Shows
Steve Jones ShowTicket Manager CEO and USC grad Tony Knopp 10-09-2024
Ticket Manager CEO Tony Knopp joins the show and we do a deep dive on what House settlement means to colleges and universities. Knopp tells us what colleges have been telling him; then we talk about how the English Premier League's model in the 90s might be what's coming to college football (We aren't talking about relegation).
2024-10-0923 min
The Bridge by OR360Tony Morse is the ”recovery candidate” for Portland City CouncilTony Morse is a candidate for Portland City Council's District 4 (the west side and a small slice of inner east Portland). Tony is an attorney by training and has worked in real estate and political organizing. He describes himself as "center left" and willing to work those who disagree with him to get things done.
In this episode, we talk about Tony's recovery story and what it means to be a "recovery candidate" for the Council--including some specific ideas about how the City can help resolve the crisis. We talk about Ballot Measure 110, harm reduction strategies, public consumption of drugs, an...
2023-11-3054 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events 5.15.23Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events
1) "Do not let yourself be deceitful, arrogant, or resentful." We don't get anywhere tearing people down. In fact, what we'll get are friends and a community who agrees with tearing others down as a normal thing to do. So what will they do to us when we stand out? Sat at a youth sports event with a friend I admire. They were bought into a match their kid was playing in- moreso than usual, and I asked why? “That boy won’t play with my son so we (notice he said...
2023-05-1504 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Authenticity shattering the status quo - Be very careful how you cancel on people - Scoreboard! it works in the office too!The Three Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
(Apologies for the poor sound quality on #2)
1. Authenticity has demolished the status quo. In everything. One word took over the day at our summit conference two weeks back: authenticity. Kenny Smith shared the secret to how Inside The NBA has stayed so relevant for 22 years with a number of stories about honesty and authenticity. There are no scripts and they have freedom to be themselves - he even told a funny story about hazing Shaq in his first week. Ali Kreiger and Ashlyn Harris shared how athletes are empowered...
2022-10-2803 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: We called our team back to the office full time a year ago - Culture: punching vs liking - Dave Roberts may not be bad, he was just cheatedThe Three Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
1. Don't let fear make tough decisions for you. Do what you think is best for your company even if it is wildly unpopular - like going back to the office 4 to 5 days a week if you believe that's what your company needs (not all do). We get comments of amazement all the time when doing zooms and people see we're fully in the office four days per week - including Friday- for the majority of our team (not the vast majority, but the majority. We were considered overly WFH...
2022-10-2104 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Silver Medals at the AAU National Championships - What I LearnedHad quite an adventure in Orlando watching our 12 year old son win a silver medal in the Junior National Volleyball Championship in front of a surprisingly big crowd.
12 year old volley is serious business to many these days.
That said, it was a really fun experience and I learned so much about life and work. Here are three things I learned at Orlando AAU '22
1. "You don't want to be the kid everyone is rooting for. You want to be the kid everyone is relying on." A coach said this to me as we watched the later rounds and I...
2022-07-1505 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastUSC & UCLA to the B1G: What we can learn from a move we should have all seen comingThree Things I learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech and Live Events:
The death of the modern Pac-12
We knew for years USC leaving the Pac-12 was going to happen - I said it on the radio numerous times. And it finally happened. Here's what I learned from the news and how it applies to our business:
1) Remember "History doesn't repeat itself, people do"? Voltaire's premise applies here. Take the time to read "The Club" about the founding of the English Premier League and you'll see a roadmap for what's happening in college football. The top clubs banding together, the power...
2022-07-0805 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: On QuittingThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
On Quitting
The great resignation, companies pulling offers, Gig workers and recessions are all in the news these days. Today, what I've learned about quitting - both in my experience and seeing others.
1. The stigma of labeling someone a quitter can be weaponized to enable bad actors and further encourage their poor behavior. "Nobody likes a quitter" or "they can't be trusted/counted on." The fear of being labeled a quitter hangs over so many trapped in a bad situation. And there's merit to that stigma in certain situations...
2022-06-1005 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: SeatGeek Experiences What We Knew....Time Kills All Deals 2) Superstars are forced into the booth 3) It's difficult to face the music once you've played the tuneThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
1. Time kills all deals. SeatGeek and Red Ball called off their $1.35b SPAC deal which looks like it will lead to the SPAC getting dissolved (they have until August to merge with a company). In 2017, we had a company try to acquire us. Diligence lasted three months and we still weren't much closer to getting a deal done. Though I wanted to continue, the board had run out of patience and voted to kill the deal. Push for short diligence periods and, when you do, be overly prepared and...
2022-06-0302 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: The fine line between crashing and finishing first - avoiding friends who don't have the best for us in mind - History doesn't repeat itself, people dohree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
1. If you want to finish first, first you have to finish. Saw this on F1's Drive to Survive and it rings true in business. Recession and inflation are the words of the week with all kinds of doomsdayers out and about. They may be wrong and they may be right. Doesn't matter. If we knew that answer, we'd be on somewhere on a beach earning 20% right now. Orlando Bravo, founder of much loved and similarly reviled private equity fund Thoma Bravo shared how businesses many businesses getting flogged...
2022-05-2703 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: How To Deal With A$$holes and Bullies In SalesThe below email is real.
It was sent as a response to one of our salespeople
Three things I learned selling to (and around) a$$holes in 20+ years of enterprise selling. (and what to do to avoid being one of them).
1. Ignore them. If we had a nickel for every company where some bully told our team pretty much anything from the below list, we'd be retired. Especially the "don't contact us, we'll find you" part (And this came from a marketing person). Our ability to go beyond these objections are why we've had the success we've had. Be respectful...
2022-05-2004 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: 1. Start-ups are like group projects in college 2. When the big guns are aimed at you 3. Bank your time - you'll be happy you didThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
1. "Start-ups are like group projects were in college." What a terrific analogy. Think back to those days: If you had 5 people in a group, two would do the majority of the work, another would kind of pitch in, the fourth would at least show up for the meetings and the fifth would do just about nothing. Think about how important picking your group was. Friends were nice, but we needed grades so we didn't choose them. Just like here. Not much different in the start-up and growth tech world...
