When he graduated from West Point, he wanted to serve his country, even though he didn't know what he wanted to do.
He never imagined launching a private event management platform for restaurants and venues, but that is what he is building, and that is the reason why the company has just been funded to the tune of $3.6 million.
The idea is related to Hutchison's five years in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer. As you rise through the ranks, there is a lot more paperwork and less work with soldiers and doing things on the ground.
He says that the idea for his startup came from the time in between deployment when he was frustrated by the process of organizing social events.
Though large chains and hotels have the resources to invest in snazzy software, it became apparent to Hutchison, the more he talked about the problem, that independent operators didn't have an affordable option, so he decided to leave the army and get to work. A lot of other building owners with enough space for an event can easily respond to messages, thanks to the all-in-one, subscription-based event management platform developed by his three-person team.
According to him, Perfect Venue saves 12 hours per week and sees an increase in sales because it is more efficient than other processes.
It's a bigger market than one might think, according to Brian Rothenberg, the venture capitalist who led Perfect Venue's new funding. The private events business is estimated to generate roughly $80 billion per year in the U.S., and according to the former VP of growth at Eventbrite, the venue space was viewed as.
The two stayed in touch after Hutchison first pitched his idea at a conference.
While there are consumer-facing options in the market that help individual venues, Perfect Venue's approach is to build a supply of restaurants and other venues and become their customer relationship.
The Perfect Venue was founded in San Francisco a year ago and has plenty of room to expand into other areas once it nails down its business.
There is potential to help people find and book the right venue down the road, but right now we are just laser focused on helping businesses manage their existing business. When you fill out an inquiry form on a restaurant's website, you are actually going to a form that creates a lead for them. From there, restaurants can communicate with guests, review proposals, and get paid for everything they do.
Other backers in Perfect Venue's seed round include Amity Venture Partners, Context Venture Partners, Shawn Tsao, Sam Ellis, and Paul Madera.
The Perfect Venue is a small but growing team.
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