Dave Wakeman's The Business of Fun Podcast

Hi!  My guest today is Tyler Simmons.  We talk about Bucket Golf.  What a cool product.  Today we discuss: Creating a product from scratch Building innovation into the DNA of your business The importance of community to the growth of the business Managing a supply chain And, more. Visit my website at www. DaveWakeman.com Get the 'Talking Tickets' newsletter at https://talkingtickets.substack.com J...

I had a data conversation that I was excited to share with you because Brian Vinson comes at data in a way that made me excited to rethink my take on data.  If you've listened for long, you know that I think people put too much emphasis on looking backward at their data when making decisions.  Brian's POV on data is very much forward looking and it was refreshing to hear this.  In today's episode,...

My guest today is John Breyault.  John is with the National Consumers League . His work is on consumer protection. Which made a conversation about the Live Nation trial timely.  We cover a lot of ground about Live Nation and tickets including: The 2010 merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster The consent decree that was supposed to reign in some behaviors Structural v. Behavioral remedies. And,...

My guest today is Mark Roberge!  He's from Red 13 Creative. www. Red13Creative.com   Great talk about audience development.  Mark is a touring musician and he brings that point of view to his work with artists.  In today's episode, we get into a bunch of helpful topics such as: The myth of the algorithm: "I got my song on Spotify." Word of mouth marketing and finding the first fans...then turning...

My guest today is Kris Rudeegraap. He's with Sendoso.  We had a great time talking about gifting.  Kris shared: Using gifts to open conversations Touch point marketing Creativity Making gifts special ...and much more.  We are giving away a copy of Giftology from John Ruhlin. You can receive one by sending me an email at Dave@DaveWakeman.com or Kris an email at Kris@Sendoso.com   Do both even!  Vis...

My guest today is Rick Elmore.  Rick's company www. SimplyNoted.com is really interesting.  We talked about a bunch of stuff: Being human in the sales process Using handwritten notes Using notes at scale Touchpoints The beauty of sales ...and more.  Visit my site at www. DaveWakeman.com Get Talking Tickets at https://talkingtickets.substack.com Join our Slack Channel. 

My guest today is Victor Varnado.  Victor recently launched the Tic Tac Toe Championship.  What an idea?!  We got into a bunch of stuff around: Digital accessibility Creativity ADHD Social Anxiety And, a lot more.  Check out my website at www. DaveWakeman.com   Get the 'Talking Tickets' newsletter at https://talkingtickets.substack.com Join our Slack channel.   

My guest today is Lynn Harris.  Lynn has started a comedy school called GOLD Comedy, but Lynn is a comedian, a producer, and a lot more.  So we got into it about using humor to be better at your job and at life.  In today's conversation, we discussed things like:  Brands wanting to be funny Practice makes funny Diversity as a strength Giving people a place to learn that reflects their lives ...and...

My guest today is Bruce Bryan.  Bruce has written a book called Turning Tables: Everything I Needed to Know About Business I Learned as a Server.  A great premise for a conversation since I credit so much of my marketing skill from my time in night clubs. We talked about a lot of things such as: Empathy, prioritization, and communication Food service as a team sport The humility of a marketer Crea...

What a banger! This one is going to be homework the next time I teach a brand management class.  My guest today is Micaela Piccolo.  Micaela runs an agency called Pony Social and is a fractional CMO with Dano's Dangerous Tequila.  Which is amazing stuff.  We had a deep dive conversation about Dano's, Pony Social, and marketing.  In our conversation, we hit on things such as: Building brand awarene...

My guest today is Vance Morris.  This is a banging episode focused on customer service and giving your customers a "wow." In this conversation, I talk with Vance about: His experience with Disney, NASA, and the Smithsonian.  Memorable service Touchpoints Customer journeys ...and, a whole lot more.  Visit my site at www. DaveWakeman.com Get the newsletter at https://talkingtickets.substack.com Join...

My guest today is Nathaniel Marro.  Nathaniel is the Executive Director of NITO .  We hit on so many big topics in tickets that I can't even begin to touch on everything.  A few of the highlights: Unfair & Predatory Ticketing Fan 2 Fan Resale Lina Khan Touring Sustainability Fee Transparency ...and, a lot more.  Visit my website at www. DaveWakeman.com Get 'Talking Tickets' at https://talkingticke...

