The Vendry is a technology company.
The Vendry has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round.
The Vendry has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
The Vendry is a digital marketplace and professional community platform for the events industry, enabling corporate event planners to source venues, vendors, agencies, and inspiration while connecting with peers through networking tools, RFP capabilities, and a jobs board.[1][2][3][5][6] It serves event professionals at major organizations like Bloomberg, NBC, Salesforce, and AmexGBT, solving fragmented discovery and sourcing challenges in event planning by aggregating over 1,000,000 data points on global venues and vendors, enhanced by community feedback and AI-powered search.[1][3] With 150,000-190,000 monthly users pre-acquisition, The Vendry raised $6.5 million in 2021 and debuted key features like a venue search platform and networking group in 2022; it was acquired by Groupize in July 2024 and now operates as The Vendry by Groupize, integrating into a larger meetings management ecosystem with over 190,000 hotels and 70,000+ additional venues.[1][2]
Founded in 2018 by Daphne Hoppenot in Brooklyn, New York, The Vendry emerged from Hoppenot's observation of outdated websites in the events industry, which lacked proper visual portfolios and individual credits for professionals—much like an "IMDb for event pros."[4] After raising $2 million in venture capital by April 2019, Hoppenot assembled a four-person team to launch the platform as a professional marketplace.[4] A pivotal pandemic pivot in early 2020 proved crucial: as live events halted, the team introduced "Credits and Pro Profiles" weeks before COVID-19 hit, then added a virtual/digital offerings marketplace and networking features like job postings and discussion boards, doubling growth rates.[1][4] This resilience led to $6.5 million in 2021 funding, product launches in 2022, and enhancements like a Chrome extension and upgraded search engine in October 2023.[1][2][3]
The Vendry rides the resurgence of corporate events and meetings post-pandemic, capitalizing on hybrid work trends and the $1.5 trillion global events industry where planners demand efficient, data-rich sourcing amid venue shortages and rising costs.[1][4] Its timing aligns with AI advancements in procurement—evident in its search engine and Groupize integration—addressing pain points like fragmented vendor discovery in a market favoring self-service platforms over traditional brokers.[2][3] By democratizing access to 70,000+ independent vendors and community-vetted insights, it influences the ecosystem through feedback loops that elevate smaller players, accelerates planner productivity for enterprises, and supports Groupize's push for end-to-end meetings management, potentially standardizing AI-driven event tech globally.[1][2]
Post-acquisition, The Vendry will fully integrate its AI search and marketplace into Groupize by late 2024 or early 2025, expanding to a unified platform with founder Daphne Hoppenot advising strategically while CEO Alisa de Gaspe Beaubien drives growth.[1][2] Rising demand for experiential corporate events, AI personalization, and sustainability-focused venues will propel it, alongside trends like VR previews and global expansion. Its influence may evolve from niche community to core infrastructure for meetings tech, empowering planners at scale and setting a benchmark for community-powered marketplaces in fragmented industries—reinforcing its origin as the modern hub where great events become team efforts.[1][6]
The Vendry has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
The Vendry's investors include 2048 Ventures, Accomplice VC, AME Cloud Ventures, Authentic Ventures, BoxGroup, Broadway Angels, Chemistry VC, Company Capital, CRV, DFJ, Footwork, Gigafund.
The Vendry has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $7.0M Seed in September 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2021 | $7.0M Seed | 2048 Ventures, Accomplice VC, AME Cloud Ventures, Authentic Ventures, BoxGroup, Broadway Angels, Chemistry VC, Company Capital, CRV, DFJ, Footwork, Gigafund, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Hack VC, Hanabi Capital, Hardware Club, Hoxton Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Preston-Werner Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, RRE Ventures, RTP Ventures, Saga, Sequoia Capital, South Park Commons, Spero Ventures, Stellar Capital, The Hit Forge, Tribe Capital, UpHonest Capital, Yext, Zigg Capital, Adam D'Angelo, Alexander Sacerdote, Arash Ferdowsi, Brad Garlinghouse, Dan Springer, Derrick Li, Drew Houston, Frederic Kerrest, Jeff Bezos, John Collison, Josh Spear, Joshua Reeves, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, Mike Greenfield, Scott Belsky, Tien Tzuo, Zander Lurie |