Episode Summary

In this episode of The Events Solutions Podcast, host Jorge Lopez sits down with Sam Eitzen, co-founder of Snap Bar, for one of the most candid and inspiring conversations of the season.

Sam's journey is anything but typical. Growing up in Southern Morocco, where traditional teenage jobs didn't exist, he made his first money performing magic shows for his parents' friends.

By 18, he'd dropped out of college, run an espresso catering company with his now-wife, and started searching for what would come next. The answer arrived in the form of a homemade wooden box from a friend's wedding -the unlikely beginning of Snap Bar, a side hustle that grew into an Inc. 5000 company with 45 employees by 2019.

Then COVID hit, and everything changed. Sam shares how he refunded clients, stayed up until 2:30 AM writing 50 ideas on a notepad, and pivoted Snap Bar twice -first into a corporate gifting company that earned coverage in Forbes and The New York Times, then into the world's first virtual photo booth. Today, Snap Bar operates as a lean tech platform with just eight people powering activations for brands like Microsoft, Meta, and Coca-Cola.

The conversation goes deeper than business strategy. Sam opens up about the stress-induced panic attack that forced him to rethink ambition, why he believes events and hospitality matter more in an AI world, and what it really means to build a life you don't need to escape from.

Key Takeaways

• Separate identity from business: Wrapping your self-worth entirely in business success creates fragility; ambition without healthy boundaries leads to burnout, health crises, and damaged relationships.
• Forced pivots drive innovation: Crises like COVID force uncomfortable changes that often result in stronger, more scalable business
• Models - view disruption as an opportunity, not just a threat.
• Ideation without judgment unlocks solutions: When facing seemingly insurmountable problems, generate volume (50 ideas) before filtering; the breakthrough often hides among the "garbage" ideas.
• In-person experiences are irreplaceable: As AI and digital noise increase, the human connection and hospitality at live events become more
• Valuable - this is bullish long-term for the events industry.
• Build a life you don't need to escape from: True self-care is designing work and family rhythms that feel sustainable and fulfilling, not constantly chasing vacations to escape burnout.

Guest Bio: Sam Eitzen

Sam Eitzen, co-founder of SnapBar, shares his entrepreneurial journey from growing up in Morocco to building a tech-enabled experiential marketing

platform. Starting with a homemade wooden photo booth in his garage in 2012, Sam and his brother Joe grew SnapBar into a 45-employee company

that made Inc. 5000's fastest-growing list by 2019. When COVID-19 decimated the events industry, Sam pivoted twice - first into corporate gifting

(generating $1M in revenue in 10 months) and then into virtual photo booths, which unexpectedly scaled the business globally and revealed the future

direction: software-as-a-service. Today, SnapBar is a B2B tech platform powering photo and video experiences for major brands like Microsoft, Meta,

and Coca-Cola at trade shows, conferences, and activations worldwide. Sam discusses the challenges of leading in unfamiliar territory, the importance

of family over business identity, and how to solve seemingly insurmountable problems through creative ideation.