Our YC Interview Experience

So we didn't get the call. Bummed but happy with our answer for the reason given by yc for not funding us as its surmountable. We were comforted a little by some progress we made this afternoon with one of the pro NBA sports teams we are discussing pogoseat with and working toward an initial exploratory seat upgrade release test with a very limited number of seats so the can can experiment with it and get the feeling for how it would work and operate in conjunction to complement dynamic pricing which they are experimenting with this year too for pre-game start ticket pricing. we of course would like to do our own in-game dynamic pricing for upgrades as game gets further in and off of game events once we collect enough data to provide it.

Paul didn't think we sufficiently convinced them how our seat upgrade pricing strategy was going to work, which i dont feel we did either, and that we wouldn't be able to reach an optimal price discount % that works for the upgradeable seats without diluting regular ticket sales. valid concern.we were not prepared to answer both of these questions satisfactorily during our time with them.

Lets consider a 0% discount to what the ticket would cost to purchase by an individual fan, perhaps we may find pricing is optimized somewhere between there and the minimum price threshold that must be paid in total by an upgrading fan which is the price that upgraded to seat costs a season ticket holder per game on average.

We can and will increase revenue streams for the venues and sports franchises. Price discount on seat is not necessary if demand or the venues preference doesn't dictate the need. We will be making money in other areas outside of seat upgrades such as in-game data analytics we will be able to collect and down the road from a revenue share with other 3rd party developer apps that sit on our pogoseat fan entertainment platform and make a fan's experience at the game more engaging, entertaining and memorable.

So below is our response to Paul, still learning as we go along too so feedback or any critiques are welcome and appreciated.

--

thanks for your time. we apologize we were not able to communicate more clearly our strategy of generating additional revenue streams for venues. your comments will absolutely help us in our future talks with venues.

1. we understand what you're saying. i believe you think that upgrades will incentivize fans to buy cheap seats and then upgrade and that the total dollars of those 2 tickets will be less than if a fan bought a good seat to start with. this is a valid argument and one we've thought over and talked to numerous venues with.

2. both seat upgrades and dynamic pricing are different solutions to the same problem. we are of the opinion that dynamic pricing is a long way from completely eliminating empty seats. if ever. i think both elements will play a part in maximizing venue revenue.

3. the venue has the option to simply charge the actual price difference between 2 seats (0% discount). some scenarios where this may come into play include:

    * a fan ends up in a undesirable section (wrong fans, rowdy fans, unexpected poor view, etc)
    * through our social layer you discover friends who you didn't know were at the game, and they're in a different section with upgradeable seats next to them
    * you scope out a section with a cute girl, fun-loving fans, etc
    * fans may not want to be committed to attending an event and buy nosebleed seats.  once at the game, however, the fan may want to make the best out of the opportunity and want to upgrade

4. bottom line is that fan's emotions and actions change once in the game (especially after a few beers and when the game is close).

5. lastly, you mentioned today that you were worried that investors would be pushing us to move quickly, while it's in our interest to move slow. fortunately for us, we have plenty of investment capital and the huge allure of yc to us was your mentorship and the resources that the yc network could provide (including our fellow classmates of course). to this point, if you know of any hackers in the event ticketing world, we would absolutely love a warm introduction if you feel comfortable providing one.

once again, thank you for your time. we wish you the best of luck with your newest batch of yc teams. there were some strong minds and great energy in the room today and there should be no shortage of excitement and creativity this summer

Just as a comment on your idea, it is pretty cool - I'd use it in conjunction with Stub-hub somehow.

Here is my situation - I have seasons tickets to the Toronto Blue Jays in the upper deck. The tickets are worth $12 bucks each game, but I only pay $1.35 with the seasons pass (no joke). If person X doesn't sell their ticket on Stubhub by gametime, I get a text message or push notification saying that I can upgrade my seat for $10 to sit 10 rows from first - I'm doing that for sure. But if its at all close to the original price then not a chance. I'm thinking it would have to be under 25% of original price for me to budge (I'm cheap)

From a team perspective, wouldn't this encourage people to get worse seats and gamble to try to get better ones?

Just something to think about

Is the assumption that all seats do not get sold at a game/concert so people that already have tickets to the event can upgrade their seat just prior to the event starting - so you're trying to capture that incremental revenue that otherwise would have been flushed down the toilet?

Great job Abel and Evan! Great to see Founders Network members doing well. Pogoseat is a simple idea, easy for consumers to get, easy to use and a strong business case for venues ~ additional revenue per attendee.

Great idea! You always see empty seats at sporting events, and wonder if you could sneak into them.

Being able to sell them at discount allows stadiums/venues to gain revenue they otherwise wouldn't have.

being a founder of pogoseat, i'd like to add that our new friend amir connected us with his bud at the houston rockets, winston. winston has already setup a meeting with us tomorrow morning and indicated that the rockets have explored in-game seat upgrades and would be interested in learning what we do and discovering how upgrades can work in conjunction with dynamic pricing. great example of cool people meeting cool people and helping each other out! thanks again amir!