Tickets

What have Harry Potter, Steve Wozniak, Los Angeles County School Board and the Indian Prime Minister got in common?

They’ve all been part of the story of Kano, a London based computer company intertwining technology, education and entertainment.

Today on Tickets I’m joined by Kano’s co-founder Alex Klein.

We talk about the future of collective experiences, overcoming the dark times as an entrepreneur, the key ingredients of a compelling Kickstarter campaign, and how a 6 year old’s question was the catalyst for what has become one of the most exciting new computer companies around.

Alex’s thoughts on using creativity to mobilise and empower people are inspiring - I hope you enjoy this conversation as much I did.

02:30: Kano's origin story

08:00: 3 key factors for a successful Kickstarter campaign

12:30: Assumptions in the early days of Kano

15:30: What's in the box

20:00: Blending education and entertainment

25:00: Working with teachers and schools

29:00: Alex's advice for entrepreneurs starting out

33:00: New forms of audience building and creating shared experience

37:00: What's in store for Kano in 2019

We're back! Tickets returns for its second season this November. Here's a brief introduction to this season and a bit of back story on how we got to now.

On the guest list today is James Beshara, global head of concerts at Airbnb.

James leads Airbnb’s growing presence in the world of music experiences, providing guests, hosts and artists with new opportunities to share and enjoy live music.

Inevitably it was at our season finale that we finally encountered a ton of of technical problems.

Luckily James was more than accommodating - letting us overrun so we got a decent amount of time to chat and rescuing the episode by setting up the recording on his side as my laptop was misbehaving so much. 

Listen on for James’s insights into the way Airbnb think about experiences, the importance of intimate concerts, and where to find the best green room in LA. 

Episode overview

04:00 Airbnb concerts’ start point

08:30 The growth of music consumption in digital vs live

12:00 Scaling human connection through music

14:00 Learnings from Tilt into Airbnb

17:00 The Airbnb concerts business model -from early stage artists to international headliners

22:00 Differentiating in a crowded market

27:00 A pop up green room in Los Angeles

What do you get if you combine circus performance, immersive theatre, and electronic music? The answer is Elrow, a global events brand based in Barcelona.

The party started at a venue in the city in 2010, but this business goes back to the mid 19th century, staying in the same family for nearly 150 years.

On the guest list today is Victor de la Serna, Elrow’s global talent director, overseeing programming for events around the world. 

In this highly entertaining conversation, we talk about the importance of thinking about the long game, how to stay ahead in a competitive market, and when mud and rain aren’t as bad as they seem.

Episode overview

04:00 The family business from 1870 to today

22:00 Why Barcelona is such a hotspot

24:30 The secret behind the ‘Tickets’ name

27:30 The tipping point for Elrow from local party to global brand

35:00 Elrow’s themes

46:00 Staying ahead in a competitive market, and maintaining work/life balance

51:00 Taking over one of London’s busiest shopping districts

Think about the last trip you booked. You may have done it all from your mobile phone.

Flights - Kayak or SkyScanner.

Hotels? Expedia, Tablet, or maybe Hotel Tonight

Transfers - well, Uber and Lift make it easy

But what about a tour, an exhibition or an attraction at your destination? Even if the booking is online you may still need a paper ticket to gain entry. It’s a headache for both consumers and businesses alike.

On the guest list today is Leith Stevens of Redeem, a Colorado based startup building digital ticket solutions for experiences around the globe.

In this conversation Leith gives us an insight into the inner workings of the tourism industry, the most interesting shifts in the ticketing business, and valuable advice for startups in all industries looking to go and build the right thing.

Episode Overview

04:00 How technology has impacted travel and tourism - from flights to hotels and tours

13:00 Lessons learned from startup 1 to startup 2

16:30 Disney’s Magic Band and the growth of multi-day passes for attractions

21:00 The fragmented tours and attractions market in 2018

23:30 A branding and digital marketing challenge

25:30 Starting Redeam - failed experiments and successful anchors

31:30 Trends in the ticketing business

35:30 Growth in the timeslot model

39:20 Resellers, distributors and secondary markets

41:30 Taking a trip to the Mexican cenotes

As the retail apocalypse looms large, the hospitality and entertainment industries are sitting up to take note, and the world of commercial office real estate is coming under threat like never before. The big question is what happens next.

On the guest list today is Bart Higgins, a partner at the international innovation consultancy WhatIf.

