Joey Goone: From Kitchen-Table Startup to Mission-Driven Event Powerhouse
What happens when a small team chooses speed, service, and purpose—then backs it up with world-class execution? In this episode, Nick Akers sits down with Joey Goone, President of Utopia Experience, to unpack the pivot that took his company from niche private events to producing 200+ virtual galas during COVID—raising tens of millions for nonprofits—and on to national conferences, summits, and masterminds.
Joey shares the leadership principles behind that journey: hiring for attitude over aptitude, leading with questions, staying radically consistent with content, and refusing to “transactionalize” what should be human. He also explains why he moved away from the default “exit” mentality toward building a forever business that gives back—aiming to fund nonprofit productions each year as the company scales.
In this episode:
Standing up one of the first virtual galas—in a week
Turning events into storytelling engines (and marketing flywheels)
Consistency > hacks: one-to-one and one-to-many done right
Culture, vulnerability, and psychological safety in high-pressure work
Choosing impact over optics (and rethinking the “exit” finish line)
Guest:
Joey Goone, President, Utopia Experience — an event agency producing national conferences, summits, masterminds, and high-impact nonprofit events.
Host:
Nick Akers, CEO of Inzo Technologies & host of Leading In The Dark.
Listen, follow, and leave a review if this episode sparked an idea for your team or your next event.
