How Katie Spencer went from an opera singer to a tech start-up founder
The Director of Advancement for the Knoxville Opera has developed a software that will help performance management organizations develop contacts, administer ticketing, and streamline invoicing.
From performing on stage in New York City to arranging opera shows at the Bijou and Tennessee Theatre, Katie Spencer has seen behind the curtain of dozens—if not hundreds—of productions. Part of that experience comes through her role as Director of Advancement for the Knoxville Opera.
A lot goes into the performing arts world: casting, staffing, contracts, invoicing, ticket sales, fundraising, and more. The real challenge is that these complicated and time-consuming processes are often managed by small teams, predominantly comprised of creatives, who would prefer not to live in spreadsheets.
“Unless you’re in this world, you would have no way of knowing just how much goes into bringing stage performances to an audience,” Spencer said. “I’ve been frustrated with the lack of innovation and efficiency in these processes for years.”
She speaks from personal experience—both through her work at Knoxville Opera and from a company she founded in New York City in 2016 called City Lyric Opera.
Her bold goal was to identify and promote talented singers who struggled to land roles at major opera houses. City Lyric Opera’s first show debuted in 2017 and quickly became a success.
“I learned a lot,” Spencer said. “It was pretty audacious for a 20-something girl to start a production company in New York. It showed me a different side of performance management that I had not seen previously… That stuck with me.”
In 2020, during the global pandemic, Spencer and her husband decided to relocate from the big city back to Tennessee to start a family. She passed the baton to the next leader of City Lyric Opera and remains on its board to this day.
After seven months in Chattanooga, the couple moved again to Beaufort, South Carolina.
“It was a hard time. I wanted to be in the city. I missed opera. I was in a place where I didn’t know many people,” Spencer said. “But I knew I had to put myself out there—so I started working for a start-up that connected people with nannies.”
That start-up, while short-lived, sparked some ideas. Through the lens of performance management, Spencer began thinking: How can we bring tech solutions into the performing arts space?
The founding of Greenroom CRM
She and her husband returned to Tennessee in December 2022, where she began working full-time at Knoxville Opera. Her gears have been turning ever since for how to use technology to better enable musicians and artists.
“In January, I came up with an idea for a client relations management platform (CRM) for performing arts management teams. I made a business plan, pitched the business to a local investor, and received the seed funding necessary to build it out,” she said.
The platform is called Greenroom CRM. It’s designed as a modular system where clients can purchase one or all of the modules. Spencer envisions three core focus areas: Grow, Engage, and Operate.
- Grow would focus on the nonprofit and development side of the business, helping theatres track attendees, sponsor interest, and potential large donors.
- Engage would focus on marketing and ticketing, ensuring one-time customers become repeat customers.
- Operate would streamline administrative tasks such as contracts and invoicing.
For the first iteration of Greenroom CRM, Spencer said the emphasis will be on Grow.
“For these theatres, there may be thousands on the mailing list, but only hundreds of engaged contacts, and maybe only dozens who may be willing to donate large sums of money,” she explained. “How do you know which folks are strategic to take to dinner?”
Spencer detailed how right now, all of that information is tracked on spreadsheets. She said it’s slow and difficult to find the right information, and platforms like Salesforce have a steep learning curve and are overly complicated for artists to operate.
“We need an easy-to-use, AI-powered, drag-and-drop system for simplicity,” she said.
She wants Greenroom CRM to be that platform.
Right now, it is under development in Poland, with a minimum viable product expected by November and a full platform planned by next summer.
“Why not take a risk? I’m young enough to fail and bounce back,” Spencer said. “My greatest strength in this is that I know that I don’t know everything. I’m coachable and willing to learn.”
For Spencer, Greenroom CRM is more than just another software company. She sees it as a way to unlock funding that could strengthen the arts scene for years to come.
“The arts matter. I’d love to be philanthropic and support the arts in the ways they deserve. I think this platform will be game-changing for fundraising,” she said.
In the meantime, while Greenroom CRM is still being built, Spencer is enjoying her role at Knoxville Opera, which continues to inform her entrepreneurial journey.
“I’m really excited about how it could help my current role, and how it could help others, too,” she said.
Like what you've read?
Forward to a friend!