Corporate Trivia Events Southern California

Every time I have a sales call with a prospective client, I’m always focused on their needs – as I should be. I zero in on what it is they’re looking for, be it team building activity, company party entertainer, intern entertainment, conference game show or what have you. What are the goals and objectives of the event? Who will the expected audience be made up of? What type of experience are they seeking overall?

I then transition into discussing what marketers refer to as my “unique selling points,” or USPs for short. For TrivWorks, a company specializing in customized team trivia events for corporate groups, my USPs are as follows:

• Custom-tailored experience for each group/goal
• Great for mixed/diverse crowds
• Everybody can participate, not just a select few with the rest watching
• Interactive and engaging vs. passive
• Variety of compelling formats, hosts and experiences
• Nearly 10 years working exclusively with corporate trivia event entertainment
• I only work with highly seasoned professional emcees
• Huge roster of prestigious clients, glowing testimonials & impressive media converge
• Unique experience with niche audiences (internationals, summer interns, etc.)

I carefully explain to the event planner why their group will LOVE the team trivia experience we provide: the friendly competition, the party-like atmosphere, the laughs, the audience interaction, the ability for people to show off how much they know and, most importantly, the distinctive way these events allow groups small and large to bond.

But what about me? What do I get out of it?

Surely one doesn’t start a trivia company in New York and then expand it to SoCal by accident. I could have easily gone down any number of different career paths if I had wanted to. I could be a lawyer right now, or a journalist, or a comedy writer, or a firefighter (yes, I was a volunteer firefighter & EMT during my high school & college days – I don’t know if I’d seriously have gone down this path career-wise, but hey, you never know).

But no, I spend my days producing team trivia events and corporate game shows in Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, Pasadena, Orange County and everywhere in between. I wake up most weekdays between 5-6am and get cracking, often working until after 10pm; I can also be found working weekends and holidays. As a professional game show host for corporate events, I also travel around the country to emcee gigs – in 2018 alone I’ve already personally been throughout not only Southern California, but 5 other states as well.

But why? Why do I do it?

It’s not for the money. Yes, I’m a business owner and making money is important; however, as mentioned above there are plenty of ways to make money, and I could have pursued any number of career options. Why, then, have I gone this route? And why have I done it with such enthusiasm, passion and vigor, and for so long – closing in on ten years?

It must be because I actually enjoy what I do!

I always tell potential clients that their groups will love TrivWorks’ events, and I say it because it’s true. It’s not some sales gimmick, some promise I can’t back up; people ALWAYS love these events. I’ve produced well over 1,000 gigs over the years, and can count on one hand the number of times my events weren’t received enthusiastically (and even then, they were still considered successes by the clients). My team trivia contests are a blast, they work, and people feel bonded and entertained in a truly unique way.

But for me personally, the real kick I get out of these events hasn’t really changed from when I started out as a bar trivia host in Manhattan twelve years ago. As I’ve written about many times here on my blog, I’m not a “trivia guy” who gets off on knowing an infinite amount of minutia on every conceivable subject (I’m actually terrible at trivia, believe it or not). Nor am I a wannabe TV game show host who’s been bitten by the on-camera bug, with dreams of becoming famous.

Rather, I’m what you’d call an “experience guy.” I just love – and have always loved – creating special memorable moments for others to enjoy. Whether it’s trivia night, producing scavenger hunts like I used to, or simply hosting a party with my wife, what really excites me is creating those moments. In particular, I love creating fun, laugh-filled moments for people to share. Group experiences really are the best, in that they form shared memories. People can have something great to reminisce about and talk about afterwards, and it just makes the memory more impactful.

I love that.

In choosing trivia questions – especially client-specific customized questions or pop culture-themed ones – I know that what I’m really doing is A) giving my emcee material to work with, and B) giving the attendees fun & challenging trivia to answer. When I’m producing an event, I could be here at my desk in my office in Los Angeles, getting everything ready for a company trivia party in New York City. I won’t be at the event, I won’t see any of the attendees’ faces, hear any of their team names, or witness the roars of laughter and cheers. But it’s still a blast for me, because I can picture how the event will unfold in my mind, and know that what I’m doing will have a direct impact on the attendee experience.

Of course, the ultimate reward is getting to see the crowd reaction in person; as such, there’s nothing better than actually being in the room to experience the show firsthand, either as an emcee or onsite producer. I’ll admit, when I first moved to Southern California from New York City nearly two years ago, I felt a bit of withdrawal at no longer being personally in attendance at every single TrivWorks gig. I’ve since been able to build up the West Coast and national business to the point where I’m back in front of crowds, and I have to say, it really is great.

For the audience, what’s so fun about these events is pretty self-evident: the competition, the camaraderie, the laughter, learning about each other. But for the corporate trivia host, there’s much more to enjoy which oftentimes isn’t noticed by everyone else in attendance. Especially when the questions are written by me, it’s deeply rewarding to see a positive response from those playing.

I absolutely LOVE when a trivia audience is “into it” – tons of enthusiasm right from the start, paying attention/not distracted or having side conversations, huge cheers throughout, and even a healthy dose of good-natured ribbing & trash talking to the other teams, even to me! It means that for a brief moment, everybody is solely focused on the game.

When I see people smiling, cracking up, even belly-laughing with colleagues, it means I’ve done something right. It means that people are letting their guards down, allowing themselves to be vulnerable in what is still a workplace setting, and that’s not a common thing these days. It’s also a reminder that we’re all human; that works is done by people, and we are more than just our job titles. Being a professional trivia host in SoCal and corporate team building supplier nationwide is truly a rewarding job, and I wouldn’t change what I’m doing for the world.

All of this is something you just can’t get with virtual trivia contests, by the way…