Dave Wakeman's The Business of Fun Podcast

My guest to today is Matt Wolff, from Ticket Time Machine.  We had a good time catching up about the fan experience, "immeasurable data", #PaysToWait and more.  Visit Matt at www. TicketTimeMachine.com Check me out at www. DaveWakeman.com Get Talking Tickets at https://talkingtickets.substack.com   Give me your insights for the 2025 Talking Tickets Global Survey: https://s.surveyplanet.com/hog3tqk...

My guest today is Eric Fuller.  Friend of the podcast, newsletter, and Dave. Eric makes his sixth appearance on the show.  We talk about a range of topics: The economic environment and uncertainty in the ticket market. We talk about the signs of economic uncertainty like crypto.  Eric brings up an idea of "organic" demand. I disagrI'ee because I don't believe in the myth of the "free market".  Tay...

My guest today is Jessica Poole.  She's a long time friend of the podcast, the newsletter, and me! So I wanted to have her on to talk about the work she is doing with the Jessica Poole Communications Collective.  https://thepoolecollective.com We got into it: We talked about the state of NIL Jessica tells me that NIL and revenue can co-exist.  She says that student athletes have to think about the...

Richard Howle returns!  Richard has started a new business called RH Insights.  He has trained an AI to think and speak about tickets just like him.  Amazing!  We had a great conversation about all kinds of things.  A few highlights: Richard tells me about a 15,000 word stream of consciousness chat he had with his GPT.  We talk about being customer focused and how that's been a theme of all of our...

My guest today is Randy Nichols!  I've been working to get Randy on for a few weeks now. Our schedules finally lined up.  We had a great conversation!  Some of the things we hit on: Sports v. Concerts Why he fights the secondary market, or, at least seems to.  Financialization of tickets.  Tools.  And, more. Visit my website: www. DaveWakeman.com You can get my newsletters, but I've also laid out...

My guest today is Jason Lassey.  Jason is the man behind www. FootyIndustry.com . His site is my go-to resource when I want to dig into the numbers behind the different codes in Australia.  Jason wrote a piece on the battle for fans between the AFL and NRL.  I read it and was surprised by his take on the two leagues. So I wanted to have him on to discuss what he sees happening as the NRL and AFL b...

My guest today is Sondra Shannon!  She is CEO of Gatemaster.  We had a great talk about strategy, data, success, and relationships...among other things.  Sondra shared how the annual data review that Gatemaster does leads to celebrating client wins.  We talked about making sure you understand your partners at the start so that you can set each other up for success.  We talked about the philosophy...

My guest today is Keith Pagello.  He's built a new site called www. TicketData.com .  This one interested me because most of the time this data is propriatary to brokers. Keith says that his tool is entirely not for brokers.  We discuss the idea that drives his work.  Keith shares some ways that you can use the data if you are a fan or, even, on the primary side.  We also talk about the business m...

My guest today is Scott Friedman !  You know Scott from his Twitter feed, the 'Ticket Talk' webseries, and the world of ticket resale.  We had a wide ranging conversation this morning about all kinds of topics... A few highlights: We discuss the idea of "free market."  We talk about open distribution.  NFL tickets and season ticket prices.  Scott shares some data from the secondary market around N...

My guest today is Bill Cates.  His new book was released on September 16, 'The Hidden Heist'.  We had a great conversation about sales and parable that drives his new book.  In our conversation, we touch on: The 3 Rs that can help make you successful.  The challenges of drawing people's attention.  Strategy v. Tactics. Differentiation.  Reputation.  Tangible v. Intangible. Plus, more more more!!!...

My guest today is Jakob Eliason.  He's one of the co-founders of Pickleball Pop Ups. 'Pickelball as a service' as Jakob describes the concept.  This one was fun because that's the foundation of what Jakob and his partner and team are doing with the sport.  We had a great conversation about the business model, financialization, and where this idea all began. Spoiler: like a lot of good ideas, it st...

Great episode today... Jacob Hicks is my guest on the podcast.  Find him here: https://jacobhickscoach.com We got into the sales process.  We discuss: Awareness Persusasion's role in selling Insights Relationships and selling Handwritten notes. This is a tool I've used a lot over the years.  The experimentation mindset.  Measuring the right things.  And, a lot more.  I had a lot of fun talking wit...

