Type Public Industry Meeting planning Headquarters Virginia, United States Number of employees 1,750 | Traded as NYSE: CVT Founder Reggie Aggarwal Founded 1999 Parent organization Lanyon Solutions | |
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Key people Reggie Aggarwal (Chief Executive Officer) Products Event Management, Cvent Supplier Network, Strategic Meetings Management, Web Surveys CEO Rajeev K. Aggarwal (1999–) Subsidiaries CrowdCompass Inc., Cvent Atlanta, LLC Profiles | ||
Cvent, Inc. is a publicly held software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that specializes in meetings management technology. The company offers web-based software for meeting site selection, online event registration, event management, email marketing, and web surveys. Cvent Enters into Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $1.65 Billion.
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History
Cvent was founded in September 1999 by Reggie Aggarwal. That same year it received $17 million in venture capital and grew its staff to 125 employees. Following the dot-com bubble burst and the September 11 attacks, Cvent faced near-bankruptcy and was forced to cut 80% of its staff.
The company became profitable again by 2003. In 2011, Cvent was growing by 50% a year and received $136 million of funding from New Enterprise Associates in July 2011, which, at the time, was the largest investment in a U.S. software company since 2007.
In 2012, Cvent entered the mobile market with the acquisition of two event application developers. On June 13, Cvent announced its acquisition of Austin-based startup Seed Labs, recently rebranded as CrowdTorch, for $4.2 million. Seven days later, the company announced its acquisition of Portland-based application developer CrowdCompass for $10 million. CrowdTorch develops mobile applications for consumer-oriented events and CrowdCompass develops mobile applications for business-related events.
Cvent filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 8, 2013, proposing an initial public offering of an estimated $5.6 million in shares. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange on August 9, 2013, at an initial price of $21. The company raised $117.6 million and received a market capitalization of more than a billion dollars. The IPO was referenced in regards to its use of the JOBS Act, which enabled the company to offer an IPO much more quickly.
Software and services
In July 2000 Cvent introduced its first SaaS product, a web-based tool for event planners to manage invitations and collect registration fees. In 2006, it introduced a product for conducting online surveys, which was followed by the introduction of the Cvent Supplier Network two years later. The Supplier Network is a free, online marketing place that connects meeting planners with venues and services. In 2009, the company began offering professional services.
An app development tool, CrowdTorch, was launched in 2009. Cvent also produces a Destination Guide, a free, online, 8,000-page travel guide designed for meeting planners with information about 800 different destinations. A "Strategic Meetings Management" helps users manage budgets.