Smart Venture Media

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Role

Systems Designer and Event Operator

I designed the operational infrastructure for Smart Venture Media's AI Leadership Summit and ran day-of execution across multiple summits.

Overview

Smart Venture Media hosts AI leadership summits and executive events in San Francisco. I designed the website, CMS, and the operational infrastructure behind the summit events.

As the summits grew, so did the complexity. More speakers, more panels, more sponsors, unvetted volunteers, and one ship date in a room full of a16z, Sequoia, and Bessemer partners at the SVB Center off Market street.

Summit scheduled(event on the calendar)

→

Plan exists(no roles assigned)

→

Day-of arrives(who does what?)

→

Routes to CEO(moderating on stage)

PROBLEM

The Plan Only Existed in One Person's Head

A run of show existed. But it was one long timeline of everything happening across the whole event, with no clear ownership by role.

Speaker names lived on the website, not the document. Volunteers were switching between both on their phones. At the first summit, phones died.

When questions came up, they routed to Grace, who was also moderating most of the panels.

INSIGHT

One Document Cannot Do Everything

The run of show and the website were two sources of truth for the same event. Volunteers were managing both. The insight was simple: break it apart. One document per role, built around what that person actually needed to do.

The founder had the vision. The infrastructure to support it didn't exist yet.

SOLUTION

A Sharable Source of Truth

Each role got its own document. Chair setup, speaker coordination, run of show, sponsor booth setup, volunteer directory, role sign-up. Built to reuse across every summit.

I used Claude to assign volunteers to speaker sessions based on their preferences, so each person got face time with at least one panelist they wanted to meet.

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT

A Passive Filter Built Into Onboarding

The founder pulled volunteers from her network and added them to a group chat. From there, it was unclear who could be counted on.

So I built a passive filter into the onboarding process where each stage revealed a little more about who was reliable, with role assignments coming last based on what each stage showed.

Smart Venture Media summit day-of operations in action

EVENT DAY

What Worked. What Didn't

Security held. Volunteers covered both entrances to the speaker lounge, keeping the space exclusive to speakers. A direct improvement from previous summits.

The sponsor setup was harder than expected. We had the headcount but not the details. Equipment requirements, setup windows, and arrival times were all handled day-of instead of in advance.

WHAT CHANGES NEXT TIME

The Next Version

The operation has outgrown the venue. The next summit needs a larger venue or fewer, higher-priced sponsors.

Sponsor onboarding: sponsor logistics need to be documented and shared with the ops team in advance, not discovered day-of.

Scheduled breaks: attendees need time to connect with speakers between panels. Without them, the next session opens to an empty room.

Volunteer commitment: the current filter screens intent, not follow-through. That gap still needs solving.

Outcome

The System Outlasted the Project

Speakers coordinated

April 2026 Summit

Volunteers managed

across 6 roles

Sponsors managed

April 2026 Summit

9.5 Hours

Full day operation

8:30AM to cocktail reception

214%

Sponsor growth

since joining as operator

Adalida Baca is the ABSOLUTE BEST. Thank you for making our events go smoothly.

Grace Gong, Founder and CEO, Smart Venture Media

I wanted to thank you for being so welcoming to me and all the participants. It really helps set the tone for the event.

David Yarbrough, Business Consultant, Sequoia

KEY TAKEAWAYS

INFO. PERSON. MOMENT.

Giving everyone everything creates confusion not clarity. scoping what each role sees before the event starts is what keeps things moving when there is no time to answer questions.

PAPER TRAIL

Execution is only as strong as what gets communicated before the event starts. When decisions stay in one person's head, they become problems on the day.

SYSTEMS OUTLAST EVENTS

The event ends but the documents, the process, and the operational muscle memory stay behind. build for tomorrow, not just today.

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