Bart runs the firm’s 4D Experience practice, helping companies across retail, workspace, hospitality and entertainment identify new business models, create better experiences and build their internal capabilities.

In this conversation Bart shares his insights into what other industries can learn from retail’s struggles, the future of the company town, and how real estate owners can reimagine the experiences they provide.

Episode overview:

05:00 Lucky breaks and designing a workplace for Wired Magazine

13:00 Reimagining retail store design - people, place and technology

19:00 Lessons from Little Waitrose and Whole Foods

27:00 The new commercial opportunity in the world of work

30:00 The office apocalypse, the 3 models of real estate ownership, and 3 big shifts

37:00 The future of the company town

42:00 Advice for real estate developers

45:00 The emergence of an important new hybrid role

47:30 Managing tension between old and new working styles

52:00 Thinking human

55:00 Iron Maiden and supermarket shocks

Make a list of the most respected international festivals and Sonar is bound to feature. Starting in 1994 as a 3,000 capacity event in Barcelona, Sonar has grown to host over 120,000 attendees in the city each year and now has a presence in locations as diverse as Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Hong Kong.

On the guest list today is Ventura Barba, CEO of Sonar’s parent company Advanced Music. Having known the Sonar founders since that very first edition, he spent time at BMG and Yahoo Music before reconnecting with the founding team in 2009.

In this conversation we talk about how Sonar take their concept into new cities around the globe, the importance of featuring new technologies, and how brands are deepening their partnerships with festivals.

Episode overview: 02:30 Sonar from 1994 to 2018 07:30 Expanding around the world and thinking about creative networks first 16:00 Sonar’s technology focus 26:00 Going out of your comfort zone to enable longevity 28:00 Brands as co-creators

On the guest list today is Mia Tramz, Editorial Director of Enterprise and Immersive Experiences at Time Magazine.

Following a degree in Visuals Arts at Columbia University, Mia began her career as a photo editor before branching out into VR through her role running Time’s Life VR initiative.

In this conversation Mia talks about how she tackles telling compelling VR stories across over 30 brands, what’s it like to run a startup within a large organisation, the 4 levels of VR immersion, and reveals a life-changing night in the company of Gwen Stefani and Weezer.

Episode overview:

09:00 Taking a visual arts degree into photo editing and VR

12:00 Approaching VR across 30+ brands

19:00 Advice for startups interacting with brands and agencies

22:00 The 4 levels of immersion and the roadmap for VR and AR over the next few years

33:00 Identifying and hiring talent

40:30 The most exciting tracks for storytelling in VR

44:00 Productivity tips and staying ahead

47:00 90s concerts from Weezer to Hedwig and the Angry Inch

On the guest list today are Will Prince and Charlie Marshall, principals at Parc Office, a New York based experience design practice.

Blending digital technology with physical environments, Parc’s projects include Google’s Cultural Institute, flagship store design for Adidas, reimagining Le Meridien hotel in Istanbul, and creating a modern day fashion Museum for Gucci in Florence.

Listen on for the duo’s insights into the impact of Instagram, how they assess new technologies, customising experiences for local audiences, and tales of jet-lagged Parisian bar crawls.

Episode overview

09:00 Parc’s founding principles

14:30 Positioning and meeting market needs

21:00 What clients are thinking about today

28:00 Retail strategies

35:00 Innovation and the trough of disillusionment

45:00 Choosing technologies and learning from failure

55:00 Designing for the hospitality industry

62:00 The dive bar experience

The numerous challenges facing venues of all shapes and sizes have been well documented over the past few years.

So how do you go about creating a new place for arts and music in one of the world’s most competitive real estate markets?

Dhruv Chopra is one of the three co-founders of Elsewhere, a 24,000 sq ft space in New York that opened at the end of 2017. After a childhood playing in a wide range of bands, Dhruv spent 5 years as an investment manager at Capricorn, before making the move to start his journey with Elsewhere.

Listen on for Dhruv’s insights into fundraising, managing risk, making the most of data, and the 3 key pillars for local talent to thrive.

Episode highlights:

09:00 The start of Popgun promotions (now the in-house promotion team at Elsewhere)

16:00 Taking Elsewhere from idea to opening night

23:00 Utilising data and handling construction

29:00 The logistics of operating a venue

33:00 Being friends and founders

42:00 The future of art and music spaces

51:00 The 3 key pillars to support creative talent