The Story Behind Zenvents360
A decade of frustration, a fresh start, and 45 days that changed everything.
The Breaking Point
"Well, if you think you can do better, build it yourself."
Those words from a platform owner stuck with me. Not because they were dismissive, though they were, but because they were true. I could build something better. I had years of experience scoping and deploying big systems in the public and private space.
I'd been working in the event industry for years. Juggling multiple platforms that were either built for the wrong audience or hadn't evolved since the early 2000s. Tools that promised everything but delivered mediocrity. Features that almost worked. Support teams that had never actually run an event.
The frustration wasn't just with one platform, it was everywhere. It's a systemic issue. Event professionals deserved better. We needed power user features with zen simplicity. We needed software built for us, not generic CRM bloatware with "event" slapped on the label.
A Decade of Learning
So I started the scramble to build. First as eCUEity, then as cue. And there were lots of stumbles out the gates. People that came on board and then sabotaged it all. Companies that built small parts and held the code for ransom. Meanwhile trying to find investors was turning into a massive challenge. It became a chicken and egg conundrum. How do you get your ideas built without serious investment dollars?
While I was trying to tackle the technical and monetary side I was making strides on other fronts. Because building a platform isn't just about code, it's about understanding the business. Over the years, I refined what the vision needed to be:
- Complete lifecycle management: From that first inquiry email to the final payment, everything in one place
- Turn-key experience: Wizards and guidance at the ready so you're productive on day one, not day 90
- Power with simplicity: Advanced features that don't require a PhD to figure out
Those previous attempts taught me what the platform needed to be. They also taught me what not to do. Every misstep, every compromise, every "almost there" feature became a lesson. I was collecting data points to try to get it right on the next hopeful hire.
But it really just became more and more apparent that cue had stalled. And in the Summer of 2025 I decided that the lack of finding investors for cue, along with not being able to find reliable sweat equity talent to help me put rubber to the road, along with not getting nearly far enough feature wise to be where I wanted it to be, I made the heart-wrenching decision to sunset cue at the end of 2025.
The Fresh Start
Then came mid-December 2025, just two days before my 52nd birthday, I had a wave of inspiration and newfound energy. I made a decision that day that would change the course of everything: A complete fresh start. No legacy code. No compromises. No "we'll fix it later" technical debt. Just pure vision translated directly into reality.
But this time, I had a secret weapon: Claude AI.
I'd spent a decade understanding exactly what event professionals needed. I knew every feature, every workflow, every edge case. What I needed was a development partner that could match my pace of thinking and turn ideas into production-ready code at light speed.
The results? Absolutely staggering. Over 10,000 lines of code. Complex ideas turned into fully functional features in a matter of hours. What used to take weeks or months was now happening in real-time as I worked alongside Claude, iterating, refining, and perfecting.
45 Days
What I had scoped would have taken over 3.5 years and a pair of seasoned developers, built in a month and a half.
I'm not exaggerating. I've managed development teams. I've estimated projects. I know what traditional development timelines look like. This wasn't just faster, it was exponentially faster. Like going from horse and buggy to a DeLorean at 88 mph.
More importantly, it was right. No compromises. No "close enough." Every feature built exactly how it should be, because I could iterate in hours instead of weeks. That's the difference between theory and reality.
Built Different
Zenvents360 is built on modern technology that didn't exist when I started this journey:
Modern Stack
React, TypeScript, and cloud-native architecture. Fast, reliable, and built to scale.
AI-Assisted Development
Partnering with Claude AI enabled rapid iteration while maintaining quality and precision.
User-First Design
Every feature built from actual event professional workflows, not theoretical business processes.
No Legacy Baggage
Fresh codebase means no compromises, no technical debt, just clean, modern solutions.
This isn't just another iteration. It's the platform I've been trying to build for a decade, finally realized the way it should be.
The Promise
A decade ago, someone told me to build it myself if I thought I could do better. They meant it as a dismissal.
I took it as a promise.
Zenvents360 is that promise fulfilled. A platform built by someone who understands the event industry from the inside. Who's felt every pain point personally. Who knows exactly what "good enough" looks like, and refuses to settle for it.
This is the platform event professionals deserve. Power features with zen simplicity. Turn-key templates with unlimited customization. Everything you need to run your business, built exactly the way it should have been from day one.
No compromises. No excuses. Just the platform we should have had all along.
Welcome to Zenvents360. Let's build something amazing together.
Meet the Founder
Lou Paris brings over three decades of hands-on experience in the event industry, specializing in mobile DJ services (along with 30 years in the IT world) with a deep technical focus on audio engineering, equipment, and workflow optimization.
A passionate advocate for the DJ community, Lou co-founded and currently runs DJs Assemble, a leading DJ expo connecting professionals across the Northeast. He also co-administers one of the largest DJ communities on Facebook, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among thousands of DJs.
His unique blend of musical expertise and technical prowess, from advanced ceremony setups to venue acoustics, combined with years of firsthand frustration with inadequate business tools, positioned him perfectly to build the platform the industry truly needed.
Learn more about Lou's DJ work at djlouparis.com.