The actual onboarding flow

First event live in 8 minutes.

Most market software promises fast setup and then asks you to fill out 19 screens. Here is the real, timed checklist for getting your first event published on Tentpole. We timed it. You can too.

Start the 8 minutes → 7 days free · Cancel by day 7, pay $0.
1

Sign up (45 seconds)

Email, password, market name. That’s it. No phone, no jargon, no "tell us about your business" form.

0:00 — 0:45
2

Confirm your market details (1 minute)

City, time zone, primary contact email. We pre-fill what we can. You confirm. Move on.

0:45 — 1:45
3

Create your first event (2 minutes)

Name, date, venue, start/end time, cover image (we have free defaults). Done.

1:45 — 3:45
4

Set up booth tiers (1 minute)

Standard booth, premium corner, food truck — whatever your tiers are. Set the fee for each. We’ll handle payment account setup later when you’re ready to charge.

3:45 — 4:45
5

Customize the vendor application (1 minute)

Pre-set form with the fields most organizers want. Add or remove a question, change the categories. Save.

4:45 — 5:45
6

Publish (30 seconds)

Hit publish. Your event page is live at thetentpole.com/e/your-event. Share it anywhere — vendors apply directly.

5:45 — 6:15
7

Send your first vendor invite (1.5 minutes)

Paste a list of vendor emails. We send them a personalized invitation with the apply link. Time to first applicant: usually under an hour.

6:15 — 7:45
8

Breathe (15 seconds)

That’s it. Your event is live, your application is open, your invitations are out. Next step is adding your payment account when applications start coming in — about 5 more minutes when you’re ready.

7:45 — 8:00
What we don’t do during setup: Ask for your credit card. Make you watch a 15-minute video. Force you onto a "kickoff call." Tentpole is built so a real organizer with a real event next weekend can be running by Saturday.
Start the 8 minutes → If you don’t make it in 8, email us — we’ll set the rest up for you.