Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events
The Blame Game. The US Open of Tennis is going bonkers. And now's the time to start a company
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events
The Blame Game
The Club World Cup isn't selling.
Vivid Seats can't recover. SeatGeek and StubHub can't get public.
The Pirates can't pay Paul Skenes.
The USTA can't build enough hospitality to keep up with demand.
Same for the Masters.
Live Nation is up 60% over the past year.
We went to process and never even got to market. There were so many eager investors.
The NFL added a 17th game. The CFP added two rounds and sold them all out.
The Ryder Cup is as hot as any event.
It's easy to look at "external forces " when things are going poorly. But that argument doesn't work when others "on the same street" are thriving.
Sometimes, it's just that the event isn't that good.
The business model is obsolete.
Or the decisions made to this point haven't been the best.
We've had some hard times here (March 2012. Covid.) But what kept us going was that we weren't alone. Everyone "on our street" had the same problems.
That's not the case today. Live events are thriving. And I don’t just say that b/c I work in them - I have weeks of saying otherwise during Covid right here on the three things.
Be careful when working for someone who just blames everyone else.
The US Open is going bonkers
I have to disclose that the USTA is a customer of ours. And a great one at that.
Beyond that, however, the event continues to explode in popularity. Pricing and corporate interest are off the charts this far ahead of the event.
If the draw cooperates and gives us an Alcaraz, Sinner, or Djokovic run, we'll see prices close to or even surpass those at Wimbledon.
Now is the time to be an Entrepreneur
Interest in professions comes in waves.
Those who go against the grain have the biggest returns.
The investor ecosystem seems burned by start-up overspending from 2010 to 2019. The fallout has been several zombie companies in sports tech with nowhere to land. They have okay revenue numbers but don't make enough money to justify further investment.
It has scared off the next generation. We interview college grads quite a bit. In the 2010s, everyone wanted to be a VC or a tech start-up entrepreneur. Now? They are all looking for a more stable path. The most common answer is still "Influencer," which is the actor/actress of my generation (seemingly the easiest way to get famous/rich), but the next most common: investment banking and private equity.
That's great, but someone has to build the companies that the private equities invest in and the bankers sell.
To all the kids out there: Now is the time.
While everyone else is trying to be an influencer or the next Patrick Bateman, go start something that will last and change lives.
I'm biased, but to me, there's no better feeling.