Eric Jones, an entrepreneur from Arkansas, faced a pivotal moment after losing $50,000, which made him reconsider his future in the live events space. Having endured significant personal losses early in life, Jones developed a passion for creating meaningful connections through events. After moving to Los Angeles in 2019, he identified a market gap for community-centric events and acquired the event discovery platform ETA, which eventually inspired him to launch Memberly. With encouragement from a Silicon Valley advisor, Jones aimed to build a new model that prioritized industry expertise over technical-only solutions.

Memberly is a B2B2C membership platform that revolutionizes event monetization by offering recurring revenue for organizers and subscription access to multiple events for attendees. Jones recognized the issues with traditional events relying heavily on one-time ticket sales, which created unstable income streams and repetitive marketing efforts. Drawing on trends in subscription models and a rising demand for authentic communities after the pandemic, Jones designed Memberly to foster sustainable, relationship-driven business instead of transactional event experiences.

Jones emphasizes the importance of building businesses with passion and purpose, encouraging founders to “build in public” rather than stealthily developing products. He advises entrepreneurs to focus on solving real problems and cultivating personal brands by sharing their journeys openly. Memberly is currently undergoing UI redesigns and demo phases with early users from various sectors such as producers, promoters, and nightlife venues, aiming to build credibility and trust by documenting its evolution transparently.

Looking ahead, Jones envisions AI as a powerful tool for event professionals, enabling automation of administrative tasks to increase operational efficiency without replacing human connection. He believes AI will empower creators to enhance community building and scale their ventures sustainably. While hoping Memberly will eventually be acquired, Jones’s broader ambition is to inspire diverse founders from non-technical backgrounds to embrace setbacks and pursue entrepreneurship with resilience and authenticity.