Strong Brew

What Strong Brew does

Strong Brew is a boutique event production company founded in 2015 by Emmy award-winning producer Leah Harper-Lane and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a roughly nine-person core team. The firm produces high-stakes live events, multi-camera broadcast specials, fan festivals, brand activations, and tentpole concerts for a roster of enterprise clients that includes HBO Max, Nickelodeon, OpenAI, Wyndham, YouTube, BET, CBS Sports, Airbnb, Google, MTV, Crunchyroll, and TNT Sports. Notable productions span the Lizzo: Live in Concert HBO Max special (2023 Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Variety Special), Nickelodeon SlimeFest Chicago, OpenAI DevDay across San Francisco, London, and Singapore, the Wyndham Global Conference, and YouTube Dear Earth.

Strong Brew's underlying capability is principally human-driven creative and technical production leadership rather than a software or technology platform; the company builds production teams around each show and provides services spanning multi-cam broadcast, livestream and digital content, festival and fan experiences, brand and lifestyle events, and concerts and tentpoles. Leadership is led by Harper-Lane (Principal and Executive Producer), Matt Salerno (Head of Production and Live Experiences, 25+ years in live television), and James Lane (Strategy and Operations, ~30 years in marketing and branding), with prior credits spanning the Super Bowl, VMAs, Oscars, NCAA Final Four, and major broadcast events.

The business model is professional services: revenue is generated through custom-quoted project contracts for event planning, production, and execution, with no publicly disclosed pricing or productized offerings. The go-to-market motion is relationship-driven and highly selective, with Strong Brew deliberately taking on only a limited number of projects annually so that principals remain embedded from concept to execution. Distribution is direct-to-enterprise only, with no self-serve or marketplace channel, and marketing relies on the company's project portfolio, case studies, and earned industry recognition rather than outbound campaigns.

Name

Strong Brew

Website

https://thestrongbrew.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Strong Brew is a boutique event production agency that produces large-scale live events, broadcast specials, fan festivals, and brand activations for enterprise clients including HBO, OpenAI, Nickelodeon, Wyndham, YouTube, and Google, with principal-led execution on a limited annual project slate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Event Production Services: Strong Brew generates revenue by producing high-stakes live events, broadcast specials, fan experiences, concerts, and tentpole events for enterprise brands. Revenue is project-based and service-oriented, likely through professional services contracts for event planning, production, and execution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Strong Brew is a boutique event production agency that produces high-stakes live events, multi-camera broadcast specials, fan experiences, concerts, and tentpole events for major entertainment, technology, and lifestyle brands. The company delivers end-to-end production services including multi-cam broadcast specials, livestream and digital content, festival and fan experiences, brand and lifestyle events, and concerts and tentpoles. Strong Brew operates selectively, taking on only a limited number of projects annually so leadership can remain deeply involved from concept through execution.

Product overview

Strong Brew is an event production company offering a unified portfolio of services centered on producing large-scale fan-first events for major entertainment, technology, and lifestyle brands. The core offering consists of end-to-end event production services encompassing multi-cam broadcast specials, livestream and digital content, festival and fan experiences, brand and lifestyle events, and concerts and tentpoles. These services are delivered through specialized teams led by experienced producers who maintain deep involvement from concept through execution. The company operates on a selective model, taking on a limited number of projects each year to ensure focused attention and fresh perspective on each production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Event Production Services End-to-end event production services including multi-cam broadcast specials, livestream and digital content, festival and fan experiences, brand and lifestyle events, and concerts and tentpoles. Sold to enterprise brands on a project basis.
• Fan-First Event Experiences Specialized production of high-profile fan engagement events for major entertainment, technology, and lifestyle brands, including broadcast specials, live concerts, award shows, conferences, and fan festivals.
• Production Consulting and Strategy Strategic consultation and production expertise for clients seeking to build teams around specific shows, with leadership involvement from concept through execution.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2023 Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Variety Special (Lizzo: Live in Concert)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Done + DustedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Done + Dusted for the Lizzo: Live in Concert HBO Max broadcast special. The project was a 2023 Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Variety Special, featuring 33 camera angles and 17,000 screaming fans.
• Civic EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Civic Entertainment for the Wyndham Global Conference, an ongoing 4-day program at Anaheim Convention Center and Las Vegas, serving 5,500 industry professionals.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• AEG Presents: Global live entertainment and venue operator producing concerts, tours, festivals, and award shows. Comparable to Strong Brew in producing multi-cam broadcasts and tentpole entertainment events, but as part of a much larger integrated venue and promotion business.
• Sparks: Global experience design and production agency building brand experiences, pop-ups, and live events for enterprise clients including major tech and consumer brands. Overlaps directly with Strong Brew's brand & lifestyle and tentpole event work.
• Live Nation Entertainment: World's largest live entertainment company, producing concerts, festivals, and broadcast events for major artists and brands. Overlaps with Strong Brew's concert and tentpole work at the high end of audience scale.
• IMG (Endeavor): Global sports, fashion, and entertainment events company producing major broadcasts, fan experiences, and tentpoles. Comparable to Strong Brew on broadcast specials (Emmys, award shows, sports) and large-scale fan festivals, but with far greater resources and IP base.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global brand experience agency producing major events, activations, and broadcasts for enterprise brands. A scaled incumbent in the same fan-first brand event category Strong Brew serves, but with far broader geographic and service-line reach.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Large global experience marketing agency specializing in conferences, brand activations, and tech / entertainment events (including recurring programs for major tech clients). Operates at the enterprise event scale where Strong Brew's boutique projects compete for share.
• MKG: US-based experiential marketing agency producing brand experiences, live events, and fan activations for enterprise clients. Competes in the same fan-first brand event space as Strong Brew but at materially larger scale.

Others

• TAIT: Global provider of staging, automation, and live event production technology and services for concerts, broadcasts, and brand experiences. Functions as an enabling production-services peer whose infrastructure underpins many of the same tentpole event categories Strong Brew produces.

Direct peers

• Civic Entertainment Group: US-based event production agency producing large-scale conferences, festivals, and brand experiences. Civic is a named strategic partner of Strong Brew on the recurring Wyndham Global Conference, placing it in the same boutique, enterprise-focused production tier.
• Done + Dusted: UK- and US-based boutique live event and broadcast production house known for high-profile award-show and concert broadcasts. Done + Dusted is also a named strategic partner of Strong Brew on the Emmy-nominated Lizzo: Live in Concert HBO Max special, making it the closest comparable in scale, model, and project type.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strongbrewinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Strong Brew