Though never crossing paths before first working together, Co-Founders Lindsie Hass and Kaitlyn Cinquegrani, were destined to become business partners and lifelong friends. The two founded Scout Hospitality, a corporate event planning company, during the pandemic and quickly found success in the industry.
Now best friends, Lindsie recalls the two learning just how much they have in common after forming the company.
“It's funny, but we didn't know a lot of this until we started Scout. We knew of each other. We knew of our families. We knew our husbands kind of played hockey, but they'd never crossed paths. It turns out both of our boys are three. Our girls are within six months of both being six years old, our husbands now are best friends. They play hockey every Friday and Sunday and Wednesday, whenever they can get it, then.
All the similarities just meshed, not only as a business partnership, but as friends as well. Just a couple of weeks ago, we realized that we both went to Roosevelt University in the city, too.”
It is that combination of similarities that would prove to be instrumental in building a business and brand during a pandemic. As companies needed more and more help, Scout Hospitality was able to fill a void and provide key support when they needed it most. While they did and still do provide planning services for virtual events, as Kaitlyn points out, it’s in-person events that create a memorable experience.
“I'm just excited that in-person is back, because the virtual side, while it's not going away, the togetherness and the engagement that you get from people when you're actually meeting, there's just an energy and a vibe that everybody feeds off each other.”
Yet with so many marketing managers, and those deemed their company’s designated event planners, trying to do it on their own - it’s about creating awareness for how a professional planner can actually save them money. Built on a business model that makes it hard to say no, Linidsie explains the value they’re bringing to their clients.
“I would say for our clients we're like an arm of their company without being an employee. So when this wave happened, these teams that were 15, 20 people are now down to one in two people. So they need help more than ever, but their budgets might not allow to hire another person to help them. The greatest thing about our biggest tier is the sourcing is free. As long as you have a room block with that. So we're bringing value to the table without them even knowing it until we get into the conversation.”
Tune in to hear more about how these two best friends built a brand around their friendship and shared vision of success.