My guest today is my friend, Hannah Grannemann.  She is working on a book and had more ideas than she knew what to do with...so she came to share them with us.  We hit on tons of topics:  The Kennedy Center Recovery from COVID Funding for the arts Building a bigger base of donors  The relevance of the arts And, much more! Visit my website at www. DaveWakeman.com Get 'Talking Tickets' at https://ta...

Hi!  Fun one today with Albert Bramante.  We went in a bunch of different directions that I didn't expect.  We talked about: Anxiety Mental loops Mindsets Psychology And, more all through the lens of the arts and selling more tickets.  Great fun.  Check out my site at www. DaveWakeman.com. Get 'Talking Tickets' at https://talkingtickets.substack.com  

My guest today is Dan Galpern.  Dan is CEO of DanceOne.  What a great conversation this is.  We discussed how dance impacts every aspect of our lives, even if we don't recognize it.  Dan humors me and talks about the Baldwins.  We discuss dance studios and the thousands of small businesses that dance powers.  Dan shares how he came to be so passionate about dance.  We get into some great things on...

My buddy, Simon Severino, is back.  I wanted to have him come teach us how he turned one webinar into $80,000.  Why? Because it applies to all of us.  We go through Simon's plan for coming up with the idea, filling the webinar, and following up.  Simon also teaches us how he uses AI to create better marketing materials to drive people to his webinars.  Check out Simon's site at www. StrategySprint...

My guest today is Faisal Hoque.  He has a new book,  Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI.  This is a very hopeful conversation because Faisal definitely knows that there are always going to be things that people can do that AI and computers can't.  Our conversation covers a lot of territory including frameworks to make your use of AI effective.  We talk about humanity and the important...

My guest today is Jimi Gibson.  Jimi is a trained magician.  He's used his magic skills to help us understand marketing and strategy a little bit better.  This is a fun conversation.  We talk about Jimi's work at The Thrive Agency and how the unique culture drives impact.  We discuss audience bullseyes and dehumanizing language.  We talk about humanity.  Jimi shares a great lesson from his trainin...

My guest today is Lawrence Amstrong.  He's written a new book,  Layered Leadership: Drive Double Digit Growth and Dominate Your Competition With Creative Strategies and Execution.  This conversation is even more timely than it was when we had it a few weeks ago because we talk about creativity, innovation, and strategy.  Lawrence talks about how his path has taught him resilience.  And, a lot of t...

My guest today is Jill Schulman!  A total badass.  She is a Marine that focuses on teaching people the power of positive psychology so that they can be braver.  This was a conversation I was excited to have because I feel like we all can use a bit more bravery in our lives.  We talked about a ton of cool stuff including: Toxic Positivity Challenges Psychology v. Positive Psychology Taking action A...

My guest today is John Reider!  He is 'The Bubble Man'.  Seriously, it says so on his Teams' handle!  We had a great time talking about John's businesses. He is the king of bubbles and has a number of businesses built around bubbles.  More importantly, we had a chance to uncover a lot of important ideas that will help you with your business like: Listening to your customers.  Understanding that yo...

This is amazing!  Happy 2025 to you all!  My guest today is the owner of Magical Memories Entertainment, Steven Burchard.  We had a great talk about relationships and creating experiences for folks.  This conversation had some serious range because we got from Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers to Fort Knox to Guantanamo Bay and beyond.  A key part of the conversation is how Steven was able t...

Love this episode!  A great conversation with Zack Sugarman.  Zack is the Chief Strategy Officer at Superplastic.  Superplast just opened a brand new IRL space in Las Vegas at Area 15 called Dopeameme. Dopeameme is called "The Institute for Pleasure Research".  This is a way to bring the virtual and the physical together. The experience is includes a RFID tag that will help give you a personalized...

I love this conversation with John Kinsner because John has done so many things as he has made his way to becoming CEO of Black Ink Presents that I can't call our conversation anything less than a love letter to the business.  We discuss a ton of things today: We talk about the tour for 'Labryinth'. John's experience sweeping floors, cleaning bathrooms, and all the other jobs he did on the way to...

This is a special conversation that comes from a LinkedIn Live I did with Bruce Eckfelt and William Lieberman.  We discuss KPIs.  You can find me at www. DaveWakeman.com Sign up for my newsletters on my website.  Tell me who you want to hear from and what topics you want to learn about by sending me an email Dave@DaveWakeman.com