2022-05-1302 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Chelsea and the innovator's dilemma, a sports sponsorship golf rush, your customers aren't stupid- maybe we areThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
1. Todd Boehly's group is in the driver's seat to buy Chelsea FC for $5b+. The same Chelsea FC that was sold for one pound in 1982. Some things seem so obvious in the rear view mirror when they were anything but. In "The Club"- the story of the English Premier League, the authors talk about the evolution of one of the biggest, most lucrative leagues in the world. Much of it was thanks to TV deals and an influx of new owners copying what they were seeing oversees in...
2022-05-0603 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastMost Popular Start-Up Advice After Mentor Week 2022Three Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events Had two mentor weeks with accelerators and funds we help with. After meeting with 16 start-ups in the past two weeks, here are the three things we advise which draw the most positive responses: 1) Jungle, Forest, Highway (by Jeff Bussgang) - Companies can be characterized by what stage they are in and it can be immensely helpful to your decision making on strategy, hiring and expectations. Companies in "the Jungle" need small teams of super resourceful people who can do a lot well with a direction...
2022-04-2904 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastMost Popular Start-Up Advice After Mentor Week 2022Three Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
Had two mentor weeks with accelerators and funds we help with. After meeting with 16 start-ups in the past two weeks, here are the three things we advise which draw the most positive responses:
1) Jungle, Forest, Highway (by Jeff Bussgang) - Companies can be characterized by what stage they are in and it can be immensely helpful to your decision making on strategy, hiring and expectations. Companies in "the Jungle" need small teams of super resourceful people who can do a lot well with a direction that's clear but often...
2022-04-2904 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: We won our fantasy hoops league. What we learned building a business which led to our winMy middle school son and I played fantasy basketball this year for the first time as something to do together. What started as an afterthought became something we did together every day. And we ended up winning. It was stressful and exciting as we got closer to the end. The lessons were the same as building a $100m start-up in so many ways.
Here's four things we learned running a start-up which we used in winning our fantasy hoops league:
2022-04-1506 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: The 5 best (out of 164) books we've read on business, psychology, and leadershipBack in 2004, a mentor convinced me reading was a life hack. They spent an entire breakfast convincing me to set aside enough time to expand my worldview while learning from those who've "done it before."
Since then, we've been trying to devour 2 to 3 books per month on leadership, business and psychology. I'm 164 books deep. Of that list, here are the 5 books I've found most impactful to our journey in building TicketManager and my career:
a. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Changes the way we see our decisions, how we make them and where we are clouded in our...
2022-04-0806 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: WFH Ending Sooner Than Many Believe - Life Is Too Short To Do Shitty Things - Jordan Peterson's Listening Rule1. Companies want staff back in the office more than they're letting on- and plans are in place to bring them back. They're just afraid to say it…for now. News like the Pac-12 going "permanent wfh" isnt' going to change much. Staff, for the most part, don't want to come back. No surprise. Gas prices, a commute, childcare, a side hustle and moving away from the office during the pandemic are the most common reasons given. But there are cracks in the informal "great resignation" union as many are seeing employees willing to return with the incentive of career advancement (or...
2022-04-0104 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things - 1) Coming fallout from too much venture investing 2) Rihanna and your capital raise 3) A great show of determinationThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events:
1. There's a record amount of capital in startups. Means there's going to be a record number of failures too and, thought expected by investors, there is collateral damage to many lives. It's easy to try and keep up with the Joneses when competing for talent or sponsorships or the like with your fresh new funding. We've quoted "when racing east looking for a sunset, the first to turn around wins" here before. Make sure you're not joining the race east. It's got a record number of participants and things...
2022-03-2604 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: The early days of entrepreneurshipThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events:
1. Entrepreneurship doesn't mean freedom like people think it does. The vast majority of those who intend to "be their own boss" one day overwhelmingly cite freedom as a reason. And there is a lot of freedom. But not nearly as much as most believe. Unless independently wealthy already, you'll still have banks, customers, the IRS, local government, and on and on who make demands of you, your time, and your calendar. Not to mention staff. Guess who covers when there are no shows? This Xanadu idea of being able...
2022-03-1104 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Fanatics in Ticketing - Cut Bait Quickly on Bad Books! - Just leave, they don't care like we doThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events:
1) Fanatics announced their big new war chest this week and rumor is they're looking to buy a ticketing company by end of Q3 with Seat Geek a target. Who knows if it's true, but if Seat Geek is next in line for the unrenewed StubHub deal, things will get interesting in ticketing quick. Omnichannel isn't a new idea, it is just finally maturing industries already are as per caps expand with gambling, NFT's and more. The game is no longer in the entertainment district - it's everywhere.
2) Be willing...
2022-03-0403 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Ukraine and software development - Allegiant Stadium's Super Bowl boo-boo and what we can learn - A drop of sewage in a magnum of champagneThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events:
1) Ukraine and off-shore development will impact a lot of businesses we all know. Unrest in the Ukraine has a number of layers - which we can't cover here. One of them: Ukraine is a very popular off-shoring destination for software development work and support for a number of western companies. There are a lot of agreements reliant on data and geopolitical security in the Ukraine which are void as of today. Always have a plan B when off-shoring. Always.
2) Rumor has it Allegiant Stadium didn't carve out the Super...
2022-02-2503 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Forcing (aka Ruining) culture - Sales advice from the WWE - When business gets "boring"Three Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events:
1) Nobody can manufacture passion. It takes time, as we saw at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday . Same goes for culture. The Rams built a $5bln stadium and poured millions into building a fan base. They were overrun by road fans in the last two games. Culture is built by the culture. Not by mandate. Last week, at my daughters volleyball game, our coach let some parents know they didn't want the kids looking at their parents during the match (the parents are, lets just say, a bit into it...
2022-02-1803 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Disruption meets sports business at the Super BowlThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Disruption meets the sports business at the LA Super Bowl
The business crowd at the Super Bowl is much different than at my first in the mid-00s and it is a harbinger of massive disruption headed the way of the team's business offices. Think of what Moneyball did to the baseball industry. Only this time, it's the quants of venture, banking, private equity and gaming playing the role of Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta.
Three things we've learned, and seen, this Super Bowl week:
1) The fraternity will be over...
2022-02-1203 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow To Ask For Tickets (And How Not To!)Three Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
It's Super Bowl Week and with it comes the avalanche of people asking for tickets
This week, we discuss How To Ask For Tickets using our twenty years of experience in sports and live events:
The Do's
1) Ask
2) Ask once
3) Know our place on the hierarchy of tickets
4) Say thank you. A lot.
