Orlando’s Shoflo acquired by top event management tech firm

An Orlando-based event streaming firm has been acquired by one of the leading companies in the industry.

Officials with Shoflo confirmed the acquisition of the company by Cvent, which had been written about in media last month, in a blog post recently.

Shoflo CEO and Founder Stephen Bowles did not share many details of the deal in the blog post, instead focusing on what the transaction would mean for the company moving forward.

Shoflo began as one of the first companies to go through Orlando’s Starter Studio accelerator in 2013 and has since grown to employ 30 people around the world.

Like many event-streaming companies, Shoflo saw a surge in virtual events because of the coronavirus pandemic, a year Bowles called “transformative for both our industry and Shoflo.”

“As we saw in-person events come to a halt and virtual events take off, the Shoflo team did what we have been doing from the beginning … we leaned into the problem and believed in the power of innovation as the way through,” he wrote.

“To maximize live engagement with audiences and drive ROI, event planners and marketers need to reimagine the production levels of their events,” Cvent VP of product development McNeel Keenan said. “By adding Shoflo’s suite of products and expertise, we expand the capabilities of our attendee engagement solutions for virtual and hybrid events. We’re thrilled to bring Shoflo into the Cvent family.”

Cvent employs more than 4,000 people worldwide and has managed nearly 5 million events since its 1999 debut, according to data on its website.