A smooth backstage experience

In the pre-production stage team Happily and Startup Grind HQ worked closely together and were in constant communication, with weekly meetings turning into daily catchups as the event got closer. The schedual for the show was dawn up, every detail was discussed and each second was rehearsed across the teams. We connected with as many speakers as possible prior to the event to provide a ‘tech check’, to ensure that their home set-up was suitable, and to familiarise them with the proceedings and the final outcome.

This understanding of the event gave them the opportunity to alter their presentation accordingly, and eased any confusion about what was expected of them, allowing speakers to feel prepared on the day. On the visual content side, we provided background templates and ‘up next’ slides for the Startup Grind’s creative team to customize and design as according to their brand identity, ensuring visual consistency across the stages.

As the speaker experience was Happily’s priority, we created an airtight workflow for them on the day of the event, within a system that they would have already been familiar with. Depending on which of the two main stages they were scheduled to appear on, each speaker was sent a calendar invite with a Zoom link that would funnel them into the correct backstage area / green room.

Having two main stages meant that the backstage environment was duplicated, with an Executive Producer and Technical Director overseeing everything. Each stage had its own Streaming Engineer looking after the technical side of the broadcast, as well as a Producer who was calling the show.

In each green room, speakers were greeted and guided by a Backstage Lead, and also included was a Breakout Assistant to help chase up any speakers who may have been running a little late. When it was a speakers turn they would be moved by the Streaming Engineer onto the ‘main stage’. Each stage had a Timekeeper - a role often referred to simply as a Clock - providing visual cues to the speaker on their screen, including when they are live or how much time they had left.