SeatGeek

𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 40 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙚: 𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨 𝘿’𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙯𝙖, 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙚𝙚𝙠 💺 Three-time Forty Under 40 nominee Russell D'Souza has spent the last 16 years building SeatGeek from a scrappy startup into live sports’ No. 2 ticketing marketplace. It's been a journey that hit its most emotional moment in 2021, when he looked around AT&T Stadium at 73,000 fans and realized: “We’re back.” Since then, D'Souza has helped lead SeatGeek’s rebound by stepping into a more client-facing role as President of Supply. He’s driven major partnerships with Paciolan and Major League Baseball, adding more than a billion dollars in inventory, while strengthening relationships with teams and leagues across the NFL, NBA, PGA, LPGA, NWSL and others. A product builder at heart, D'Souza swapped traditional sales pitches for collaborative whiteboarding sessions — a nod to the creative spark he inherited from his father, a scientist credited with inventing the Listerine strip. Today, he’s focused on solving problems for fans, teams and venues, all while supporting a global, remote-first SeatGeek workforce. Congratulations to Russ D'Souza for his induction into SBJ's Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame: https://ow.ly/RXFo50XrWL0

Jacob Feldman highlights the fundamental shift in how fans search for and buy tickets - with AI-powered tools moving from the background into everyday decision making. Eric Waller shared how SeatGeek is adapting, giving fans a smarter, more intuitive way to discover their next live-event moment. We’re emphasizing richer user reviews and imagery to give AI more context to work with, while continuing to secure official partnerships with key teams and venues to strengthen the quality of the data fueling those experiences. Read the full piece in Sportico 👇 https://lnkd.in/gJZ32zix

What a weekend at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships! 🏇 This year marked our first as the official ticketing partner of Breeders’ Cup, and we couldn’t miss the chance to show up in full force at our other SeatGeek partner venue, the iconic Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. From the gates to the grandstands, SeatGeek’s technology helped deliver a seamless experience for fans and partners alike. These organizations’ commitment to innovation and the fan experience mirrors our own, making this partnership all the more special. To cap off the weekend, we also brought together stakeholders from across the horse racing industry for a reception at the historic The Lodge at Torrey Pines — a perfect backdrop for conversations about the future of racing and how technology can help elevate every moment of the live experience. We’re proud to support world-class partners like Breeders’ Cup and Del Mar as they modernize operations and create unforgettable fan experiences. #BreedersCup #DelMar #Ticketing

We’re excited to welcome Matthew Herman as SeatGeek’s new Chief Marketing Officer. Matt joins us from Wayfair, where he led Search, Recommendations, and Marketing Technology across their $12B e-commerce platform. With deep experience at the intersection of marketing, technology, and data science, he’s uniquely positioned to help guide SeatGeek through a new era of AI-driven discovery and personalization in marketing. Welcome to the team, Matt! https://lnkd.in/gpUshnzZ

What happens when new fans step into a beloved arena? In our most recent All Access Pass conversation, “Building a New Fan Base Under the Same Roof,” we explored how two of SeatGeek’s primary ticketing partners are building new fan communities under the same roof. Nick Nielson, Vice President of Ticket Ops at Smith Entertainment Group, and Ron Velazquez, Senior Vice President of Ticket Ops at Rocket Arena, joined SeatGeek’s Alexis Martinez to discuss how teams can welcome new franchises while preserving the traditions that make their venues feel like home. From the Utah Mammoth finding a home in Salt Lake City to Cleveland’s surge of excitement for its future WNBA team, both shared how they’re introducing new team identities, reaching untapped audiences, and deepening their cities’ connection to live events. #FanExperience #LiveEntertainment #SportsBusiness

Thank you to our ¡DALE! employee resource group (ERG) for hosting an incredible Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. From inspiring guest speakers and self-advocacy workshops to playing Lotería and an arepa-making class, every event brought our community together in meaningful ways. These moments didn’t just celebrate culture, they built connection and inclusion across SeatGeek 💛 . Huge thanks to our ¡DALE! ERG Leads, Esmeralda Mann and Raymond Bermudez for their creativity, dedication, and passion in bringing it all to life 👏 . 

We’re moving from "face value" to "fan value." The definition of “premium” in sports is evolving. Fans today expect more than suites or better seats - they’re looking for experiences that feel personal and frictionless. As Ethan Joyce recently reported in Sports Business Journal teams are adapting to new buyer behavior and exploring fresh ways to create value. Our co-founder Eric Waller noted that simplifying access to premium options can unlock new audiences and moments that weren’t even in the consideration set before. Our Beyond the Seat release (https://lnkd.in/gqKMfV4i) addresses this shift head-on. Instead of reducing tickets to seat location and price, our platform surfaces the full experience directly within the native ticket flow-from immersive 360° seat views to real fan photos to the perks that accompany premium seats. https://lnkd.in/gSN9wZpK

Engineering innovation that helps fans get tickets faster: SeatGeek’s Developer Experience shares how we do realistic testing environments at SeatGeek. Why it matters: - Faster fixes & features: Engineers can safely test big, multi-application changes without stepping on each other’s toes. That means less risk and faster rollouts. - Greater stability: By isolating test environments, we keep our core systems more reliable - reducing disruptions that could affect the fan experience. - Empowering rightsholders: Teams can confidently experiment with new functionality, integrations, and event flows, helping our partners deliver smoother experiences for fans. This is a major leap forward in how we build and ship software - and it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible work from our DevX team (Brianna Becker, Colin O'Dell and Matthew Vaughan) and Zach Hammer, who led the effort and authored this deep dive 👇