Jesse Friend founded Edge Events Group in May, offering full-service event management in the Orlando area with an emphasis on promotional events, logistics, and staffing. Friend started out at 18 years old as a bartender at the Vintage Lounge, a venue owned by V Group Concepts, eventually convincing her employer to promote her to special events manager. “I kept telling my bosses, ‘Hey, I can make this night better!’ until they finally gave me the job,” Friend says.
In 2011, Friend’s sister approached her about launching a wedding planning business named A Friend Affair together, but eventually Friend decided to branch off to concentrate on the corporate event referrals she was receiving. (Friend also owns a mobile bartending service called Side Bar Orlando, which she launched in October 2012.) Edge’s first event was a block party fund-raiser in June, dubbed the Pine Street Rock & Stroll, which included five bands, 10 food vendors, and nearly a thousand guests. It raised $3,300 for charity.
More recently, she’s worked on a launch event for Community Based Care of Central Florida, provided bar staffing for the 90,000-person Come Out With Pride Orlando festival, and launched Food Truck Affairs, a series of food truck events around the city. “The goal is to really be a one-stop shop when it comes to events,” Friend says.
