Female Disruptors: Virginia Frischkorn of Partytrick On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Take care of yourself first. As a woman and mother, I’ve struggled to constantly remind myself that if I am not taking care of myself (physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually), then I cannot take care of others. If I don’t take care of myself, I cannot lead and inspire others the way I would like to and cannot perform at the caliber I expect of myself.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Virginia Frischkorn.
Virginia Trafton Frischkorn is the founder and CEO of Partytrick, a tech platform disrupting the event industry. She is also the founder of luxury event production company Bluebird Productions, Something Blue, and the Aspen Picnic Company. Throughout her 14-year career in the event industry she has gained prestige among her peers as one of the top event planners in the country. She has been named best wedding planner by Vogue, Brides, & Over The Moon, and was also recognized as one of BizBash’s Must-Know Event Pros.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I grew up in a family that loved to throw a fabulous party. Some of my earliest memories were hiding at the top of the stairs in the house I grew up in and watching the festivities pan out in front of me. Other times, I’d find myself hiding behind my mother’s skirts at the party itself while my little sister, the theatrical one, amused our guests. One might say that connecting others and curating memorable experiences is in my blood — it’s certainly my passion.
In college, I started my involvement with a larger variety of organizations and assisted planning gatherings of all types. Following a short stint as a ski bum/instructor in New Zealand and Aspen, I settled into a job at The Little Nell in Aspen (in 2008) as a catering and events manager. It was a crash course in luxury event sales and production during a tumultuous time with very high-profile clients. I learned more about events, human psychology, and large amounts of money spent at events during that time.
In 2010, I founded Bluebird Productions, my event planning, design, and production company. Over the last twelve years, I’ve planned countless weddings, corporate events, social events, brand activations, and more for some of the most influential and prominent people in America and their friends and clients. In the years that followed, I launched and ran two other event-related companies (Something Blue by Bluebird and Aspen Picnic Company) focusing on more “normal” weddings and luxury picnics. While it has been an honor and a privilege to have had this experience, I am currently being drawn down a new path that will allow me to impact a larger population.
Partytrick is my latest venture and has the power to bring a luxury service to the masses in an affordable and accessible way, while also remaining aspirational and well-curated. Giving the gift of empowering others to have memorable experiences and foster connections with others is beyond thrilling.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
I recall a section of the book “Zero To One,” where the author describes an entrepreneur vs business person using the analogy of an explorer vs traveler. Both require resourcefulness, hustle, and gumption. However, when you go to explore, you set out for the unknown. To make change. To make impact. You’re charting uncharted territory. That is what I believe we’re doing with Partytrick and why I believe it to be disruptive. There is nothing like Partytrick currently on the market, and I see this style of planning becoming a major part of the event industry in the years to come.
The events industry, and specifically event planning, is one that relies heavily upon the human touch. Event planning services are discretionary and are often seen as a luxury service. We’re rewriting the script as we launch Partytrick. We are able to bring the skills I’ve perfected after years in the industry to the masses by leveraging technology (while not forgoing fabulous design). This has not been done before. While some businesses may solve a piece of the puzzle (beautiful tabletop rentals for instance), finding a way to use technology to bring curated, semi-customizable and customizable event planning services to the masses in a holistic fashion is a new concept.
In short, we are here to remove the limiting belief that you can’t host an amazing party. We’re providing peace of mind and empowering our users in a way that has never been done.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Well, isn’t this a challenging question?! When I first started my business with Bluebird Productions I was 24 and made mistake after mistake. While I struggle to see any of them as “funny” per se, I learned more through every mistake and hiccup than I did from our successes or moments of luck.
As I’ve leapt into the tech industry, I’ve struggled and made more mistakes than could have been imagined as I use my vocabulary and knowledge in hospitality and events vs tech. To me an “event” is a party or gathering, right? Well, my tech team doesn’t see it this way. Who knew a 5 letter word could cause so much confusion? My “product” is about the physical products we recommend, but, again, my counterparts don’t see it that way. Learning their language has resulted in more laughs than I could imagine.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who has been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
My father was and is my mentor, personally and professionally. He taught me to be curious, to know that I am unstoppable and have no limit. He bred the belief in me that if I want something badly enough and can be resourceful enough that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. He encouraged me to dream bigger. Despite all those grandiose statements, he also poked holes in all of my lofty dreams to help me see my blind spots and emboldened me to learn from the mistakes he had made.
