Episode 32: How to Plan a Large-Scale Event with this Event Planning System, with Sanjib Kalita

System Execution Podcast

Sanjib Kalita is Chief Marketing Officer of Money20/20, a business he helped grow from startup to the world’s largest event focused on payments and financial services innovation within 3 years.

A fintech leader for over 15 years, he has worked for large organizations like Google, Intel and Citi as well as several successful startups including TxVia, a payment platform building technology company acquired by Google in 2012, Irynsoft, a Kauffman Foundation supported mobile education technology company highlighted in Best of 2010 lists by Time and Fast Company magazines, as well as Money20/20 which was acquired by Ascential plc in 2014.

He is also on the board of advisors for two venture-backed startups that have collectively raised over $30 million, MPOWER Financing, an alternative lender targeting international students, and Impact Analytics, advanced analytics and data services for the retail industry.

During the past two years, Sanjib has been a coach for Student Startup Madness at SXSW, where he coached the runner-up in 2016 and the winning team in 2017. Sanjib has an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management, as well as a B.S. and M.Eng. from Cornell University where he majored in Electrical Engineering.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Different types of systems businesses rely on
• How Sanjib transitioned from studying engineering in college to having a passion for the startup world
• What prompted him to gravitate toward marketing and business
• How Money20/20 was founded when there was a change in the payments and financial services industry
• What separates Money20/20 from other events in the industry
• The event planning system Sanjib uses to organize large-scale events that have many moving pieces
• Why doing the “elementary” things right and executing them really well is the difference between success and a good idea that never makes it past the drawing board
• The color system Sanjib used on his spreadsheet to organize speakers for Money20/20
• How the spreadsheet system helps to capture a work in progress and structure discussions
• Why it’s important to recognize when a system isn’t working and experiment with other systems
• The pros and cons of different levels of access to spreadsheets
• Why it’s important to start simple when implementing an event planning system
• The future of Money20/20

Ways to contact Sanjib:

• Websites: www.money2020.com; www.money2020europe.com; www.money2020asia.com
• Twitter: @paymentalist
• Email: [e-mail]

A transcript of this episode is available here: systemexecution.com/large-scale-event-planning-system