5) Send an appropriate gift
6) Inform if we go elsewhere
7) The big rule
The Do Nots
1) Take advantage of people
2) Pester
3) Talk smack
4) Ask all over town
5) Put pressure on friends
6) Be inauthentic
Much more in the article...
2022-02-0413 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Should I join a start-up?Three Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
One of the most common questions we get is around joining a startup. There are a myriad of reasons people consider the move, and those are personal and not our business. But questions about compensation lifestyle and career path we can offer our experiences on. The four things we advise when our friends and connections are considering joining a start-up
1) You're not going to get as clear of a picture of your stock's actual value as you'd like. No matter what anyone tells you on Twitter. Everyone online opines to...
2022-01-2805 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: What I learned losing in a gold medal matchThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
In 1997, we lost the gold medal match in volleyball junior nationals to a Reebok team from San Diego. There's a picture, which I can't find, of us with our hands on our hips watching them celebrate. It was the second time they'd beaten us that day solidifying the fact they were better than us- despite our winning six matches that day to earn the rematch. No questions left to ask.
At that time in my life, that gold medal was one of the most important goals to me. And we...
2022-01-2104 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Antonio Brown and our business - Broken glass in the fundraising and M&A process - Talent and Opportunity - and the opportunity in them bothThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
1. Antonio Brown and your sales team. We all watched Brown storm off the field after ripping off his jersey when the Bucs played the Jets. Turns out, he was upset about his incentives, which weren't aligned with the team's goals for the week. Comp plans are very difficult. Just know, no matter how strong a culture we think we have, sales people will always do what's best for them first. That means cutting corners to close deals in certain corners, looking for loopholes to get an accelerator, mis-categorizing deals and...
2022-01-1403 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: 1. The most important forecast 2. Divorce and your business 3. Primordial ooze and revengeThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
1. When forecasting the coming year, hit the first quarter no matter what. We're all excited about the upcoming year and many of us are optimistic, it's why we're entrepreneurs! The board and investors will push for bigger growth numbers as that is their job. Stand your ground on Q1. Give elsewhere. If you miss Q1, even when you have 9 months of black behind it, that red Q1 shows up for months. Be aspirational. Commit to big growth. But make sure you're going to hit that Q1 first.
2. "50% of all marriages...
2022-01-0702 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Starf***ers, Backstabbers and Holidays!Three Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events -
1) Nobody likes the starf**ker. It's the holiday party season and following the example of some before them, many new start up entrepreneurs try to follow the path of 'celebrity entrepreneur.' They spend time only networking with those who are very public. They're snobby to others and follow around those they're trying to get value from like Chester following Spike around https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj_cP2Y5aos. The start-up ecosystem has seen this movie before - and I've seen it really hurt...
2021-12-1003 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe 11 Interview Questions That Saved Our CompanyBack in 2012, TicketManager was a crappy place to work. And our performance was a reflection of this reality.
We got to work on changing who we were. After years of effort, we iterated to 11 interview questions that saved our company.
We ask them of everyone. Today, we discuss why, how, and what they've meant for us.
Hope you enjoy!
2021-12-0321 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: You gotta wobble if you wanna fly - Inflation and Saas contracts - Much more on the Staples Center to Crypto Arena change and why armchair quarterbacks may be wrong on this oneThree Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events -
1) AEG is changing the name of Staples Center to Cypto.com Arena and investing in a major renovation. No surprise with SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome entering the market along with the upcoming 2028 LA Olympic Games. There's a lot of speculation about risk taking these naming rights deals in what some think is a bubble. We talk to teams all day every day. They're very aware of what happened in the .com bust and the 2008 meltdown, as well as the many flameouts along the way. AEG...
2021-11-1904 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Cracks in the live events comeback story foundation. What, why and what's next?Three Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
Major cracks are showing in the live events ticketing comeback narrative, as shared by Ben Fischer (SBJ) Jacob Feldman (Sportico) and Ethan Strauss. Three Things we learned from these pieces and what to watch going forward.
1. Show rates are way down, and it's not just companies. We've been seeing the low scan rates all year in company owned tickets (usually 70% of company tickets get scanned at the gate. It's been around 40% in 2021) but it's now clear it's not just companies. In talking to a number of teams this...
2021-11-1506 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe 7 Lessons Learned Volunteering Over 23 YearsA bit different one today. Sharing the 7 things I've learned about volunteering the past 23 years.
The goal of the Three Things is to share what we've learned that's important to me along the way. And though I'm insecure and uncomfortable about sharing on this topic - it is really important to me and I hope it helps others. so....the 7 things:
1) Ask where we can be most helpful
2) Be willing to do what others aren’t
3) Accept our unique place in the world and give from there
4) Keep showing up – no matter what
5) Expect it to hurt
6) They need us, not...
2021-11-0511 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Always Go! - Fun can't be mandatory - Stress during the boom timesThree Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
1. Go. Years ago I met a talent exec who was relentlessly persistent while being respectful. He'd say to new connects "what time do you eat breakfast? No added time for you. I'll be at your table at 6am for 10 min." or "I'll meet you when you get off the subway and walk with you to work He's still a friend I refer people to today. The world is re-starting and, in our current experience, people want to meet. Maybe not at the office, but nearby where they work...
2021-10-2903 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: 5 Ways We Will Make Enemies No Matter What We Do - And How To CopeThree Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events -
Three ways we learned we will make enemies in a leadership role, no matter what we do.
Most people want to be liked. When we're not, we'd like to mend the fence and clear up any misunderstandings. Unfortunately, in a leadership role, there's nothing we can do to avoid just having some people hate us even if they don't know us. Here are X ways we'll make enemies in our careers and how to minimize the impact on you and your family
1. Hiring. Unfortunately, we can't hire...
2021-10-2206 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Ticketing Explodes On The Scene WeekThree Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events - Ticketing Week
1) Michael Rubin isn't "frightened by ticketing" - as he said at the SBJ World Congress this week. He sees it for what it is: clean data. Which is really expensive. Part of what made Apple and Google so valuable was direct access to the consumers using their products - think app store and PPC. With ticketing going fully digital, primary ticketing companies are privy to clean data. Customers have to go through their entrance points to attend the event. That data is invaluable in the...
