Dave Wakeman's The Business of Fun Podcast

My guest today is Jon Allen from TKT.com. We had a good time talking about TKT's move to the European market.  Jon teaches me about taking a US tech focused approach to the hospitality ticket market in Europe.  We talk about opportunity.  We also hit upon the importance of speaking the language of the market you are in.  Jon talks about staying in line with GDPR.  And, much more.  You can find Jon...

I've got Andrew Recinos on the podcast today!  Andrew is the CEO of Tessitura.  He came to me with a great idea: we have our podcast conversation built around the ideas I share with folks in 'The Fans for Life' workshop.  We discussed ideas such as: Why Andrew enjoys my POV of looking at tickets through the gamut of tickets sold.  We discuss the idea of inspiration from outside of the world of art...

What a fun episode!  Yaniv Zaid is my guest today. We had a great time!  Yaniv's new book is called 'The 21st Century Sales Bible' and it will help you sell more tickets, services, and products of all kinds.  Authenticy is the key to success in the 21st century and we cover what that means exactly.  Trust. Relevance. Balance.  At the core of Dr. Zaid's message, "love". Love for other people.  www....

I'm reposting my conversation with Steve.  The original show notes didn't publish only my bulleted notes about what I wanted to say.  I had some bad weather in my area and the disruption in internet and power threw me for a loop.  Enjoy a picture of the tree that fell in my driveway. My guest today is Steve Cook.  Steve is CEO of TCG Entertainment.  We talk about the 15th anniversary of Cirque Mus...

Hi!  I'm creating a class called "Markets and Competition: Strategy for Modern Times" and as I'm putting it together, I want to share the journey with you.  Today, I recorded a quick webinar called "Strategy 101".  In this webinar, we talked about 7 ideas that I think will give you a strong foundation in strategy.  My 5 question strategy framework Why strategy isn't planning Strategy is about elim...

My guest today is Angela Meleca. What a great conversation.  We got into a really interesting conversation about: Arts' business models Funding Arts as a business The public value of the arts Framing conversations Measuring the impact of arts And, much more!  You can find Angela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelapmeleca Meleca Creative Advisors:  https://www.melecacreative.com Visit m...

My guest today is Stephen Glicken from Project Admission.  You have heard from Stephen before, but I wanted to have a chat about what Project Admission has been working on... Including new areas of focus and big new partnership announcements.  This episode was delayed due to a personal situation. So the references to visiting them at the Tessitura conference in DC are outdated.  My bad.  You can g...

I have two guests today: David Hornby and Michael McDermott.  David is the Managing Director Northern Europe, UK, and Ireland for SecuTix and Michale McDermott is the General Manager of the Americas for SecuTix.  We had a really great conversation that hit on a ton of really great ideas and concepts.  In this episode, we talk about: Tech and change in tickets The secondary market Customer focus To...

Brian Hess is back!  We are talking sports washing.  I thought I had a better grasp on the subject than I did. But Brian discusses the many ways that sports washing presents a challenge to sports fans in America, outside of the obvious ones.  We discuss the possibility of foreign investment in the NFL, LIV, and more. We also hit on the way that these investments can impact our policies as a countr...

I loved this conversation because I totally got Sabrina Carrazzo worked up about teaching, women's sports, and helping international soccer teams enter the US market.  Sabrina and Asli Pelit teach a sports PR and communications class at NYU. They invited me to give a guest lecture earlier in the year.  I loved the way that Sabrina nurtured, challenged, and taught her students.  So I wanted to get...

My guest today is Jason Velez from the Staten Island Ferry Hawks.  I've known Jason for a long time. So long that he has one of the OG Dave business cards.  So, it was great to catch up with Jason.  We hit on 3 big topics in this episode: Selling based on value Competing with bigger brands and bigger teams Unique promotions We talk about the Ferry Hawks partnership with the Wu Tang Clan.  We talk...

Lauren Teague returns!  Lauren is the CEO of FanWgn . She has created an idea that is called "Second Fan Fashion" and it is very cool.  FanWgn ties together a few of Lauren's favorite things: Sports Fashion Tech Sustainability In this episode, we talk about Lauren's career path and how she went from an employee to a sole business to a founder.  We hit on the importance of strategy. Se talk about f...

