BUILT IN VANCOUVER,for every kind of celebration.
Zamala is a conversational AI event marketplace, built in Vancouver by two Brazilian tech founders. We connect Event Hosts with Local Event Pros through conversation — not endless forms — so every celebration finds the people who can make it real.
THE PEOPLE WERE THERE.the way to find them wasn't.
Vancouver has thousands of people who make celebrations real — caterers, photographers, florists, DJs, decorators. Talented, local, often booked entirely by word of mouth.
And finding the right one was its own kind of work. You searched generic directories. You opened ten tabs. You filled the same form ten times and waited. The tools were built for everywhere, which meant they were built for nowhere in particular — they didn't know this city, its neighbourhoods, or the way it actually celebrates.
So the people organizing events struggled to find Pros. And the Pros — extraordinary at what they do — struggled to be found. Two sides of the same city, both working too hard to reach each other.
That was the gap. Zamala was built to close it — a way to find local Event Pros through conversation, not endless search.
CO-FOUNDERS,partners, parents, musicians.
CEO · Co-founder
Juliana Morais
From São Paulo. Spent years inside Vancouver's hospitality and events industry — restaurants, hotels, BC Place, Rogers Arena, weddings, corporate events — before training as a front-end developer. Sings with Shot and amarElas band. She codes the product, leads the company, and still sings on Vancouver stages — the same energy in all three.
CTO · Co-founder
Raphael Andrade
From Belo Horizonte. Came to software through art — graphic designer first, then web, then full-stack engineer. Worked at IBM building software that saved measurable lives during the pandemic. Plays guitar with Shotsambado. He builds the way a musician composes — every layer intentional, every detail in service of the whole.
“Vancouver is one of the most diverse cities in North America. The platforms serving its celebrations weren't built for it. So we built one.”
FIVE PRINCIPLES.the ones that shaped this company.
These are not aspirations. They are the decisions we keep making — about the product, the platform, and the people we build it with.
Local first, always.
Zamala is built for one city at a time, starting with Vancouver. We invest where we live, partner with people we know, and grow at the speed real communities take to trust each other.
Every celebration belongs here.
A sangeet, a quinceañera, a sofreh aghd, a 60th birthday in a backyard. Vancouver is one of the most diverse cities in North America, and our platform celebrates that — every culture, every tradition, every kind of celebration. Diversity isn't a category we serve. It's the reason Zamala exists.
The match is the magic.
A great celebration happens when the right host meets the right Pro. We design Zamala so each side can find the other — clearly, contextually, and with real understanding of what each one brings.
Human first, AI in service.
Zamala the AI is here to help, not to replace. The conversation, the matching, the suggestions — they exist to make human connection easier. Real decisions stay with the people: which Pro to hire, which event to plan, which conversation to have.
Build with care.
In a world that rewards speed, we choose care. The way a Pro arrives early. The way a host writes thoughtfully. The way we test what we ship before we ship it. Zamala is built for people who give a damn.
ZAMALA.the one who gathers people to celebrate.
Most company names are made up. This one was found. What we needed was a word that already existed somewhere in the world, that already meant something — a word people had used for centuries to describe the act of bringing people together to mark what matters. We found Zamala.
The name is the mission, said in one word.Etymology
- Bantu
- "The one who gathers, completes, brings together."
- Swahili
- "To try, persevere, dedicate."
- Arabic-Swahili
- "Beautiful, graceful." (jamala / jamila)
- Sanskrit
- "Sacred, pure. A garland of virtues."
Pulled together: the one who gathers people to celebrate.
JOIN THE STORY.
Zamala is for everyone who celebrates — every culture, every tradition, every kind of moment that deserves to be marked.
For Event Hosts
Plan a celebration.
Tell Zamala what you're dreaming of. We'll match you with the right local Pros.
For Event Pros
Be seen. Be booked.
Get matched to local hosts planning real events. Pay only when you choose to pursue a lead.