When Martin Boath from Imaginary Friends agreed to use Forumm for Curio 04 registration, we didn’t even have a waiting list function…yet.
But Martin didn’t seem to mind, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out” he said.
That reassurance sparked something in us, a feeling of confidence that said, “you’re ready.“
Our board member David Hamilton made the connection. One conversation with Martin, and we knew this was different.
He was warm. Open. Refreshingly direct.
"Sure, we'll give it a shot."
Just like that. No lengthy pitch deck review. No demands for a feature roadmap. Just genuine conviction that they should be supporting their ‘own’. Glasgow-created technology building something new.
We clicked immediately. So much, that we had to actively pull ourselves back to talking about work. Here was someone who got it: sometimes backing local means backing imperfect. And that’s okay.
When your technology is in its early stages, that kind of belief is everything.
The clock started ticking. 300 tickets to sell, eight weeks until Curio 04.
My co-founder Hilary Young became our customer support department of one. Every query. Every last-minute cancellation. Every “is this still available?” message. She answered them all, individually, personally.
It’s not scalable in the traditional sense. But it’s exactly the kind of event registration “with soul” we’re trying to deliver.
We learned fast. When you’re taking on platforms like Eventbrite, you realise something: the big players have forgotten what it feels like to desperately need that one feature to work right now for your first 300-person event.
We remembered. We built what Martin needed.
The day arrived, and with it torrential rain!
Nearly 200 creatives from across Scotland were coming to hear six speakers share their journeys in the creative space. The venue at the start? Chaos. Nothing was set up.
Then something beautiful happened.
People were patient. They formed a line, diligently showed us their QR codes, checked in without complaint. Some were the same people who’d given us friendly (and necessary) critiques about the booking process. Now we got to thank them in person.
Then, without warning, we were dragged onstage!
No preparation. Just us, slightly panicked, trying to articulate what we’re building while 200 pairs of eyes watched. Samwise, our office dog, came along for the ride too. Because if you’re going to launch into a new sector, you might as well bring the pup too!
Three weeks later, we’ve onboarded nearly 20 new event organisers from across Scotland and England. Our tiny team of three is somehow managing it all: building features, testing functionality, making sure everything works for real events with real people.
The support from the Glasgow (and Scottish) creative and tech community has been immense. People like Greig and Ross with Scottish Creative Network, Nick, Jonny and Dana with Tectonic, Ruby and Clare with No Tech without EdTech Conference (The Events Hub).
We’re even starting to see a interest in the rest of the UK with Chris from The Agency Adventure who runs ‘Ramble ‘n Rant’ events around the globe, sparking Forumm’s international presence. They’re not just giving us a chance, they’re giving us feedback and encouragement along with their events.
It’s people like Martin choosing to work with an imperfect platform because they believes in what we’re building and who’s building it. It’s a community actively choosing to support the people trying to build something new.
We’re not trying to be Eventbrite with a Scottish accent.
We’re building event registration with soul. Technology that highlights the people behind the events, not just the transactions.
Embedded webinar tech. Public attendee lists that help build community before the event even starts. Payment methods where organisers get paid right away, not weeks later.
But more than features, we’re building with understanding: every event matters, every organiser deserves support, and every attendee is a real person, not just a ticket sale.
Curio 04 was our first event outside the education sector. It could have gone so many ways.
But Martin and Imaginary Friends gave us belief. They showed us what it looks like when a community actively chooses to support the people building something new.
That kind of support not only helps a startup survive. It helps us remember why we started in the first place.
If you’re organising events and want registration technology built by people who actually care about your success, come talk to us. We might not have every feature yet, but we’ll build what you need, answer every email personally, and probably bring our dog.
