1- About

The Back Story

When COVID-19 hit, Next Wave Group had been operating virtually since 2006. Our immediate focus was how to run events for our association management clients. We were contracted to produce live events for our clients. While we had been using Zoom for occasional board and committee meetings, we had not held any larger meetings using Zoom.

At first, we shopped around and compared virtual conference platforms. Unfortunately, everything we looked at was expensive, complicated, and integrated with a specific video platform and/or registration modules. We were discouraged because we could not find any platform that was a good match for our clients’ needs.

After much consideration, we decided to develop our own venue. Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation was offering small grants to companies impacted by COVID-19. We applied fo, and received, a small grant to develop our own virtual venue.

We launched Horizon Virtual Venue in summer 2020. The name is a thematic fit with Next Wave Group, LLC and our sister company, Bay Media, Inc. More importantly, the name suggested a forward-thinking business model.

Horizon Virtual Venue is a division of Next Wave Group, LLC. The venue is also licensed to Bay Media, Inc. for its events and as a reseller. We use Gatherly our platform for informal receptions. While we typically use Zoom as our video-conferencing platform and can accommodate groups up to 500, the venue’s modular design allows for the use any video-platform or application.

We are a small company, so we can offer personalized service. Consider how we might be able to help you with your next virtual or hybrid event.

Simple

Anyone who can use a typical web page already has the skills to navigate Horizon Virtual Venue. We provide real-time tech support to help ensure that online meetings flow smoothly. Our concept is easy to understand and intuitive to use. We also offer training for those who wish to use Gatherly, our virtual networking platform add-on. We offer video editing services if needed.