The X games for creators: How We Built the World of sponsor games
AUTHOR | Sara Loretta
LAST UPDATED | October 2026
Sponsor games at a glance
Layla Pomper (ProcessDriven®) reached out to us with the goal of hosting her first in-person event — an intimate tropical island retreat for her membership. Early in planning, we spotted a gap in the market. Plenty of conferences touch on workflows or automation, but none were built for the operators themselves. So we built one.
Ops Ahoy became a two-day event for founders, COOs, project managers, and implementers at 5–50 person companies, with expert-led sessions and an onsite group mastermind to work through real challenges.
We carried the nautical theme over from the original retreat concept and built the whole experience around it. Ops is often solo work, and we wanted attendees to feel the opposite: a crew to lean on, recharge with, and find inspiration from as they chart new waters for themselves and their teams. Our work included: event branding, experience design, speaker management and agenda development, attendee communications, wayfinding, swag, and onsite production.
Years hosted
2025
2026
2027 coming soon!
Location
The Jack guenther pavilion at the western briscoe art museum
San Antonio, TX
110
Lifetime attendees
19
Lifetime sponsors
$17,500
Lifetime brand deals and cash awards given
Program Design
We designed the agenda around one idea: operators learn best from each other. Over two days, attendees joined expert-led sessions of their choosing and afternoon hot-seat style masterminds.
Each session ran as a 40-minute block: 20 minutes of presentation, 20 minutes of group discussion. Masterminds were split by ticket type, then grouped using onboarding survey data, so every attendee got focused time on their current challenge with the right peers around them.
VIP passengers got an even deeper experience with priority seating in every session, and a private welcome party.
Between sessions, we built in room for connection: attendee-led lunch meetups, tours of the Moshulu, the Business Book Exchange, and of course, a closing party with a DJ spinning Yacht Rock.
the 2026 ops ahoy captains
In the spirit of the nautical theme, we referred to the speakers as Captains. Each hosted an expert session on topics like AI, process mapping, culture, and project management. As a special surprise, we turned every speaker into a caricature Captain and gifted them a framed copy at the VIP party.
“It's the first, best, and only conference where I've connected with like-minded folk who get operations challenges. If you're used to feeling like the smartest person in the room (when it comes to company operations), here's your chance to finally be around others who can expand your perspective and teach you some new tricks.”
— Theron Lalla (Ops Ahoy 2026 Captain)
The Sponsor games sponsors
Sponsor Games has been made possible by partners who supported the experience through sponsorships and in-kind contributions.
Lulu, Paperform, KIT, SHURE, Level Up Creators, Lineage Provisions, Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio, Blobs Candy, Topo Chico, Senja, Linus Tech Tips (LTT Store), and Bitdefender
The venue search
Ops Ahoy was the one event we’ve produced where the venue needed to carry the branding. We wanted a space that was tied directly to the nautical theme without having to explain the connection, and had enough space for breakout sessions, meetups, food, and networking.
Of course like all other events, proximity to a major airport, walkable restaurants and hotels was equally important. Overall, we looked at 64 venues across 12 cities, from maritime museums, naval ships, and beach resorts. We ultimately landed on The Moshulu for a handful of blissful reasons. First, Layla grew up in the Philadelphia area, making Ops Ahoy a hometown event. Second, the price was a STEAL coming in thousands of dollars lower than our initial budget. Between venue rental, breakfast, lunch and two dinner parties with alcohol, we literally couldn’t say no. The greatest bonus was that we had access to the entire ship during the event to utilize for all of our programming.
Sponsor Games wayfinding
When designing the wayfinding for Sponsor Games, we focused on making directional signage as clear and fun as possible, while emphasizing reusable items to reduce waste year after year.
Attendee Swag
Each year of Sponsor Games, we create a limited edition swag item for attendees to take home as a keepsake. In 2025, it was a “no perpetuity” hat. In 2026, it was the coveted money gun & fake money, so when a creator lands a brand deal they can celebrate the W.
In 2026, we also created a booster bag to help attendees get through the day. This includes items like cord ties, Advil, UNREAL chocolate, single-use mouthwash, gum, a Lulu branded portable charger, and a special $100 bill with Justin’s face printed on it.
Every attendee also receives a copy of Justin’s book, Sponsor Magnet.
A coffee cart with laser-printed lattes
We work closely with Reunion Coffee in San Antonio for a daily coffee cart activation. Attendees can order various drinks throughout the morning, but the main excitement comes from the event logo being laser-printed on the top of every latte. This experience is one of the reasons why Lulu became our presenting sponsor in 2026, and in turn developed the Lulu Creator Lounge, making the coffee cart a hangout destination throughout each day Sponsor Games.
The Hard Rock Cafe Dinner River Cruise
For Sponsor Games 2026, UNMUTE™ landed a deal with the Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio to sponsor a special activation for all attendees — dinner aboard the river cruise! Attendees selected from various menu items like steak, salmon and burgers, then ate while listening to the history of the city.
