The Business of Meetings – Episode 210 – AI Unleashed: Transforming Meetings & Events with Entrepreneurial Vision with Alexa Berube and Heather Stupi
We are thrilled to have two exceptional entrepreneurs joining us on the show today!
Alexa Berube and Heather Stupi are the brilliant minds who founded Reposite, a company that has been revolutionizing the meetings and events industry with AI.
Get ready to explore their inspiring journeys and the remarkable strides they have made as we dive in and uncover the insights and innovations behind their success!
Alexa’s Journey
Alexa began her journey in tech sales and start-ups. After attending Santa Clara University, she delved into the tech sales ecosystem, starting with Main Street Hub in San Francisco, where she honed her skills in social media management for small businesses before moving to New York City, where she rose through the ranks to Director of Sales. She joined Vettery after GoDaddy acquired the company, where she met Heather. After the Adecco Group acquired Vettery, Alexa and Heather ventured into entrepreneurship together, founding Reposite.
Heather’s Journey
Heather had a diverse career journey, starting in investment banking before transitioning to Vettery as its fourth employee. Initially focused on product development, she worked closely with designers and engineers, gathering user feedback and ensuring product alignment. As Vettery expanded, Heather became their Head of Operations, overseeing their market launches and candidate acquisition. With her complementary skill set and a strong working relationship with Alexa, she decided to venture into entrepreneurship together, leveraging their combined expertise to found Reposite.
Founding Reposite
Alexa and Heather explored various business ideas before identifying a gap in the meeting planning market and founding Reposite. As the name suggests, Reposite is a centralized repository for vendor-related information. Its mission is to simplify the sourcing process for planners through AI-driven solutions.
Sales and Marketing Strategies
For sales and marketing strategies, Alexa enjoys the effectiveness of cold calling, nurturing relationships, and guerrilla marketing methods. Heather prefers delving into marketing automation strategies, leveraging triggers to provide tailored content to users, and seamlessly incorporating AI to optimize workflows for an enhanced user journey. Alexa and Heather underscore the significance of thought leadership and inventive approaches in driving their sales and marketing endeavors.
Challenges of Fundraising
Looking at the challenges of fundraising as a woman-led start-up in the tech industry, both Alexa and Heather acknowledge the difficulties but prefer to focus on their confidence in their product, their competence, and the value they bring to investors. They stress the importance of building long-term relationships with investors and finding partners who align with their vision for the company.
Vision for Reposite
Looking ahead, Alexa and Heather view AI as a tool to enhance productivity, streamline processes, and drive business growth and success. They intend to leverage AI to revolutionize the industry and create magical user moments through seamless integration and continuous innovation.
Stability in the Meeting and Event Planning Industry
Alexa suggests that while AI can automate many tasks in event planning, the human touch and the expertise of professional planners will remain essential. Heather adds that the industry relies heavily on relationships to fill the need for human involvement. She and Heather foresee that AI will enable planners to focus more on personalization and client interaction.
Hybrid Work Culture and Collaboration
Reposite has a hybrid work culture, with a physical office in New York City and a remote team across different locations. Alexa emphasizes the importance of in-person collaboration for some tasks and using virtual team-building activities and off-site meetings to maintain cohesion. Heather highlights the need for operational tools and workflows to support remote teamwork effectively.
AI Empowering Human Connection
The Reposite platform facilitates seamless planning for events to align with the evolving needs of businesses. Reflecting on the impact of the pandemic, Alexa and Heather emphasize the enduring need for human connection and the value of having corporate off-sites for hybrid and remote teams.
Accessible AI Tools
Alexa highlights the importance of leveraging AI tools to enhance user experiences and improve efficiency. She recommends using foundational platforms like Gemini (formerly Bard), Synesthesia, and mainstream tools like Zoom and LinkedIn.
Resource for Further Learning
Reposite has an AI white paper as a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in learning more about leveraging AI in meetings, events, and travel itineraries. The white paper offers in-depth insights and is regularly updated to stay current with industry trends.
Bio: Alexa Berube
Alexa is one of the co-founders of Reposite, an AI-powered marketplace connecting group meetings & event planners, and suppliers with built-in productivity tools to streamline workflows and maximize efficiency. Alexa continues to lead Reposite to new heights and provide value to our members by educating and sharing her wealth of knowledge of the travel and events industry. Her expertise in scaling sales organizations, building cutting-edge technology, and fostering partnerships between planners and suppliers has helped modernize the industry, bringing thousands of businesses around the world online to Reposite. The Forbes 30 under 30 powerhouse is passionate about building a community of members equipped with Reposite’s cutting-edge tools and resources to grow their business.
Bio: Heather Stupi
Heather is the Co-founder and CEO of Reposite, an innovative AI-powered marketplace transforming the way travel and event planners connect with best-fit vendors. Her journey into the world of start-ups began at Vettery, an AI-driven hiring marketplace, where as the Head of Operations and the fourth employee, she played a crucial role in scaling the business until its acquisition by the Adecco Group in 2018. This experience paved the way for her to launch Reposite, drawing on her profound understanding of marketplace dynamics and AI technology. Before her start-up successes, Heather developed her business acumen as an investment banking analyst at Citigroup, after graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Business Management. Outside of work, she embraces the chaos and joy of life with a toddler and a newborn.
Connect with Eric Rozenberg
Connect with Alexa Berube and Heather Stupi
Alexa on LinkedIn
Heather on LinkedIn
