The Quality Makers: Virginia Frischkorn of Partytrick

Virginia Frischkorn, experienced luxury event planner and founder of the ultimate party-planning resource, Partytrick, understands what it takes to create a stellar gathering.

However, planning an event or party might feel overwhelming for the average person. Cue to hours of browsing Pinterest for ideas and finding the perfect decor to match the theme. Let’s not even talk about curating the playlist.

Partytrick lays it all out for you in a simple, easy-to-browse format. Pick a theme or idea (it ranges from themes like Coastal Caviar Clambake to Vanderpump Rules watch parties!), then go through the provided guides for picking out decor or doing a little DIY to bring your event to life.

Complete novice or experienced planners will find everything needed to create a fun event. Party guides include themed decor and styling, curated drink and food menus (including alternatives for dietary restrictions), and games to play with guests to complete the theme. Thanks to Partytrick, your guests will think you have some serious planning chops.

Whether you want an excuse to hang out with friends for a quiet night in (hello, Cozy Book Club!) or you need some inspo for special events and holidays (loving this Famous Couple Soiree for Halloween), there really is no limit to the creativity from the Partytrick team.

Read on for my conversation with Virginia to learn more about how she approaches event planning and some of her top tips when it comes to managing party-planning expectations.

As a luxury event planner who had to navigate massive challenges with the pandemic, what did it look like as you went from huge gatherings to noticing an opportunity in the market to create a brand like Partytrick?

The transition from a luxury service business to a software company was interesting. I’ve always had the itch to create something different to explore uncharted waters, and I love to find problems to solve.

As a [luxury event] planner, I made things easier and more beautiful for others. When the pandemic took that away from me, I was encouraged to think differently about dreaming bigger. I realized the skill set and systems I’d been honing for 14 years could be leveraged by developing software to share these with and empower the masses.

Gathering is a necessity, not a luxury. Seeing how desperately we all needed connection and community during the pandemic opened the opportunity for me to start Partytrick with the goal of making gathering and hosting easy, efficient, and, most importantly, enjoyable!

Can you give us a peek at how you create a gathering? How do you create a theme, or what inspires the team to curate special events or watch parties?

I love starting pretty much almost anything (party or not) with a why. Why are we gathering? What is the reason? What is the occasion? Then comes the how. How can we make it cohesive and easy to plan and host? I find a theme or curated “vibe” allows for the entirety of planning, designing, and hosting to be much more efficient.

At Partytrick, the team and I love following the seasons and reasons for gatherings and trends as we build out our “party creation” calendar. Some parties start with a product or a cocktail, and some start around an external event like a movie or TV launch/finale.

What does the process look like from ideation to launching on the website?

One person on our team takes the lead (based on who is most passionate or skilled at that style of event), following a template we use to ensure we contemplate every piece of the puzzle thoroughly and don’t just lean into personal preferences on category.

I love getting multiple eyes and perspectives on the party to ensure we’re not missing anything.  From there, the ‘boring’ and more operational work begins with data upload, image sourcing, copywriting, and proofing. Then, it’s time to share, promote, and empower others!

What’s your event-planning philosophy? Some feel like everything has to be perfect, and others want to host gatherings but have never done it or don’t know where to start.

There are three sayings I love that epitomize and drive my event-planning philosophy more than anything. But keep in mind, my philosophy as a perfectionist (now in recovery) wasn’t always this way. 14+ years later, I’ve adapted with these concepts in mind:

• Progress, not perfection!
• People (your guests) will remember how you made them feel…they won’t remember the tiny details.
• Just do it.

I suggest that you contemplate each piece of the puzzle but keep it simple and easy to execute so you can actually enjoy it. A relaxed host/ess is way more impactful to the guest experience than a perfect souffle or Instagrammable moment.

What advice would you give to the novice party planner (and maybe even someone who feels like they’re good at it)?

If you feel like you need to “knock it out of the park,” select one thing you know you do really well at (the decor, the food, the music, the paper) and lean into that. Don’t ignore the other items, but don’t feel like you need every single piece of the event to be award-worthy.

Any inside scoops we can have on content or launches you are excited about?

We are having a very exciting time at Partytrick near our first birthday. We are in the process of launching our mobile app and swiftly rolling out new features.

Some of the features I’m most excited about include delegating tasks between co-hosts, customizing the notifications and tasks directly from the app, inviting and communicating with your guests to streamline communication, and the ability to do more unique custom events for our users.

Additionally, we are working on some very exciting collaborations with brands and personalities rolling out over the next few months. Unfortunately, I can’t share much more there just yet ;)

Lastly, we are now able to provide our software in a white-labeled experience for CPG brands looking to elevate their product with an experience OR provide their ambassadors with better tools to host experiences!

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity. Have a founder you’d like us to interview next? Let us know at hello@thequalityedit.com.