My guest today is Chris Pantani.  Chris is the GM of the NY Mavericks of the Professional Bull Riders.  We talk about bull riding and why there is now a professional bull riding team representing New York City.  I find out that there is a long history of professional bull riding in NYC.  We also talk about the makeup of bullriding, the history of the sport, and the ambition going forward.  Chris s...

Today is the 200th episode of 'The Business of Fun' podcast! You didn't think I would not have something special prepared, did you?  I will share some lessons learned and some things I'm thinking about and paying attention to.  You can come work with me in NYC on September 4th, 2024...I've recreated 'Fans For Life' for the current world we live in. Find out what I'm up to by visiting my website at...

My guest today is Solene Jimenez. She is Head of International Development for arenametrix. www.arenametrix.com This is Solene's first podcast appearance and we had a good time.  Of course, she didn't tell me it was her first podcast until we'd finished recording. I like to make the first podcast appearance fun and easy for folks.  We talked about culture especially from Solene's unique experience...

I have a good conversation for you today with Alasdair Crawley from FanBase .  We had a great time talking about sports business including: Why sports business is at a crossroads. The challenge of getting the basics right.  Data v. research Balancing the short term and long term in fanbase building.  The power of experience... And, much more.  I'm going to be on tour this year... On sales will be...

I haven't always been a champion sleeper.  Like a lot of my friends, I haven't always had a regular bedtime due to work, school, social life, whatever.  In college, at the University of Alabama, I couldn't be torn from the things going on in my dorm. I was so excited to see everything...I didn't want to miss a thing.  Later on, I was working 3 or more jobs to pay for school including working night...

Today's episode is personal because it is about the proposed arena in Northern VA.  My guest is Brian Hess from I Street Advisors. Like me, Brian lives in the area.  We discuss the arena at length: The nature of the market and where attendance comes from.  Public subsidies. The 50/50 bet at the heart of the deal.  Whether or not the District's offer to Monumental makes sense.  Traffic.  More!  Do...

Jeffrey Shaw, author of  The Self-Employed Life,  teaches me some great lessons about positioning, strategy, marketing, branding, and sales.  Listen and find out how selling eggs explains all of this.  I'm hosting a FREE strategy webinar on 31 January 2024 at 11 AM Eastern called 'Beyond Boom and Bust'. Join the 'Talking Tickets' Slack Channel .  Send me your questions about driving attendance in...

This is a me episode with a recording of my 'First Wednesday with Dave' session from December where we talk about planning for 2024.  I'm hosting a FREE strategy webinar on 31 January 2024 at 11 AM Eastern called 'Beyond Boom and Bust'. Join the 'Talking Tickets' Slack Channel .  Send me your questions about driving attendance in 2024. I'm going to use a few in an upcoming episode of 'The Business...

"What do scalpers really like to see when a ticket goes on-sale?" That question popped up in my inbox about a week ago. It got me thinking about the questions that people ask me when they want to know how to "stop" the secondary market or whether or not to work with the secondary market.  So, I had Martin Haigh from Total Tickets come on to discuss this topic since he's just put together a special...

My guest today, Caspian Turner, helps me answer that question and shows us how you can take some easy steps to solve the problem for yourself.  I want you to be more a part of 'The Business of Fun'.  What does that mean?  Send me your questions about strategy: Is there an issue you are constantly struggling with? Is there something going on in your business that you don't think people are paying e...

I've got the TiqAssist guys on today.  Chris Babu and Jamie Zimmerman.  www.tiqassist.com   We got into a bunch of stuff like: How feeling pain as STHs led them to start TiqAssist. Jumping careers to get into sports.  The "strain" of resale for season ticket holders. The cash offer that TiqAssist makes to help make people have a bit more "peace of mind" Let me know what you think: Dave@DaveWakeman...

My guest today is Drew McManus from UpStage CRM: www.upstagecrm.io   We had a great time catching up in Seattle at INTIX and now we've gone and done a podcast!  We hit on a lot of topics like what led Drew to start UpStage.  I put Drew on the spot and make him define "one size fits none". We discuss where he gets his ideas from.  Why focusing on the minimum amount of functionality is magic.  And,...

I have Mark Herschberg back today to talk about his new app, Brain Bump.  This is a really cool tool that lets you bring learning with you wherever you are. I've been taking part in the launch and it enables me to provide bite sized nuggets and insights to you so that you can access the ideas that you want to use when you need them.  Check out my friends at Cover Genius: www.covergenius.com Pay sp...