Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events Podcast

Three 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 goin...

Three 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 emotion...

Three 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...

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 an...

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 e...

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....

Three 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...

1. 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 disq...

Three 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...

Three 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 with...

Three 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 "...

Three 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 o...

Three 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...

Three 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 ju...

Three 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 t...

Three 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 fo...

Three 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,...

1. 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 ma...

Three 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 wor...

Three 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...

Three 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. Prote...

1. "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...

Getting 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 p...

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 th...