Photo: Courtesy of Linsay Moran
How she got her start: Moran traces her interest in events back to, believe it or not, elementary school. "Years of organizing things at school led to my first event coordinator role when I graduated from university and moved to the U.K. to work for a period of time," she recalls. "I don’t think I’d ever considered that I could do what I love (organizing things!) and make money doing it!"
Moran quickly found that her skillsets of project management, relationship management, budgeting, crisis management, and more lent themselves well to events. "I came back to Canada and went on to work in the charitable sector, and then had the opportunity to work in the women's leadership space as well," she says. "In my current role as a co-founder, I’m still using all of the skills I honed over 15 years in events and operations."
What sets her company apart: Unwrapit is a digital-first, sustainability-minded platform for corporate gifting. But it isn't your average "gift by email" solution, Moran says. "At Unwrapit, we are focused on the recipient so that businesses and event professionals can reveal a personal, memorable, and on-brand gifting experience in-person, virtually, or both," she notes. "We are a certified B Corporation, and the gifts we feature are all low/no-waste gifts, ensuring a sustainably-minded approach to what has been a traditionally wasteful part of an event or appreciation campaign."
What innovation means to her: Innovation is key, says Moran. "And in some ways, we feel we're ahead of the innovation curve when we work to show our customers that gifts can be given in this unique way! Innovation is also essential for our future on this planet. Businesses must innovate and think sustainably—there really is no other option," she says.
Career highlights: "In that first event role, I had the opportunity to work in the royal palaces and incredible museums in London. That was pretty memorable!" she remembers. "And for many years I managed an annual 1,200+ person event that highlighted Canada's women leaders from coast to coast. That was really rewarding as well! I can't help but think back to all of the gifting that I've done at events and wish I had a solution like Unwrapit many years ago."
Her favorite thing about working in events: Moran loves when customers share how their recipients reacted to receiving gifts through the Unwrapit platform. "We get fantastic feedback about our innovative approach, and often hear that recipients are surprised and delighted by the whole experience, especially when they're used to a conventional physical gift!" she says.
As for events as a whole, "I just love the connections that an event has the potential to create, no matter the format," Moran says. "And as a former event planner, I love attending events to feel that energy and connection as an attendee, too!"
Back to the full list: Industry Innovators 2022: 13 Standout Event Vendors to Know About
