Weve built a very strong business, all on the background, backbone, of our product and building a platform that fans, promoters, artists, teams, are all really eager to be a part of.
Brian Sozzi:
Yeah. Were showing some of the competitors
up there and a good many of them we have talked to. Do you think theres going to be consolidation in this space, Jack?
Jack Groetzinger:
I dont have a firm stance on that. I think we as a company are ultimately focused on the fan and creating the best experiences for fans. There may be
some opportunities for other companies to do that more effectively if they combine, but ultimately our North Star is how do we get people going to more events? How do we allow rightsholders, teams, promoters to put on more events? And if
consolidation were something that helped facilitate that, wed be absolutely open to it, but its not a necessary part of our plan.
Julie
Hyman:
And Jack, again, as we showed those various competitors, Ive been trying to understand how SeatGeek is trying to distinguish itself from
those competitors. I mean, what makes you guys different from the Ticketmasters and StubHubs of the world?
Jack Groetzinger:
Ticketing is this industry that on one hand, I think, delivers some of the best, most life-affirming moments that you can have, and yet historically has been a
big pain for a lot of people to actually buy tickets to. You get hidden fees. You dont know exactly what youre getting. You often have to buy way in advance. SeatGeek exists to solve all that. And we specifically do that via technology.
SeatGeek, unlike other companies out there, is vertically integrated, front to back, meaning we have a robust consumer marketplace. We also have a really powerful piece of software that venues use to operate their business. And thats all part
of a single platform, which means that we can just deliver a much more seamless user experience than those companies which are really just playing one of the many roles in that value chain.
Brian Sozzi:
Jack, youre merging with a SPAC. And now
theres been a lot of scrutiny on the SPAC space and how some of these companies have come to market. From a leadership and an executive team standpoint how are you preparing to become a public company and avoid really a lot of these pitfalls
that have befallen on many SPAC companies?
Jack Groetzinger:
Weve been preparing this for a long time and were really excited to be close to the finish line. We are partnered with a SPAC, RedBall, that we
have incredible esteem for. Theyve got a really deep track record in entertainment, in sports, and actually owning and operating companies and making them successful. And theyve been tremendous partners throughout this. This is
ultimately a way for us to get public. We see it as a financing event. What we see as an incredible milestone for our company. I believe that in three years, no one will remember if SeatGeek went public via SPAC or IPO. They will remember if we have
built something iconic that is changing the industry. And that is what we are focused on.
Julie Hyman:
That makes sense, I would say. Coachella is going on. So Im going to ask you about that specific event. Billie Eilish, Harry Styles are headlining,
Im told because I didnt know, but Im just curious when you look at an event like that, how the distribution is going for something like that versus, I mean, it did happen last year, I believe, but what is now? I imagine
theres more demand this year than there was last year.