A Message from our Writers: As we go into the second half of the year, it seems like we’re closing an important chapter, lots of things have happened, and there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. On an even more positive note Summer is here 🌞, the beach, barbecues, and good times ahead! Who really works in July & August?

Final note, I wanted to thank you for being a reader and being part of this journey, we have reached 1,200 subs! - From LinkedIn posts to your inbox, thank you ♥️
Much Love, Kev

What was Localista’s original business model?
Localista started as a B2B event attribution platform for tech companies. Our goal was to help revenue teams finally track the ROI of events—especially in long sales cycles. Tech companies often spend $20,000 to $400,000 per event, yet had no way to connect attendance to pipeline. We built the missing layer to tie events into their conversion data.

Did the market validate the idea?
Yes—very quickly. We opened up deep conversations with CMOs and Heads of Growth at companies like Qonto, Contentsquare, Lumapps, Ramp, and MyTraffic. They all saw the gap. But to solve it, we had to integrate with highly customized CRM setups—usually Salesforce. That meant long sales cycles, technical lift, and a slippery slope into becoming a service agency.

What made you decide to pivot?
We realized we were spending more time mapping Salesforce instances than building scalable product. After 5 months and 20+ CMO interviews, we had to admit: we’d drifted from our original vision. The pain was real—but the solution wasn’t fast, simple, or joyful to use.

What did that chapter teach you?

So what is Localista now?
Localista is a guest experience platform built for invite-only events. We help brands, creatives, and agencies create beautiful, branded RSVP flows in minutes—no design files or dev support needed. Guests don’t need to create accounts, and hosts get real-time intent tracking and personalized follow-up tools. Most of our users—PR agencies, content studios, brand teams—still run events and guest lists from Excel. They don’t need heavy CRMs. They need lightweight tools that work for their two main comms channels: newsletters and events.

What’s the AI layer in Localista?
We’ve baked AI into the platform in two key ways:

Who inspired the shift to a prosumer model?
Two companies in particular:

How do you position Localista in today’s crowded landscape?

Who’s your ideal user now?
Independent agencies, in-house brand teams, and creative entrepreneurs hosting intimate, high-touch events (30–500 guests). They want something quick, elevated, and seamless—with zero tech drama and full control over guest experience.

What does success look like in a year?
We want to become the go-to for any event where brand experience matters as much as logistics.

⚡️Lightning Round