Adam Kanner of ScoreBig on #162

Tuesday

Jul122011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 07:13PM

TWiST #162 with Adam Kanner of ScoreBig
Ever missed out on an awesome concert or the game of the year because the ticket price was just too steep? We have--and so had Adam Kanner. A former NBA exec who had seen too many seats go empty, he decided to do something about it and founded ScoreBig. In this episode, Adam tells viewers all about the business model, the dilemma of scaling and why he's happy to be a risk-taking entrepreneur.

0:00-1:00 Today on TWiST, we have Adam Kanner from ScoreBig.
1:00-2:00 Welcome everyone. Pleased to see that people enjoyed the Fred Wilson episode while I was away.
2:00-3:30 Thank you to the members of the TWiST List. If you want to join this private club, go to www.twistlist.co.
3:30-4:00 Tyler, how’s Skweal going?
4:00-6:45 Thank you to MailChimp for sponsoring the show.
6:45-7:45 Welcome to the program, Adam.
7:45-9:00 Tell the audience what ScoreBig is and what problem it solves.
9:00-9:30 Jason demonstrates searching for tickets on ScoreBig.
9:30-10:00 How do you set the price points?
10:00-12:00 Do brands have a concern that if their ticket prices are discounted the fans won’t perceive them as in demand enough?
12:00-13:15 So if the concession on your part that people don’t get to pick their exact seat?
13:15-14:15 How do you view StubHub and other scalpers or brokers? Are they competitors of collaborators?
14:15-15:30 Is it easy to build customer loyalty with a business like this?
15:30-17:25 What has the reaction been from the venues for say, MLB games? Are they embracing it?
17:25-19:45 You spent some time at the NBA before starting this company. What did you learn there about how to fill seats, especially in smaller markets?
19:45-20:45 What’s the most challenging part of the business right now?
20:45-22:15 How much of a typical sports team's revenue is from ticket sales versus concessions and merchandise?
22:15-22:45 When we return from the commercial break I want to talk about how you turn a profit on such tight margins.
22:45-24:30 Thank you to Squarespace for sponsoring the show.
24:30-25:15 So lets talk about patents. Did you get clearance to do this reverse auction model?
25:15-27:15 What do you think about business patents in general as an entrepreneur?
27:15-28:00 Tyler, what do you think about software patents?
28:00-29:45 What’s the market like for people with an A round under their belt? Was it easy to raise?
29:45-30:30 It seems like this time around there's legitimate revenue.
30:30-31:45 You've got four startups under your belt. What's your take on the stance that you can't be an entrepreneur over the age of 40?
31:45-32:30 Are you more risk taking now than you were in your 20s?
32:30-34:00 Internet usage and user growth has been flat in the US, so where is your growth going to come from? Are you looking internationally?
34:00-35:45 What has the impact of discounters like PriceLine been to the travel business?
35:45-38:45 How did you go about balancing inventory and demand?
38:45-39:15 Adam: One thing I can say is we’re going to be here at the end of the day.
39:15-40:15 Do your partners have access to members’ email addresses? Can they reach out to them directly?
40:15-41:45 You’re not doing a lot of Google ads. What’s your strategy there?
41:45-42:30 Have you experimented with subsidizing the sale of tickets and offering massive discounts?
42:30-43:00 Continued success, Adam. Thank you for joining us today.
43:00-45:45 Monetizing a business like this is always interesting.
45:45-48:00 Let’s take an ‘Ask Jason’ call.
48:00-48:15 How are you doing, Phil? Where are you calling from?
48:15-49:30 Phil’s question: I’ve just launched by used car search side project (CarSpy.co) and I’m trying to promote it with a blog. But all the keywords I want to get are hard to come by. Should I try to target less in-demand keywords?
49:30-51:00 Phil, you don’t have a chance in hell of getting SEO. A blog isn’t a bad idea, but you might also scrape the pictures from other services and have users add reviews.
51:00-54:00 Here’s an idea: Take your iPhone and get some video of yourself reviewing used and for sale cars.
54:00-56:00 I think there’s a huge market for video taped used car listings.
56:00-58:00 CarSpy.co--the name is great and your design looks good. Have the other sites found out about you yet?
58:00-1:00:00 What’s your day job?
1:00:00-1:01:00 Tyler: Data can become news and you’re not subject to an algorithm.
1:01:00- Thank you to Adam, MailChimp and Squarespace.

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FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Jason: @jason
Tyler: @steepdecline
ScoreBig: @scorebig
CarSpy: @carspyco

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