Betsy Mordecai is the Queen of Quite A Lot—or founder and president, in traditional corporate terms—of Colorado-based MorEvents. For 16 years, she and her team have been helping clients take their events from concept to reality. Mordecai credits her team’s creativity, flexibility, and personality for big success from a small firm. We caught up with Mordecai to hear how it all started.
How did you decide to start MorEvents?
Mordecai: I had worked in the events industry for 10 years and for several firms before founding MorEvents. I found that it was easier for me to manage people than to be managed. I was really lucky that MasterCard and my client at my last firm were willing to follow me and trust me with their business. Now we have been in business for 16 years.
What aspects of yourself come through in your business?
Mordecai: MorEvents is influenced in all details by me, as I am a detailed person. However, Gareth Heyman—the Wizard of All Things—my partner, balances that, because he is a forest-for-the-trees person. We have a unique style in working with our team. At the end of the day we are so lucky for our incredible staff, because what they do is a reflection on us. We do large events, but we are a small agency trying to make sure our individuality shows and at the same time, we meld to our clients.
Where do the creative titles like Queen of Quite A Lot come from?
Mordecai: Our inspiration is The Wizard of Oz. The idea is to show our creativity. All of our staff have creative titles such as Princess of Precision and Diva of Details. We have a video on our website that uses aspects of The Wizard of Oz to explain that people can come to MorEvents feeling like the weight of the world is on their shoulders to plan an event and we will worry about the logistics for them. All they have to do is tell us what they want, and our team will make it happen.
As a company of fewer than 20 employees, what are your values related to growth?
Mordecai: We value deep, long-term relationships with fewer clients rather than short-term relationships with many clients. One way we do this is to treat our clients’ money like our own, and save it whenever we can. There are no markups, and all commissions are credited to our clients. Everything is transparent. If we save money, it goes back into the client’s pocket, not ours. We’ve been with MasterCard for 20 years. We’ve proven ourselves, and they keep asking us back.
How does your location in Colorado affect your business?
Mordecai: By being based in Colorado, we don’t have the overhead related to New York staffing and office space that our competitors have to pass on in their prices. While most of our Colorado clients are not-for-profits, 90 percent of our business is planning for national and international clients in venues as large as the Olympics. We were also one of the first event-planning businesses to hold a US General Services Administration contract.
What distinguishes MorEvents from other event planners?
Mordecai: Our staff is what sets us apart. Clients hire us because we’ve had success with our methods, but there is a certain way they like to do things. A fast-paced client needs a different leader than a methodical, deeply thinking client. Depending on the client’s mentality, a member of our staff will complement them and their philosophies.
What are some of your techniques for earning a satisfied client?
Mordecai: Our first goal is to always work to understand the client, their goal, and their mission. We ask a lot of questions, listen carefully, and walk them through what their event will look like and how their goals will be accomplished, all the while reassuring them that they know their audience better than us—it’s a team effort. It’s about being a good partner and good neighbor.
