Super Deal or Super Swindle?

So.....we popped our Techcrunch cherry today. To be honest, it feels better than I thought. At first glance, I was a bit perturbed by the use of the word "swindle." To me, a swindler is a thief and I certainly don't consider myself a crook. Having said that, I completely understand the point Michael is making and respect his domain expertise. In a nutshell, the ticket industry can be very shady. This I know from first, second, and third hand experience. But this is EXACTLY why I wanted to start a venture in this crazy space. If you can navigate through the minefield with rigor and common sense, there is a tremendous opportunity. One of the main reasons we started yoonew was to bring transparency, efficiency, and integrity to the ticket industry. I'm happy to say we are well on our way. I especially enjoyed the comments (good, bad, and indifferent).

On another note, I'd like to set the record straight on the 401k story once and for all. When Gos and I first started in the summer of '04 we didn't have any money, any tickets, any technology, any office, any employees, any anything. We were 2 guys with delusions of grandeur living in Cambridge.......trying to see if this yoonew thing would grow legs. Our Super Bowl experience worked out great! Made money and everything. 2005 Final Four........a completely different story.

That year was ridiculous. As soon as I got off the plane in St. Louis I got the word that a college coach was publicly arrested for reselling his tickets. The fear of imprisonment dramatically restricted the available supply of tickets. To add insult to injury, Illinois fans were buying any and every ticket available. Sometimes, even out bidding ticket brokers. (Simple ECON 101: low supply meets high demand). At that point we had two options. I could either tell our customers we didn't have their tickets and go out of business. Or, I could do what any confident, dedicated, founder would do. Man up and make $hit happen. I chose to liquidate my 401k and buy tickets for our customers. It was a no brainer.

That incident was March/April 2005. We've since raised millions, developed strategic relationships, and built some very innovative and powerful technology. Although it hurt me financially, it was the greatest crash course into the ticket industry. I literally witnessed the entire value chain of a ticket sale. The chain is soooooooooooo long and soooooooooo inefficient. At the same time, I watched (in amazement) ticket brokers, or ticket traders, buying and selling on cell phones and trading tickets/cash all weekend long. It was a frenzy that could have rivaled the most boisterous stock trading floor. That's when I knew we were on to something.

A ticket is just like any other commodity. People value tickets differently and this value can change at any time for any or no reason. The only true platform to efficiently transfer such a commodity is an exchange........the yoonew exchange.

I love firsts. Can't wait for the next one.