Event planning Web platform Eved receives $9.5M funding

Eved's enterprise online platform organizes and expedites all facets of planning events and meetings

Event industry online facilitator Eved announced Wednesday a $9.5 million series B funding round, led by New World Ventures and MK Capital, with previous investor Merrick Ventures participating.

The Chicago-based company has indicated it will use this funding to expand its online platform, which it claims is the first of its kind. "The funds will be used to expand our e-commerce offering and continue to support our clients," said Eved CEO Talia Mashiach to VatorNews. "We’ll also add sales & marketing resources."

And just what does Eved's platform do? Eved essentially allows the companies in the $263 million meeting and event industry to communicate better and offer each other enhanced service and deals. "Eved is [updating] an industry that still conducts business in a highly manual way with the purpose of automating the industry supply chain transactions," said Mashiach. "Eved offers a complete sourcing, marketing and e-commerce solution for buyers and sellers in the event industry."

Essentially Eved provides organizations, who need to hold an event with a private, online marketplace to communicate with vendors and event management companies. Meeting & event planners can organize suppliers and even purchase supplies online. The platform provides tools for online invoicing and automated proposals.

The company was founded in 2004 by CEO Talia Mashiach with a $330,000 home equity line, and contacts to Chicago-area hotel industry. Now the business serves 40% of the Fortune 500 companies, including clients like Carlson Marketing, ITA Group, and Maritz Travel.

Eved's online event and meeting solutions currently with over 2500 users, from organizations who frequently host events, to third-party meeting and incentive companies, to event planning and destination management companies, to hotels, event venues and suppliers.

Eved members can access the company's two apps, GroundTransport and VenderCheckin.

GroundTransport automates, as one would think, the ground transport of people attending a given meeting or event. The app interfaces with FAA apps to give current flight information, replacing spreadsheets with an online solution. VendorCheckin allows event planners and event management to better organize the vendors with which they're working.