TickPick Raises $40M In First Funding Round

Ticket marketplace TickPick has raised $40 million in funding from PWP Growth Equity, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday (Aug. 5). 

This is the first institutional funding for TickPick, which was founded by Brett Goldberg and Chris O’Brien in 2011. The company is expecting to expedite $200 million worth of transactions in 2019, up 60 percent year over year, the report said.

The co-founders, who roomed together in college, serve as co-CEOs and originally created the site so people could bid for tickets. It has since transformed into a no-hidden-fees marketplace.

O’Brien told the news outlet that the original functionality of ticket price bidding is there, but has “fallen by the wayside quite a bit.” 

Instead of having add-on fees that surprise people at the end of a transaction, TickPick rolls everything into one price so users know exactly what they will be paying.

Competitors have tried similar tactics but don’t stick with the model because of price competition and expectations. As Goldberg put it, “everyone’s assuming there will be fees tacked on at the end.” 

Keeping all fees upfront and visible is “just so core to our brand and messaging,” Goldberg said.

The TickPick model satisfies people who expect to purchase tickets for events and shows as soon as they go on sale, and without hidden fees. On the flip side, this model also satisfies sellers who want to receive their funds just minutes after transactions are finalized.

Keeping prices transparent in an instant payments ecosystem is crucial to competing in the increasingly saturated online ticket sales market, Goldberg said in July. Transparent pricing and lower fees are key factors that allow TickPick to differentiate itself from rival services like StubHub.

Satisfying both sides’ expectations means platforms facilitating these transactions must quickly meet their payment needs. In addition, these marketplaces must ensure buyers know what they will pay from the start — and that sellers realize how much they will take home as soon as they offer tickets.