VenueConnect 2025

Kate Lee
Principal
CurtainTime, LLC


Kate Lee is the founder of CurtainTime, a software company that helps union employers in the live events industry navigate the complexities of union payroll. A musician in a former life, Kate spent much of her youth at Symphony Hall in Atlanta. She studied music at Indiana University, earning both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Piano Performance. After moving to New York, she landed at a video post-production startup just as digital media was taking off—where she unexpectedly fell in love with data, systems, and solving workflow problems. In 2001, Kate moved to Portland, Oregon and founded Fiddlehead Software, building custom tools for industries of all kinds. A 2012 project with Portland Opera sparked the first version of what would become CurtainTime. In 2015, Kate went all in with CurtainTime, focusing full-time on solving the union payroll puzzle of a lifetime. Today, she is grateful to work with amazing clients across the country, helping them solve their unique challenges with union payroll. When she’s not thinking about payroll, Kate enjoys exploring Pacific Northwest forests and trails, kayaking with her husband, and loving on her dog, two cats, and two teenagers.

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