Name: Natasha Hillier

Organization: Marcato

Title: Chief Operating Officer

Number of Years with your current company: 6

What does your company do? We provide web-based festival and event management software to help organizers collect and track details for artists, volunteers, vendors, media and contacts. You can do everything from contracting artists to scheduling shows to reporting, all with just a few clicks!

What makes your company stand out from your competition? Our team has years of experience helping festivals and events maximize their efficiency by providing industry-leading tools to help them do so. We have developed our tools with the help of some of the world’s top festivals (Bonnaroo, Coachella & Burning Man) and not just here in North America but all over the world (Eurosonic, Iceland Airwaves, Cologne On Pop).

First Paying Job: Cleaning my Dad’s Shoe Repair Shop

First Break into your business: Started working on the sales team at Marcato in 2011 and have been here ever since!

Best Advice you have ever received: Don’t eat yellow snow. (Maybe not as important for all you Floridians, but in Canada this is important advice! Haha)

Birthday: May 15^th

Spouse / Children: Kyle - Husband            

Pets: 3 Dogs! 2 Australian Cattle Dogs (Ozzie and Rosie) and a Great Pyrenees (Nyla)

College/Education: Bachelor of Commerce (McGill University – Montreal)

Favorite Sports Team(s): Go Sports! haha

What is one of your favorite quotes? “Friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t go” – Margaret Walker

DID YOU KNOW?  Marcato offers an exclusive FFEA Member Discount? Contact Natasha for details!

Marcato is a web-based festival and event management software designed for events of all types and sizes. Collect and track details for artists, volunteers, media, vendors and contacts. Then, schedule artists, send contracts and report on important data with a few clicks. You can even populate your website and mobile app with information stored in Marcato! We offer multiple product levels making it easy to find something that fits your needs and budget. As a member of FFEA you are now eligible for a 20% discount off any package. To learn more or check out a demo connect with us by emailing [email protected] or click here. Be sure to mention you are an FFEA member!

Number of Years with your current company: 7 years

What does your company do? TouchPoll South Florida does on-site surveys. We work with festivals, events, tourism boards, community redevelopment associations, conferences, museums, venues and attractions all over the country to design surveys and collect data onsite so that our clients can better strategically plan their marketing, promotions and sales materials; as well as optimize sponsorships and grants, evaluate marketing efforts, and receive valuable visitor feedback.

What makes your company stand out from your competition? We are easy to work with, thorough, knowledgeable on how to create the best survey to fit our clients' needs and how to best gather the data. We also interact well with our client's visitors, and we deliver a concise report containing data that will help our clients.

First Paying Job: Selling home improvements over the phone at 16.

First Break into your business: My friend and PR Guru Shari Lynn Rothstein connected me with Lee Schrager who runs the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival--and that was my first well known large event.

Best Book You Have Read:  The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - I refer to it all the time.

Best Advice you have ever received: Practice gratitude every day, bring joy to all you do and find the positive and possibility in every situation. Also, take time each day to take good care of your health and well-being.

Birthday: August 9 (I'm a true Leo!)

Spouse / Children:  Robert - married for 27 years, Jordan 23 years old

Pets: Chukkie - our 10 year old Shih Tzu

College/Education:  Associates in Graphic Arts from SUNY Farmingdale  and a Bachelor's of Business Administration from Hofstra University

Favorite Sports Team(s): I am originally from NY but with marrying into a sports-obsessed Boston family, I had to swear my allegiance to all the Boston teams! 

What is one of your favorite quotes? "You are never upset for the reason you think."

Why did you join FFEA / What is the best benefit of being an FFEA Member? I joined FFEA to meet people who value on-site visitor surveys. The best benefit of being a member are the relationships that have been created and getting to know so many wonderful and talented event professionals. Of course, it's been a tremendous benefit to my business, so mission accomplished and more!   

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone in the event industry? Get measurable feedback from your event attendees--people see things that may not occur to you. It's their experience of your event that matters most