Yesterday, at the buzzing, slightly chaotic, wonderfully global energy of Confex in London, we officially launched Event Tech Atlas — live, on the show floor, as part of the Catch the MICE stand (E35C).

And yes… we recorded an episode of the Event Tech Pull Up right there in the middle of it all. Because subtlety has never been our thing.

On-site for launch:

Keith Johnston – Co-Founder
Tess Vismale, CMP Fellow, DES – Co-Founder
Kristi Casey – Executive Editor (truth teller-in-chief)
Neela Johnston – Events & Operations Director (planner voice of reason)
Stuart Mitchell –Head of Revenue & Partnerships (UK connector extraordinaire)

What we launched (and why it matters)

Event Tech Atlas is a decision-support platform built for meeting and event professionals who are tired of:

Pay-to-play rankings
“Top 10” lists written by someone who’s never planned an event
Sales pitches disguised as education
Switching tech without knowing what breaks downstream

We’re building a smarter way to research and compare event technology — grounded in real-world planner experience, not advertising budgets.

As shared during the live recording:

Every company is listed on equal footing.
No one can buy a better review.
Peer review drives credibility.
Education sits alongside listings — because tools without context don’t help anyone.

The Atlas isn’t software you run your event on.

It’s the map that helps you choose the right software in the first place.

Explore it here: https://eventtechatlas.com/

The Big Differentiators

Peer review collective

We’re assembling planners and technologists across corporate, association, agency, executive assistant and independent sectors.

They:

Test tools
Ask hard questions
Share honest feedback
Help surface unintended consequences

If you want to apply, applications are live now.

Free accounts (with actual value)

Create a free account and you can:
Save and star tools
Join Tuesday Office Hours with Keith & Tess
Get access to deeper educational content
Participate in live conversations about tech stacks, integrations, and vendor decisions

Because sometimes you don’t need another demo. You need someone to sanity-check your tech stack.

What’s coming in version 2.0

We’re building it as a product roadmap (because planners deserve better tools to choose from).

Next up:

Side-by-side product comparison
Specification-based filtering
Deeper integration guidance
Expanded content around data, storage, compliance and vendor questions
UK, EU and global vendor growth (thanks, Stuart)

A moment that stuck with us

After the recording, we attended an industry gathering primarily filled with tech founders.

Multiple founders said the same thing:

“We need this. We want honest feedback.”

That matters.

This isn’t about planners vs. tech companies. It’s about transparency, education, and raising the standard on both sides.

Built by practitioners, not commentators

Event Tech Atlas is a division of Pull Up With Us, LLC, co-founded by Keith Johnston and Tess Vismale — practitioners who’ve spent decades producing conferences, building tech stacks and cleaning up tech decisions that sounded good in sales meetings but broke three systems later.

We believe:

Integrity beats placement fees
Education beats hype
Context beats feature lists
And no, one tool does not fit all

What’s next

Peer review onboarding
First review releases
Weekly office hours
Feature enhancements
Ongoing education
And probably a few live show floor recordings along the way.

If you’re a planner: Come build this with us.

If you’re a tech company: Show up ready for honest feedback.

If you’re both? Even better.

Welcome to Event Tech Atlas.

Season 50

Event Tech Atlas Launch - Confex 2026