2021-10-1504 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: What do you do when you hit "Rock Bottom" for your companyThree Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events - Rock Bottom Edition
We've all had times in our careers or, for entrepreneurs, in our businesses, of intense doubt or bad news which can feel like rock bottom. Here's what not to do, both from experience and those we were saved from by mentors:
1) Never make decisions in an extreme state. In the end, we're human. We have emotions. Sometimes they swing one way or the other a bit extremely. Add stress or travel to a lack of sleep, a cold, and some crappy weather and we...
2021-10-0805 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Conference Week at Saastr and SBJ Ticket SymposiumThree Random Things I Learned This Week in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events at the SBJ Ticketing Symposium
1) TicketNetwork hired a banker and is going to market to sell. The live events industry will watch closely how they're valued. TN has a lot of data, but outsources quite a bit too. Personally, I think they find someone to overpay.
2) Teams don't see the softness those in the know are seeing in the secondary. Publicly, "everything's great." But in private, those at the controls are seeing some alarming signs of weakness. There was a saturation problem before Covid and it didn't...
2021-10-0103 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Three phrases our mentors gave us which have changed our team and business.Three Random Things I Learned This Week in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
The best leadership advice we've gotten from mentors smarter than us. Each one we've used time and again and they almost always work:
1) "Help me understand." It takes managers a loooong time to learn the vast majority of mistakes and politics aren't actually nefarious by intent. Took me years. Most situations are fluid and complex yet managers tend to treat them as relatively black and white. "Why did you do X?" is offensive. It is similar to a bad coach barking "what are you doing?!" at a...
2021-09-2403 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things Sept 17, 2021: Coach, don't play, if we want to level up - Hiring in a tight job market - "who's (expletive) your wife?"1) Coach. Don't play. On top of my to-do list every morning, the first entry is bolded: "Coach. Don't play." For the vast majority of high achievers or entrepreneurs, letting go of what their great at is the biggest hurdle - especially when times get tough. When the code isn't done, the pipeline isn't full, or the CS metrics are dropping, we do what hall of fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach says everyone does "Once they get hit in the ring, they’re going to revert back to what they are." You, and your team, will do this often. If we ca...
2021-09-1703 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things Sept 10, 2021: How stubborn can be a positive, Who owns the little things and why it matters most, Everyone has "best tech stack"....then what?Three Random Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
1. "If nobody is taking ownership, nothing is going to get solved." Jocko Willink shared this nugget of simplicity when discussing failed operations in the middle east. Easy is easy, simple is hard. Everything requires an owner. Everything. From who is responsible for the coffee machine to who is running the most important projects. I know, I know, it's obvious. And obviously overlooked often.
2. "The best players are "7's" on the scale of 1 being most coachable and 10 being most stubborn." A high profile juniors tennis coach shared with me a...
2021-09-1003 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: A hack to manage change, the allure of chasing silver bullets, David took a rock to a sword fightThree Random Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
1. Change is always resisted internally and externally. Our job, when building a new business, is change. Our team's careers, our customer's processes, our partners status quo. Those who implement change are well-rewarded. A quick tip: Set a check point and commit your word to it. 'This will be and feel like a lot of change, however at month six, we're going to celebrate our biggest concern of the moment wasn't even on the list today.' Then execute. If we can, we build loyalty with our teams, our partners...
2021-09-0302 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Lying in job interviews, Tom Brady on winning today, Make the best of the inevitable bad choices1. Don't lie in an interview. Ever. Like volunteering when it's been 4 years, saying you played football at a local college, you were "top 3" on the sales standings or that you currently have a VP of sales gig and live in the city when you were terminated 8 months prior for getting trashed on a company booze cruise and have been living on mom's couch in jersey (none of those things are bad or disqualifying. Lying though? That is). So how to spot the liars? You can't call their current employer. But you CAN once they start with you. And it's worth...
2021-08-2703 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastMedia Training! Tips on working with press and media to help your businessThree Random Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Press week.
If you're going to lead a growing company, you're likely going to work with the media. Here are a few tips on how to work with the media to help your business.
1) Be as helpful to them as possible. Even if you're not quoted or don't get what you want, become someone they know can help them. Make introductions. Even (gasp) give up your coverage to someone better suited to opine. Play the long game.
2) Ask for questions in advance. Type out your quotes. Read them during...
2021-08-2004 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: How to get the most out of your advisorsThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Advisors Week
Advisors are either exponentially additive or they are empty calories with very little between. Three things we'd advise given our many mistakes and wins with advisors
1) All equity requires an investment- even if very small. Even advisors who are getting paid. It's a controversial take but anyone who is working with you without skin in the game is a vendor, not an advisor. There is plenty of room to bring on vendors who can help you. Keep your advisory positions for those who will dedicate the time and...
2021-08-0604 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: It's all fake! And yet we fall for it anyways - How to approach the Build or Buy list - Stars and confidence, how a star changed my life with one sentenceThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
1) It's all fake! And it works. When we were growing, PR companies called us to "pump up our Glassdoor or Yelp reviews." Yet it is cited by all our new hires. Getting onto the NYT Bestseller list costs ~$250k. In a bet with a friend, I pumped views on a past three things by 1000 in ten minutes - for 4 dollars. As Kahneman points out in "Noise" - it doesn't matter. We like what others like, even when totally manipulated
2) If successful, your business will end up on a "build...
2021-07-3003 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Your BusinessThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events
Starting a growth business is high pressure. You or someone on your team will be hit with life changing anxiety the way I was in 08. It feasts on high performers using their drive against them.
Six things I learned through recovery and how it can help your business.
1. Get the right help. I got the wrong help. 3x. The wrong people lean on drugs first, quick fixes and unproven theories. They don't work. Find an expert in ACT and trust nobody offering a quick fix
2. Stop thinking we're unique...
2021-07-2305 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: How Playing To Not Lose Cost Us MoneyThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Playing not to lose is one of the most common mistakes in starting a business (and, recently, in Euro 2020).
Three ways playing to not lose crushes our business (and career) from our own mistakes
1. Hiring. We take the safe hires. The candidates from the big names who'd "done it before" over the most talented bc they're the most impressive to banks and investors.
2. Customers. When playing not to lose, we let customers dictate terms where we all lose. Churn is expensive. Customers failing to achieve goals with our products is...
