As a top corporate event mentalist, I frequently entertain at sales meetings and kickoffs. On February 24, 2026, I performed a custom, 30-minute interactive mind-reading show for Brex, Inc. at their national sales kickoff.
The event was held in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, where more than 500 Brex employees gathered in person. My performance was scheduled right before lunch, giving the room a jolt of energy after a morning of keynotes and customer Q&A’s.
Event Details
- Client: Brex, Inc.
- Occasion: National Sales Kickoff, themed “Year of the Blockbuster”
- Date: February 24, 2026
- Venue: Ray Dolby Ballroom, Loews Hollywood Hotel
- Address: 1755 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Format: Stage show
- Attendees: 500+ from all over the world (Brex is a remote-first company)
- Platform: Large elevated stage with IMAG
- Seating: Round tables
- A/V: Full production, provided by the venue, including camera crew, live video projection, custom lighting & sound, and confidence monitors
The Booking
This was my first sales kickoff for Brex, but not my first booking with the company. I first worked for Brex as a trade show magician at SaaStr Annual in 2019. Since then, I’ve represented them at trade shows and conferences all over the country.
In 2019, Brex was a 2 year-old startup with big ambitions. In 2026, the company had grown a great deal. They were just acquired by CapitalOne for over $5 billion dollars, which made it the largest bank-fintech acquisition in history!
Obviously… spirits were high, and the Brex team wanted to create an inspirational and celebratory atmosphere. I was thrilled to contribute!
Winning a Ballroom of 500+
A room that size comes with a real challenge. Just image five hundred people, most of them meeting up after months apart, seated at round tables where half the crowd has their back to the stage.
Grabbing that kind of attention, and holding it for 30 minutes right before lunch, takes more than a good trick. It takes a good strategy.
My strategy is threefold: Connect, Customize, Involve.
Connect: At the very beginning, I showed the audience that I knew who they were, that I had met their CEO, and that I understood what they had accomplished.
Customize: When I performed my opening piece, it was customized to their theme. It showed them this wasn’t a cookie-cutter presentation, and that it was worthy of their attention.
Involve: By the time my show wrapped, more than 20 Brex employees had been up on stage with me. A large room stops being a sea of strangers once dozens of its own people are standing next to you creating the moment.
A Custom Piece Built for the “Year of the Blockbuster”
I built two custom pieces for this show. The first was a live reveal using nine numbered envelopes. I called nine volunteers on stage, had a volunteer mix the envelopes, and handed them out in random order. Each envelope held a single letter. When the volunteers opened them together, the letters spelled out “BREX SKO!”
The second piece used the ballroom’s video screens. I referenced the theme of blockbuster movies, and segued into a routine based on emojis. (This was the basis of my performance on Fox Business).
Adjusting on the Fly
The morning’s program ran slightly behind schedule, and after discussing timing with the show producer, we made the call to cut the Emoji routine for time.
I adjusted my music and cue system on the fly to keep the show tight and on time. Brex’s team handled the shifting schedule like total professionals, and the adjustment didn’t cost the show any of its energy.
Early Arrival, Full Rehearsal
I always arrive early for a soundcheck and tech rehearsal. But with wall-to-wall programming filling the morning of the event itself, I decided to come in the day before.
I met with the AV department, handed off my slides in PowerPoint, Keynote, and JPEG formats, and ran through every music cue so sound levels were dialed in ahead of time. Everyone at the ballroom AV department was a total professional. Some of them would be running AV at the Academy Awards the very next week! I left the venue completely confident that things would run smoothly.
The Best Part of the Day
My favorite part of the day had nothing to do with the tech or the custom routines. It was the crowd. Brex transformed from a two-year-old fintech startup to a Silicon Valley unicorn in just a few short years, and the energy in that room was contagious. This was a very smart, very sophisticated crowd, who weren’t afraid to have fun. It was exactly my kind of audience!
Results
Right after the show, the Brex team invited me to join them for lunch. Over the course of my meal, several employees I hadn’t seen in years came by to say hello, and the compliments kept coming. Ashley, my main contact for this event, recorded a video testimonial for me on the spot:
“We just had Joe perform at our annual sales kickoff. We love that Joe customized the show for our event team. It was very personalized. We all enjoyed it and we highly recommend.”
Ashley Alvarez, Senior Employee Experience Lead, Brex
Let’s Connect
If you’re looking for a mentalist in Los Angeles for your sales kickoff, conference, or company event, let’s get in touch.
Is your event outside of SoCal? Most of my bookings are out-of-state. Contact me here.
