Even in the early days of Speakers Spotlight, when bookings were slow, clients were few, and co-founders Martin and Farah Perelmuter were itching to get the office out of their spare bedroom, they had a long-term vision for their company and every decision was weighed against it.
If they were going to do this — take that entrepreneurial leap — they were going to do it right. This was their end game, and no short-term gains would trump long-term losses. To this day, Speakers Spotlight holds that vision close. It’s why we list as one of our six core values that “we do everything with the long term in mind.”
As part of our ongoing “About Us” series exploring the mission and values that guide us in everything we do, we’re digging into how focusing on the long term has set the course for Speakers Spotlight.
Playing the Long Game
Those early years of entrepreneurship were a lesson in patience and discipline. Martin and Farah knew the decisions they made from day one would influence just how far their company could go, and what may seem expedient in the short term doesn’t always align with what’s best for the long term.
This is a lesson that has carried over to our team for almost three decades now. Our goal is to serve event planners, speakers, and audiences in new and better ways, and this has grounded us since 1995 through every up and down. Watch the video below to learn more:
Throughout the pandemic, we as a team experienced just how instinctual the long-term approach is at Speakers Spotlight. It’s not the first crisis this company has faced over its 28 years in business, but it was certainly a unique one.
Suddenly, we, alongside our community of speakers and clients, were working in an industry that had closed overnight. We couldn’t predict what would happen, but we could lean into what we did know — how to serve event planners, speakers, and audiences in new and better ways.
We reached out to our clients, to our speakers, to each other to check in and provide support in whatever way we could. And then together, we learned how to weather this storm. Watch as Martin and Farah reflect on how having an eye on the future helped Speakers Spotlight navigate this challenging time:
Value in Action: Working with the Long-Term in Mind
Our team has certainly grown since those spare bedroom days — from a team of two to a team of 36 across both Speakers Spotlight and our sister company, The Spotlight Agency. More than half our team is celebrating 10 or more years at the company in 2023, with a few hitting over 20, and one reaching 25! When you’re in it for the long term, you build a team that feels the same.
While Erica Conrad may be a newer member of our team, having joined us in 2020, she shared some insight into why she thinks so many Speakers Spotlight employees stay for the long term.
“The daily amount of work can ebb and flow throughout the year,” Erica said. “Our management team stays on top of this with regular check-ins to make sure that everything is going as smoothly as possible.
“If it ever gets unmanageable, they are there to jump in and help to ensure we avoid any extreme stress by either shifting things around or bringing in more team members when necessary. There is security knowing that we can ask for help when we need it and that we won’t be handed a band-aid solution; they are here to ensure our long-term success.”
Likewise, this is the same reason why we have worked with some clients and speakers for decades now. We are partners — whether it’s in helping to build the careers of our employees and our speakers or helping our clients be the heroes of their events.
What Our Clients Say:
We have worked with Speakers Spotlight for over 20 years and they are a trusted partner in our event planning. Martin always takes the time to carefully work with us in understanding what is going on with our audience and what we can do to bring fresh and engaging speakers to our events. Speakers Spotlight facilitates the preparation work needed up front between the speakers we choose and us as event planners. Afterwards, a solid debriefing process sets the table for our next set of speaker needs.
Our speaker programs are consistently a highly rated aspect of our events by our attendees. Over many years, Speakers Spotlight has been there for us — when timelines are tight, when plans change, and when we need new ideas and voices for our events.
John Taylor, President
OMIA
What Our Speakers Say:
In 2007, I had meetings with all the major speaking bureaus to decide on the right partner. With little experience in the speaking industry, I made sure I did my research. I chose Speakers Spotlight not only because of their reputation in the industry, but because of the relationship they have with their speakers.
Every single speaker that I have ever met has only said remarkable things about the team. They took the time to understand me, my content, and where I wanted to go. Speakers Spotlight poured the rocket-fuel on my speaking career, and I’ve never looked back.
Shawn Kanungo
We’re fortunate to have long-term relationships (decades!) with many of our speakers and clients and are honoured to see they feel the same.
We’ll be exploring more of what makes Speakers Spotlight, Speakers Spotlight in the weeks to come with the help of our incredible staff and community of speakers and clients.