2021-07-1603 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe Three Most Common Mistakes New Entrepreneurs MakeThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Mentor edition
We've seen hundreds of funded companies in the past decade. Here are the three most common mistakes start-up entrepreneurs make:
1) Being overly defensive. It's our baby. I get it. I was the same way. But being defensive will cost you money. Mentors don't bother giving advice to know-it-alls and the overly defensive. They just placate you and move on.
2) Advice from the wrong people. In the past decade, being an angel investor or mentor has gotten very sexy. So everyone wants to do it, actual tangible experience be...
2021-07-0903 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: The Headcount Trap - Get you a Hype Man - Nobody is their own bossThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
1) Headcount comes last. When things start to go well, your team will have a new kind of fear - "how do we keep up?" Often, the first reaction is headcount. And that's okay. Just be careful. Headcount is the most expensive, most permanent, and often least efficient answer.
2) Get you a hype man! A good friend went through a job change at the worst possible time- during a live events pandemic shut down. Like all of us, as the time piled up, they started to doubt. We spoke a few...
2021-07-0102 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: The first place Giants secret - Nick Saban on building teams - Accountability as fuelThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports Tech and Live Events:
1) The SF Giants are in first place thanks to cast of pitchers having career years. How? How can we do this in our business? Get everyone doing what they're best at and clear off the rest of their plate. Very similar to what Jobs did when he returned to Apple with the iMac. Find what we're best at - a simple hack
2) "We're not looking for a team full of exceptions" - Kirby Smart in the early days of the Alabama dynasty. The Tide were getting pressure for not...
2021-06-2502 minThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe Roaring 20's and our savings - How to treat job hunters - What to do when others fool your peopleThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports Tech and Live Events:
1. The dramatic increase in the consumer savings rate - from $2.7T to $4.6T- is leading live events companies into a new "Roaring 20s," at least that's what they're pitching to investors and financiers as seen in the below linked Vivid Seats pipe deck. The plan calls for 2x-3x as many live shows in the coming 18 months which, if bought, would normalize the savings rate. It's a spring for market share we're all about to watch.
2. Live events are rushing back and staffing up quick. It's a stampede. Hiring...
2021-06-1802 minThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe best advice I ever ignored and why it cost us money - Each early hire is the equivalent of 20 people - Building a rolodex's biggest mistak1. The best advice seems so obvious it is easy to miss. I blew off so much good advice as too simple in the early days. Youthful ignorance which cost us money. It isn't nefarious - I was focused on the trains leaving on time and "grinding." In reality, I thought I was the exception, like we all do. There is so much nuance to the obvious. If we don't pay attention, we may miss it.
2. Early hires matter so much more than I knew. We're in a hurry and we need to staff up to meet demand. Slow down. Treat...
2021-06-1102 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: No Show as a No-No - Paying up for the IOC Olympics - Shoot the ball grannie Ben SimmonsThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports Tech and Live Events
1. No showing, or cancelling last minute, is the biggest networking mistake anyone can make. When I was 22 I no-showed an interview with the Clippers.* I paid for it years later. A decade ago a team exec no showed me. He met with our team last month and asked why we don't work with his firm. It's common, I get stood up often. It ain't worth it though.
2. Endeavor went big on their bid for Olympics hospitality. So did Facebook when buying Instagram, Google buying YouTube and Apple buying Next...
2021-06-0403 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastFive ways we screwed up our SDR program for over a decadeThree Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events
How we screwed up our SDR program for over a decade (and counting)
In today's blog post and video commentary we share, in depth, the mistakes we've made in building an SDR program
The five ways - with much more in the blog and vlog:
1. Make room for everyone to succeed - or don't hire them
2. Stop the fight
3. No first impressions
4. Zero turnover from 120 to 730
5. Kill the manager
Hope ya'll enjoy learning from our mistakes….
2021-05-2806 min
2021-05-2109 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Why price is a trade secret - Stay in your lane - Never go into tough convos without a lawyerThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports Tech & Live Events
1. Margin is directly tied to value and pricing is a trade secret. Learfield IMG College made news when Sportico released their net profit on a number of deals. Learfield fought the release of the info citing trade secrets. They're right. The ability to provide value to partners and run a growing business is as difficult as it sounds. Protect your financials to protect your customers.
2. Stay in your lane. Chasing the shiny thing, when outside your core competency, slowly kills companies. An example: After years of misplaced application of the...
2021-05-1402 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Do you want to be rich or king? - Terminating is always our fault - Filling the leadership void1. "Do you want to be rich or do you want to be king"- was reminded of this great line from "The Founder's Dilemma." Scale requires help. Great help. Great help will want to share in the bounty. Keeping it too tight to the vest has the potential to really hurt growth. Giving out too much?....well that hurts too- trust me, I learned that one the hard way early.
2. Nearly everyone wants to lead- but they don’t want to do what's needed to BE a great leader. Expand your leadership reach. Read. Volunteer to coach. Get exposure to le...
2021-05-0700 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Four times NOT to reach out to execs to sell or networkGetting in front of executives is very hard. Four times not to try:
1. After a big announcement or achievement - When a professional buys or sells a company, announces a big win or raises money, it can be the busiest time for them. Add to the work the avalanche of congratulations, job requests, long lost friends and sales pitches, and our message is easily lost.
2. After an appearance. People do press or conferences for a few reasons: To promote their business/selves, to help a cause they care about or as a favor to a friend. Some conferences do a...
2021-05-0100 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe First RFP: When it got really real...Three Things I Learned in Saas, Sports Tech & Live Events
The first RFP win...when it got really real.
In 2008, when business was tough, we got our first RFP....and won! It changed our lives.
Here's what we learned in winning our first SaaS RFP
1. Authenticity is your only differentiator. I told the truth. That simple. These other companies are bigger, more powerful and your team will find them the safe choice. But you're all I've got. Here's my cell phone. Call it anytime. Still goes today for all our customers. And she does still call our mobile phones, which...
2021-04-2405 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Why we take sides - How to exaggerate when doing deals - Great leaders repeat themselvesThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports Tech & Live Events
1. Take some time…in the middle. The human brain can only process so much. When we're overloaded, as we all are now, we default to binary decision making. The either/or logical fallacy. It leads to Red/Blue, Vaccine/Never, With/Against us thinking. We are all guilty of it. Had a friend compliment another for "being able to change their mind." What a sad place we've found ourselves in.
