Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events 2.6.23
What I learned in a week shortened by a trip to San Jose Del Cabo
Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
Careful how you treat customers when you're on top. The Disney owned Anaheim Mighty Ducks were the hottest thing in town in mid-90's Southern California. Tickets were impossible to get, the waitlist was enormous and the Arrowhead Pond was rocking. The mid 10's Seattle Seahawks had a similar run. Long waiting lists, huge sellouts, and no end in sight. Until the end came. Both franchises are still quite healthy, no doubt, but the Ducks have never come close to recovering those highs while the Seahawks had to resort to selling tickets for $25 recently. Have had two high flying NHL teams making threats to customers just in the past two weeks for really minor issues (they sold tickets they shouldn't have per the contract- which they shouldn't have- they were unclear). That's all well and good when the team is on top of the world, as they are today, but the mess left for who is next when it falls down? Well, we covered that here:
"It's much worse than many think." A very close friend is a prominent headhunter for tech businesses. High VIP top level openings, $100k plus per placement. Last year, they were turning away business daily. Today? "We'll take anything we can get these days, even your CS openings in AZ." It's not just layoffs. It's no new hiring for awhile. Takes a minute for this all to trickle into the economies impacted, but it looks like it's going to (again.)
"He's so transparent in his self-interest I actually kind of respect him." One of the single best movie scenes about business and people. Anyone who's done deals with us knows how much I love this scene as it is key to deal making. Transparency can lead to the best partnerships and cuts through quite a bit of politics. Incredibly well acted scene by all involved (cut to the 8:02 mark for the line)
Apologies for no video and audio this week. Had grandiose plans of filming a fun video while in San Jose Del Cabo and, well, time got away from me (or maybe it was the tequila)
Promise to do better from Phoenix next week!