning and production, and graphic design and communications. Since 2014, the company has helped clients raise over $25 million through events it produced.

Product overview

ESP Presents is a boutique event production firm that creates purpose-driven experiential events. The company offers four core service modules: Project Management, Strategy Consultation, Event Planning & Production, and Graphic Design & Communications. These services are delivered as a tailored, hands-on offering where the company builds a team and scope to match client needs, working from concept to completion. The firm partners with nonprofits, foundations, creative agencies, and lifestyle brands to produce high-impact events, having helped clients raise over $25 million since launching in 2014.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project Management Event brief development, work plan build-out and management, budget oversight, and regular planning meetings for event engagements.
• Strategy Consultation Strategic planning, fundraising modeling, sponsorship strategies, committee/board coordination, partnership facilitation, and stakeholder engagement for events.
• Event Planning & Production Comprehensive event design, theme development, vendor/venue/food & beverage management, production & technical direction, script development, showcalling, talent acquisition, entertainment curation, speaker management, sponsorship activations, guest experience and management, fundraising platform management, registration services, volunteer management, security planning, logistics coordination, gifting, staffing, and travel coordination.
• Graphic Design & Communications Creative concepting, digital content creation, signage & collateral design, communications strategy & implementation, and print management for events.

Quantifiable outcome

• $25 million+ raised for clients since 2014
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Rise Strategy GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborated with Rise Strategy Group on the 31st Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards. Together they built out the event theme with bar and column wraps, window clings, screen graphics, and check-in process design.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BeCore: Chicago-based experiential marketing agency producing brand experiences, mobile tours, and activations. Directly comparable geographic peer to ESP Presents, competing for many of the same Midwest-based brand and nonprofit clients.
• LEO Events: Boutique event production agency producing corporate galas, fundraisers, conferences, and brand activations. Similar size and service scope to ESP Presents, with comparable emphasis on senior involvement and mission-aligned client work.
• MKG: Boutique experiential marketing and events agency producing brand activations, immersive experiences, and cultural programming for premium brands. Closely comparable to ESP Presents in service mix and boutique positioning, though slightly larger and more digitally integrated.
• MAS Event Design: Boutique event design and production firm specializing in luxury and nonprofit galas, fundraisers, and high-touch experiences. Closely comparable in size, service model, and client mix to ESP Presents; competes for the same high-end nonprofit and brand activation work.
• Arie Boas Productions: Boutique event production firm producing high-end corporate, nonprofit, and private events with a hands-on senior-led approach. Directly comparable in boutique positioning, service mix, and target client profile to ESP Presents.
• Rhone Group: Experiential marketing and event production agency serving brands with activations, conferences, and live experiences. Comparable boutique-to-mid-size competitor with overlapping client types in lifestyle, luxury, and nonprofit sectors.

Broad incumbents

• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Large global experiential agency producing flagship brand experiences, conferences, and events. Competes with ESP Presents for major brand and nonprofit clients but operates at significantly greater scale and offers integrated strategy, creative, content, and analytics capabilities ESP Presents lacks.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global brand experience agency producing events, activations, and sponsorships for major brands worldwide. Significantly larger than ESP Presents and serves many of the same enterprise and brand clients, but offers broader integrated capabilities (strategy, creative, digital, production) at global scale.
• Sparks: Experiential marketing agency specializing in live brand experiences, activations, and pop-ups for enterprise clients. Operates at much larger scale than ESP Presents with offices nationwide; competes for the same brand activation RFPs (e.g., lululemon, McLaren-style premium lifestyle engagements).
• Czarnowski Collective: Established Chicago-based event marketing and brand experience agency serving Fortune 500 clients with a mix of strategy, creative, and production services. A larger local competitor to ESP Presents with deeper institutional client relationships and broader service offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TeamESPPresents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esp-presents
• Instagraminstagram.com/esppresents

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 ESP Presents