2. Getting fast and loose with ARR doesn't fool anyone. It's usually just a soft bullet point to match a narrative. We...
2021-04-1603 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: The new force majeure - Hospitality at the Olympics - Performance based sponsorshipsCompanies have found a way to get a form of force majure into their contracts - and it is genius. Knowing a pandemic clause is too ambiguous, they are adding tiers of spend based on the allowed attendance. Fall below 25% allowed in the event, pay nothing. Over 50%? Pay the rate. We believe it will become the norm, as it already is in most tech contracts Have heard from multiple sources Endeavor is the winner of the Paris '24, Milan '26, LA '28 hospitality provider shoot-out, which included CAA, Comcast, Legends and Quint. With Tokyo fan-less and Beijing a recent history r...
2021-04-0904 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: Be careful what we answer to - Why success is obvious while failure is unique - No rental cars on Maui? What does that mean?1. It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to. WC Fields. We all have labels. I was a jock but I answered to good student - which we addressed last week. At AEG they called us ticket salesman. We answered to entrepreneurial sales professional. At Stubhub they called us brokers. We answered to tech disruptors. At TicketManager they've called us niche. We answer to market creators. I get called a lot of names. I answer to one. What we answer to defines the chances we take, what we think we can do, and where we end up. It...
2021-04-0203 min
The Intellectuals16 - Cheryl Knopp brings levity to corporate lawOur fantastic guest Cheryl Knopp is a brilliant corporate lawyer who is also "not a tool." She talks about her love of soft rock, The Panoramic Jugband, moving from NYC to Westport, CT and her goldendoodle Harley.
2021-04-0142 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: What I learned from selling a boxing sponsorship to a gentleman's clubThree Things I Learned in Saas, Sports Tech & Live Events What I learned selling a boxing sponsorship to a gentleman's club* In 2004, STAPLES Center hosted an HBO fight and we were contracted to sell sponsorship packages. I was assigned the inbound phone lines.. A call came in from Stars Planet, Inc which owned clubs in DTLA. David, the caller, asked what we would sell to his business After consulting with my boss, we sent over a list of what was av...
2021-03-2605 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWe are not our jobs and how identity can wreck havoc on founders - Respect the customer's process in sales - Never root for a candidate1. Our job is not our identity. I played volleyball at a very high level growing up- for Nike, then USC and the U20 US National team. So did my sisters. The whole time, my dad would tell us "You are not a volleyball player. That is not your identity, it is something you do." His wisdom was lost on me but I listened. And it made my transition so much smoother than my teammates. I fell into that trap again the early years of TicketManager - thinking failure would define me b/c TicketManager was my identity. Avoid my...
2021-03-1903 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWhat would you do? The time we were broke and got a miracle $350k check in the mail....by mistakeWould You Keep The Money? In early 2009, we were bootstrapping and close to the edge. We had ~$60k in the business. Total Then one day, a customer (a Fortune 100 company) sent us a check, by mistake, for $356k. It was double paying the business done in 2008. Pure profit. A lifesaver. I called the customer to alert them we were sending the check back. They said not to. Too much of an accounting issue. So we suggested keeping on file as a pre-payment. Again, they said not to. It would trigger a major audit which would cost the company far...
2021-03-1203 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWhat I learned about business in 15 years with my best friend - our puppy, HulaTough week as we said goodbye to my best friend of 15 years, our puppy Hula. Who was with us for the entire thirteen year plus run of our business. 1. Ignore the odds. Hula was born a runt who became a giant. She had a heart murmur, life threatening allergies, and her knees went bad when she was 3. Didn't slow her at all. All businesses are told what our limitations are. Forget them. Heart is all that matters - and she had enough for us all. 2. Just be there. In our earliest years, I struggled terribly wi...
2021-03-0505 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastPiss soaked fight in the men's room week! What happens when the fight comes to you in business1) Don’t pick fights. Better yet, avoid them at all costs. You never know what the other side has in them and the winner never wins without a cost. In business, too many big companies underestimate start-ups and smaller firms. Some of them have serious fight in them and won't take to bullying. 2) Better to be a Warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. With #1 in mind, know companies will pick fights with you. Big firms will pick on you, talk down about you, and try to flex their size against you. Building your def...
2021-02-2603 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastMistakes we made while building what became an award winning cultureHere are four things we learned in building a team who wins culture awards over and over* 1. We learned to stop focusing on how people *should* think and started understanding how they *do* think. Instead of trying to find or create perfect people, we tried to create the best environment for imperfect people to succeed. 2. We learned "If you want to be loved, you have to give up trying to being liked" and it changed our leadership style. We stopped trying to be liked by many and started focusing on being loved by our community...
2021-02-1904 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWhat our feeds are doing to our ability to think and act - The laws of power state winners win while losers lose - When analytics goes wrongThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech and Live Events 1) The algorithm isn't helping young entrepreneurs. There are many influencers offering soundbites tailored to get attention or get you to like them. They are promoted in all our timelines - not just yours - creating a noise, bias and most dangerously- groupthink - while burying useful media. We've found the most applicable advice is a bit controversial and harder to find. Another poll on which WFH model we like is empty carbs. 2) When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. It t...
2021-02-1203 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastPeople Vote With Their Feet - Brands Have Incredible Power in Live - Tell Your Loved Ones You Love Their ScarsThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech and Live Events
1. People vote with their feet. When evaluating a company, supervisor, customer or partner, forget the awards, the posts, the review sites and the trade mag features. Most awards are bought. Most features are in exchange for advertising/favors (we get offered them all the time). Review sites are fake/gamed. Pay attention to the team. Are they moving vertically when leaving? Are they staying? If not, you may have your answer.
2. Brands are partners, not customers, and the numbers from the NFL enforce it. Too often, live events 'sell...
2021-02-0503 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThree Things: GameStop, Wall St Bets & Super Bowl Tickets- We've Seen This Short Game Before...So What Next?Chaos broke out this week when a group of retail investors took to a reddit message board to play a massive short squeeze on Wall St hedge funds using options on highly shorted companies GameStop, AMC, Blackberry, and others. Everyone chimed in from Elizabeth Warren to Elon Musk. We've seen this kind of short action before in sports business at the 2015 Super Bowl. A summary of what happened with a number of links can be found here: That squeeze got so out of control sellers who had sold S...