This was so much fun.  Until I went back through my notes, I had forgotten how many great nuggets of value James shared with me.  We hit on the idea of stories, but in a way that makes storytelling accessible to anyone.  In today's podcast, I talk with James Warren about: Stories as tools to influence. Audience segmentation Qual v. Quant data How to manage research and data together And, a lot mor...

Brando Rich stops by today and we talk about Phish! Cash or Trade started as a passion project founded on a desire to re-create the community of picking up a ticket to a show you don't have a ticket for.  At the heart of Cash or Trade is a fan to fan ethos.  Today, we discuss a bunch of stuff: Building a community online. Innovation The importance of getting fans into seats so that the seat isn't...

My guest today is Katy Raines.  Katy is the Founder & CEO of Indigo.  This was a great conversation focused on having an audience centered strategy when it comes to building an audince.  We got into a lot of stuff today: Katy's childhood and her introduction to the arts.  Why arts can be too product focused.  How some decisions are made by budget and habit.  Meeting today's audience in new ways. ...

Great conversation with Attila Gazdag today!  Attila is with Dynamo Pricing. You can find them at https://dynamopricing.com We discuss a bunch of things about dynamic pricing including: How do use historical data to set better onsale prices.  "Granular pricing" Finding the right balance in your pricing between automation and being conservative.  "White glove customer service" And, more... You can...

Matt Zarracina is back!  We discuss some new innovations at True Tickets as Matt and the team prepare for INTIX in Las Vegas.  Give them a look and tell them that Dave sent you.  In this episode, I talk with Matt about a bunch of ideas such as: Face value caps Resale and rent seeking behavior Shadow audiences Integration of True Tickets with secondary market platforms And, a lot more.  Check me ou...

My guest today is Brian Bauer from Bauer Entertainment Marketing.  We had a great marketing conversation that I think you are going to learn a ton from.  In today's conversation, we talk about: 1 to 1 marketing Attribution Zero click searches Brand awareness Marketing investments And, just tons more.  A great marketing conversation.  Check out my website at www. DaveWakeman.com Get the 'Talking Ti...

My first, or second, sixth timer on the podcast...Martin Gammeltoft.  My dude is back to talk about a few new things he is working and some really cool stuff he is doing with Culture Suite.  https://www.culturesuite.co I talked to Martin about all kinds of cool stuff including: Radiohead Thinking about websites Developing websites Accessibility in websites Marketing  Data And, more... Visit my web...

Eric Rubio checks in from DC!  We could have have, should have, done this in person... Eric is in non-profit theatre finance and wanted to come on to talk about some of the misconceptions folks have with the idea of being a non-profit.  We talked about some really good stuff on this one: Customer Orientation!  Market research The lens that finance looks at programming through Sustainability Scarci...

This is Lissa's first podcast appearance!  Nailed it!  Lissa is joining me from www. TicketBrokerBooks.com We had a great conversation heading into 2026 about preparing for tax season.  Lissa also shared some ideas on setting up proper dashboards, getting your bookkeeping into the cloud, and a lot more.  Visit me at www. DaveWakeman.com Get the 'Talking Tickets' newsletter at: https://talkingticke...

Happy New Year!  Love this conversation with Josh Litwack from Quantizr.  I saved it so it could be the first conversation you hear me have this year, 2026.  So...get ready to enjoy some great stuff.  Josh and I talk about:  Destigmatizing AI in the arts Josh's favorite band.  The economics of touring AI hype compared to internet hype The neglect of the business side of touring Intentionality + Pu...

My guest today is Matt Ford.  Matt is CEO of Prism. FM. We had a great time talking about all kinds of concert related things such as: The mix of traditional media and email marketing.  What Spotify listens can tell a concert promoter.  Competition. Global touring cycles.  And, a lot more.  Check out Prism at www. Prism. FM Hook up with Matt on LinkedIn . Find me at www. DaveWakeman.com Get 'Talki...

My guest today is Daniel Krizan from TruCrowd. We got together to talk about biometrics in tickets.  The important thing I learned was how much the technology has changed over the last few years.  What was a great solution and a great idea but might have been out of reach is now much more accessible to venues of all sizes.  In our conversation, Daniel and I discuss: GDPR compliance.  Using tools l...

My guest today is Nick Falzon.  As I mention in the show's introduction, Nick is "The Dynamo of Dynamic Pricing" in much the same way that I am "The King of Tickets."  You get the title used on you once...you never stop using it.  It was great to hang out with Nick and talk about all kinds of things such as: How do you prepare for AI. What strategy before tactics looks like especially when you are...