People who try, buy.
We want to create better “try” experiences to help people discover their new favorite thing.
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Our story
How we got here
2010
First Recess Music Festival
Recess is founded by Jack Shannon and Deuce Thevenow at Indiana University to organize campus-wide events.
In May 2010, the Recess Music Festival is born at Indiana University, with LMFAO and Mike Posner as the headliners, and quickly expands to more colleges in the midwest.
In May 2010, the Recess Music Festival is born at Indiana University, with LMFAO and Mike Posner as the headliners, and quickly expands to more colleges in the midwest.
2013
Raised Seed Round, led by Mark Cuban
Recess Music & Ideas Festival piques Mark Cuban's interest, as this popular collegiate event combines great music, startup career fair, successful entrepreneur speakers, and pitch competition into one jam-packed day.
Recess raises Seed Round, led by Mark, to expand the Recess Music & Ideas Festivals to more college campuses across the U.S., and further its mission to inspire the next generation of world-class entrepreneurs.
Recess raises Seed Round, led by Mark, to expand the Recess Music & Ideas Festivals to more college campuses across the U.S., and further its mission to inspire the next generation of world-class entrepreneurs.
2015
First brand activation: Topshop
Topshop reaches out to Recess to help the brand expand into the US market. Originally from the UK, Topshop wanted to reach and market to college students.
Recess built a multi-city brand campaign for Topshop, in partnership with KIND Bar, Red Bull, and other top CPG brands, to participate as a sponsor in large on-campus events and unique activations in areas popular with college students.
Recess built a multi-city brand campaign for Topshop, in partnership with KIND Bar, Red Bull, and other top CPG brands, to participate as a sponsor in large on-campus events and unique activations in areas popular with college students.
2018
Launching Recess Platform
Recess launches a brand activation platform that allows brands to search for unique sampling and sponsorship opportunities across the US – including fitness studios, family events, college campuses, and more.
Platform includes advanced audience filters and geo-targeting capabilities that allows brands to get hyper-targeted about the audiences they want to reach through these sampling and brand activations.
Platform includes advanced audience filters and geo-targeting capabilities that allows brands to get hyper-targeted about the audiences they want to reach through these sampling and brand activations.
2022
Recess raises $5M Series A
Series A is led by Data Point Capital and Spring Mountain Capital, and it follows a year of tremendous customer growth–including adding marquee customers like DoorDash, Milk Bar, Oakley, Mondelez, and Red Bull.