As a child, my relationship with my father was rather minimal. My mother and “other mother” figures raised me, my brother, and my sister. My mother inspired us to explore our passions and if she wasn’t well equipped to support us, she’d find the right coach/teacher/support for that particular pursuit. My father provided for our family and was relatively absent focusing on his own business endeavors. When my father “tapped’ in after a large professional setback, he took the opportunity to impart his wisdom to coach and guide us. The time and lessons learned guide me daily. He passed in the summer of 2020. There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t call upon the lessons he taught me. So many of my professional endeavors and personal relationships are guided by his principles and values.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I love the saying, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it…I love it because I wholeheartedly disagree. There is almost always room for improvement and betterment of everything, if even just a shift in one’s mindset towards “whatever doesn’t need to be fixed”. Being dismissive or meddling for the sake of meddling isn’t productive or helpful…but, improving and enhancing something from the place and intention of curiosity and seeing what someone may not have seen is, in my mind, innovation in its truest sense.
Our efforts to disrupt the event and hosting industry by empowering all people to gather and celebrate life’s little moments can only be seen as positive. By providing tools to remove the limiting belief that “i just can’t throw a great gathering,” “I don’t know where to begin,” and to remove the various stressors related to hosting, we offer peace of mind and connection to the masses.
Years ago, the widespread culture of entertaining and art of hosting a gathering was disrupted as special events that are wildly unattainable by the masses became the norm. This disruption helped businesses in the special event industry. Ultimately though, the rise of these excessive and over-the-top gatherings sparked a competitiveness, lack of inclusivity, and caused many to stop gathering with others in casual setting because their events “weren’t good enough” or “ didn’t rival what they saw on social media.” And now, we have a population of people more disconnected than ever. While it’s “just a party,” the reality is that connection with others is a basic need of humans and we need to bring gatherings back.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- Dream Bigger. My dear friend Mark and I were talking about a business idea I had several years ago. He shared that I wasn’t dreaming big enough and helped me reset the bar I’d set for myself even higher. Dreaming and dreaming big are core to who I am now.
- Take care of yourself first. As a woman and mother, I’ve struggled to constantly remind myself that if I am not taking care of myself (physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually), then I cannot take care of others. If I don’t take care of myself, I cannot lead and inspire others the way I would like to and cannot perform at the caliber I expect of myself.
- Start every day with movement and gratitude. I start nearly every day with a gratitude practice and then get my body in motion (running, pilates, and yoga are my go-to’s). While I hated it when I was told that logging onto my computer first thing or checking my phone/emails from bed wasn’t a good way to start the day, I started performing better personally and professionally when I incorporated these habits into my daily routine. When I slip back into bad habits, I see how these words of advice truly are so impactful as my ability to show up how I want to degrades.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We’ll see 😉 As I mentioned, my father has been the key mentor in my life. As a female who spent her early career in a female-dominated industry — and let’s be honest, a kind of catty one at that — I didn’t have other mentors. I definitely didn’t have mentors in the event planning and production professions.
I want to figure out a way to support women in business, and particularly these highly creative fields, better, as that’s something I haven’t had. Although some “networks” exist, I have yet to find one that supports me in a way that fills me up. While I have no idea how this will take shape (yet), I have a sneaking suspicion that my next step will be to find a way to elevate how to better support women in creative businesses.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Have I mentioned the challenges of “single mom” status yet? Resourcefulness, creativity, and resilience are superpowers I’ve had to cultivate that have led me to disrupt and create. While I cannot say the same for all females, I’d be willing to bet that women disruptors vs male disruptors are juggling a lot more on their plate with regard to domestic responsibilities. Because of these demands, there is less personal time, less work time, and much less flexibility to prioritize a career above all else.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This book has impacted how I think about the significance and meaning of almost every interaction, personal and professional. The book explores why certain experiences can elevate and change our lives and how we can learn to create these moments.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I could inspire a movement that would bring a lot of good to others I would find a way to encourage people to enjoy the moment so much that they put away their phones and are lost in the beauty of that moment. Brene Brown’s definition of play (def: anything that makes us lose track of time and self-consciousness, creating the clearing where ideas are born) strikes this at its core and I would love to inspire play for the sake of connection and mental wellbeing of all.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
While there are so many, gotta love a good motivational quote, this one comes to me every single day: Just Do It: the slogan or tagline of Nike. There is never a right time to do “it.” That “it” may be having a baby, starting a business, leaving a toxic relationship, taking the leap on a person or idea… But, if you wait and never get into motion, the desired result will never happen.
How can our readers follow you online?
www.instagram.com/virginiafrischkorn
www.linkedin.com/in/virginiatfrischkorn/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Virginia Frischkorn of Partytrick On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.