2021-01-2906 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe arms race heats up in sports property consulting - Private equity impact on sports and Super Bowl tickets - Don't sell out. Ever.We discuss the upcoming arms race in sports property consulting
How private equity money has changed the Super Bowl Ticket market in only 5 years
and why we won't sell out - and those who suggest as much are worth of ignoring
2021-01-2202 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWhy everything a leader says is scrutinized - Why teams take the credit (and is a good thing) - and how flossing applies to your remote work strategyThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech and Live Events 1) "The only thing I could ever give him credit for is hiring me." Many give little credit to those who enabled their success. I was the same way It's not personal. Just know that's likely how your team sees it and that's a good thing. (And don't be that person….) 2) Only 30% of the population flosses. "So many come in here and, by the looks of their gums, they just started flossing this week to try and trick us." Flossing is cheap, easy, and h...
2021-01-1503 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events Podcast10 Years to $10mm ARR - How to negotiate with channel partners - Why internal competition is necessaryThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech and Live Events 1. "10 years to 10m ARR." The social media gurus talk often about the growth rate needed for your saas to be a unicorn. Don't get too roped in by black-and-white approaches to business. We've had a number of successful private equity firms looking for "10 years to 10m in ARR." Many more friends who took that path and eventually became massive success - some unicorns. 2. Don't ever pay for meetings. Pay for outcomes. There so many vendors, channel partners, value-added resellers, consultants and the like out th...
2021-01-0903 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow to cope with the urge to quit. How to assure we don't miss the next big thing. The best snippet I saw in 2020Everybody wants to quit sometimes, especially in the very early days or hard days which many experienced for the first time in 2020. And that's normal. If handled poorly, however, it can be terminal to your business. It happens to every leader no matter the position on the org chart at some point - Check out Numbers 11:10 where Moses quits. I get calls from friends at "the top" regularly. It's imperative to find a safe outlet who isn't involved in the business. Many use YPO, Vista, small groups, therapists or friendsBig industry changes happen in bunches. 2021 will bring lots of new...
2021-01-0102 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow to handle stress and decision making during chaosHow do we handle stress and hard decisions during chaotic events? What helps us center ourselves to make better decisions and stay focused on our long-term life goals?
1) If you want to make GOD laugh, tell HIM about your plans. When the world fell apart, we did what we always do - plan for everything. We laid out eight models. Then we got to work. Nine months later? None of those scenarios were close to what happened. That preparation helped a lot. But being flexible was much more useful.
2) "Life will decide for you." Great advice for nearly every situation...
2020-12-2502 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow Did You Know When To Start Your Own Business?We explore what led us to start our own company includingThe most common question asked is "how did you do this." Truth is, I dont know. The answer I keep coming back to: we were willing to make a lot of mistakes and, once we jumped, the economy collapsed and we didn't have any choice but to continueThe driving force was fear of regret. We talked about it often. We were more afraid of ending our careers working for somebody else and wondering 'what if.' It trumped all else, good and bad. If we ended up...
2020-12-1803 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastShould I Take a Ticket Sales Job? Should I Take an SDR Job In Tech?Should I take a Ticket Sales or SDR job edition. A common piece of advice when starting your career is to find what you love and get your foot in the door. There are a lot of examples - Jack Welch at GE, Erik Spoelstra of the HEAT, Bill Belichick of the Patriots, Barry Diller etc. Businesses and teams use these inspirational anomalies to recruit. I started in a Ticket Sales job and I've managed SDR's for 15 years. Three things I learned about taking a ticket sales/tech SDR job ...
2020-12-1106 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow To Deliver Bad News To A Team - The Infamous "Promotion, Promotion, Promotion....Cinnamon Rolls" MeetingPromotion, promotion, promotion, cinnamon roll edition. How Not To Deliver Bad News In spring 2004 it was clear an NHL work stoppage was coming. Our team of 20+ salespeople sold full-time through the summer. Then we hoped for a season. As the games were cancelled, we "lost" the commission we would have earned. Finally, the season was cancelled and a meeting called the next morning for an hour earlier than our start time. Finally there would be answers. How would commission be handled? Were we being furloughed? Laid-off? When? ...
2020-12-0402 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWhy Optimists Grow Your Career While Pessimists Kill It - Find The Resilient & Stay Near Them - Always Play The Long Game2020 Thanksgiving Thankful For Edition 1. Optimists. Cycles happen and that's when the tough get going. It's also when the paralyzed, the pessimists and the naysayers get loud. I'm thankful for those who don't accept what's "supposed to be." I've learned they will lift your career to the highest highs. There aren't many of them as it's always easier to be a pessimist. Pessimism isn't fun, even when you win. 2. The resilient. We work in live events. And here we are, still standing on Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for our team and investors. When we went through our hiring and capital raise...
2020-11-2702 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastAvoid Hiring Other Company's Bad Habits - How To Hire LoyaltyThree random things I learned/heard this week in saas, sports, tech, and live events: 1) "Don't hire other company's bad habits." Erika Nardini of Barstool caused a stir when putting an SDR on blast for a poorly written solicitation email*. Where you learn your craft matters. It is not the SDR's fault her company is teaching crappy habits. But it is hurting her development and stalling her ability to grow her career. Worse, the experience SDRs gain is what they 'sell' to their next employer. Make it worthwhile 2) In 2001, I got my first job in July. 9/11 hit s...
2020-11-2003 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow to treat competitors - One person off script can kill a deal - Some life advice from Mama Knopp about fitting inIn this week's episode, we discuss how to view your competition, and how they likely view view.
We explore how just one person off script can kill a deal and how that happened to Nike with the future two-time MVP Steph Curry (and us with FedEx)
Finally we share a story about trying to fit in during middle school and some life advice which changed how we viewed friendship and business.
1) Treat competition with respect. It's not unlikely you'll end up teammates down the road
2) It just takes one person off script to kill a deal. Ask "Steve" Curry
3) Surround...
2020-11-0602 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow to treat competitors - One person off script can kill a deal - Some life advice from Mama Knopp about fitting inIn this week's episode, we discuss how to view your competition, and how they likely view view. We explore how just one person off script can kill a deal and how that happened to Nike with the future two-time MVP Steph Curry (and us with FedEx)Finally we share a story about trying to fit in during middle school and some life advice which changed how we viewed friendship and business. 1) Treat competition with respect. It's not unlikely you'll end up teammates down the road 2) It just takes one person off script to...
2020-11-0602 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastThe difference between networking & selling - What to do with tough feedback - Hard convos coming in the NBAWe explore the often misunderstood difference between networking and selling and why it separates great salespeople from good ones.
We get tough feedback from our teams. We discuss how to handle it and what to do with it.
And finally, the NBA is coming back December 22nd and there are some hard convos on the way if fans are to return
1) Hard conversations on the way in the NBA
2) Consider the source of feedback before making decisions - especially in the job search
3) Networking vs Selling
2020-10-3002 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow and why to do due diligence - Only hire who you can work for - Pressure is a privilegeWe explore how and why due diligence is so important to all we do and what that's meant in our journey.
We discuss what our role is as a leader when hiring a team.
And we learn that pressure is a privilege for only a select few.
2020-10-2303 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow to view SPACs in sports - How to get real information on companies selling - Why to be authentic with your team no matter whatThree Random Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events for the week of October 15th, 2020. The three things is a collection of weekly ideas, notes and experiences we have while building businesses in enterprise software as a service, the sports industry, technology, and live events. Real advice from real entrepreneurs we hope can help others along the way. 1. SPACs and sports 2. The Spin Zone 3. Authenticity, Hypocrisy and Culture
2020-10-1603 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastNBA Finals Sagging Ratings - How To Approach Intellectual Property - China's Live Events ResurgenceIn this episode we discuss the NBA's sagging finals ratings.
Why China's post-Covid tourism resurgence doesn't signal the same for the North American live events industry.
And thoughts and advice on your new groundbreaking idea and how to 'protect' it.
2020-10-0904 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastEveryone In Business Has Imposter Syndrome - What's You & What's Your Brand - Why To Keep A JournalWe discuss Imposter Syndrome, how to understand whether you're getting the attention or if the brand is opening doors for you (hint: it's often the brand) and why keeping a journal has been great for us.
2020-10-0203 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow To Handle The Haters - What To Expect In Court - How Live Events Pros Should Handle The Shutdown1. Live events professionals cannot stall out. We need to move while events are on pause
2. "Do you really want to leave this decision to a politician in a costume" - some of the best advice I've gotten on lawsuits
3. If you build something beautiful others only have two choices 1) build their own or 2) tear it down. How do we handle the haters.
2020-09-2501 min
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWhy Time Is A Salesperson's Most Costly Asset - How Distraction Ruins A Company - Seek Out The No's1. Time is all that matters to great salespeople. They don't "have to make 500 calls," they know they only "have" ~500 calls before time expires. They don't even look at activity stats. Once they see the world through the time lense, they prioritize what closes deals. They don't waste time on people who can't say yes. They get to No quickly. They ruthlessly eliminate busywork. Like Bill Walsh says - "The score will take care of itself" 2. Why use destruction when distraction works better. "If I were Satan, I wouldn't destroy the church with big bombs. I would distract t...
2020-09-1805 minThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWe All Pay the Sins Of The Past - Why Equity Is Common In Partnerships - Use Bad Incentives To WinIn this episode we discuss how our business will always pay for the sins of others in the past, and how we can adapt
We talk about how partnerships are no longer only about the money with incumbents taking equity stakes in their new business partners
And we share how the bad sales and marketing incentives of your competition are your best advantage
2020-09-0405 minThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow To Handle Business Mortality - Wisdom Learned Through Young Heartbreak - What Your Team Is Saying About You When You're Not AroundWe discuss how to cope with the fear of zero when starting and growing a business.
We share some lifelong, and simple, wisdom learned through young heartbreak
And finally, we discuss what your team is saying about you when you're not around - and an exercise to make us all better
2020-08-2804 minThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastHow "Ladder Leapers" Hurt Business - How to Lose Business - Never Fear Executives, Sell to ThemIn this episode we discuss how to handle "Ladder Leapers" when selling into big companies.
We share our experiences losing bids and how the many times we won their business later
and we help sales people understand why selling to executives is what differentiates big time salespeople from the also-rans.
2020-07-3103 minThree Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events PodcastWelcome To The Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live EventsWelcome to the Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events!
The Three Things is a journal of our experiences building a sports technology SaaS from a three man garage band with our own money to a $100 million dollar industry leader.
In the welcome podcast we discuss why we do the Three Things, what we hope to share and who we are.
2020-07-2405 min
Dave Wakeman's The Business of Fun PodcastThe Business of Fun: Tony KnoppToday's episode is brought to you by Booking Protect: the global leaders in refund protection. To find out how you can partner with Booking Protect to deliver a better buying experience to your customers and generate a new stream of revenue for your organization, visit them at www.bookingprotect.com My guest is Tony Knopp! Tony is CEO of TicketManager. We covered a lot of ground! And, I think this one is going to stir up the conversation a little bit. We cover life in a startup. Why you shouldn't absolutely go i...
2019-06-0751 min
The Tao of Sports Podcast – The DefinitiEp. 504 - Tony Knopp (CEO, TicketManager)Tony Knopp has been in the primary and secondary markets, working for AEG, StubHub and now his own venture, TicketManager. Knopp discusses some of the various ways in which corporate tickets have become a wasteland for businesses when they don't have credible data to support their usage rates. That's where Knopp feels his business has the solution, providing real time analytics which ensure proper tracking of tickets, as well as ways to track who received them and the R.O.I. attached to each cultivation period by the company. Knopp delves into the deep dark world of the secondary market...
2015-06-1033 min
Tao of Sports PodcastEp. 504 - Tony Knopp (CEO, TicketManager)Tony Knopp has been in the primary and secondary markets, working for AEG, StubHub and now his own venture, TicketManager. Knopp discusses some of the various ways in which corporate tickets have become a wasteland for businesses when they don't have credible data to support their usage rates. That's where Knopp feels his business has the solution, providing real time analytics which ensure proper tracking of tickets, as well as ways to track who received them and the R.O.I. attached to each cultivation period by the company. Knopp delves into the deep dark world of the secondary...
2015-06-1033 min