Ticket Tree 2024 Review

Early Vindicators

As we close out 2024, it’s incredible to look back on how far Ticket Tree has come. This journey started with a vision—but also with big questions. Would fans embrace collectibles tied to their tickets? Could we compete in an industry dominated by entrenched giants? And most importantly, could we create something that truly transforms fan experiences?

In the final days of 2023, we tested our concept at a golf event—not even on our own platform. Fans simply scanned a Google Form to enter a contest for a collectible that offered free tickets to the next event. To our surprise, 55% of attendees participated, proving that fans crave loaded value with their ticket purchase. This small win fueled our confidence that we were onto something special.

Around the same time, we began gathering insights from major players in the sports industry. A former NHL team owner—still a season ticket holder—shared his frustration with the current ticketing process. Whether it was sending tickets to a friend or accessing his own, the experience was cumbersome and unintuitive. This feedback confirmed what we suspected: even dominant ticketing providers fail to prioritize fan-centric design.

We also spoke with a CMO at an NBA/NHL stadium who told us teams are desperate for ways to distribute digital collectibles. However, existing systems were riddled with inefficiencies, making adoption nearly impossible. This insight was echoed by an MLB organization owner, further validating our belief that the status quo in ticketing was ripe for disruption.

These early conversations vindicated our vision at the highest levels of sports—NHL, MLB, and NBA. But we knew we couldn’t tackle the highest leagues head-on right away. Instead, we focused on carving out a $6 billion niche in collegiate and semi-professional sports, markets with less reliance on Ticketmaster and fewer barriers to entry. This strategy allowed us to prove our concept with minimal friction, setting the stage for long-term growth.

GTM Refinement and Product Rollout

With our vision validated early in the year, the next few months were all about laying the groundwork for Ticket Tree’s success. We shifted our focus to finding pilot partners, analyzing niche competitors, and rapidly developing a product that could stand out in the market.

Identifying pilot partners was critical. We needed organizations willing to take a chance on an unproven concept. These weren’t just clients—they were collaborators who helped shape Ticket Tree into what it is today. Cage Titans, our first partner, became a pivotal part of this journey. They trusted our vision and embraced the potential of fan engagement through digital collectibles, giving us real-world data to refine our approach.

Simultaneously, we conducted in-depth research of niche competitors to understand where we could carve out a unique position. While larger players dominated with scale and brand recognition, we identified their glaring weaknesses—poor fan experience design, lack of social gamification tools, and an inability to seamlessly integrate collectibles into ticketing (not to mention flawed revenue strategies and super outdated user interfaces). This opened the door for us to focus on our strengths: creating a fan-first platform that combines emotional connection with operational efficiency.

On the product development front, we adopted an agile approach, iterating quickly based on feedback from our community. Our goal was simple: build a platform that’s intuitive, reliable, and exciting to use. By the time we launched our BMVP (Bare Minimum Viable Product - I’m coining this term) in August, every decision—every feature—was informed by these critical first few months of learning. Our first mock event had over 100 participants who tested the collectible-claiming process on our website. Test users would simply claim a collectible, view their collectible in their Ticket Tree account once revealed, then submit feedback through a form. We followed this approach each time a new feature needed to be tested, such as Stripe integrations and social sharing.

This phase wasn’t without its challenges. We were a small team taking on an enormous industry, but every insight we gathered made us more confident that Ticket Tree was poised to do something different—something better.

From Pilot to Partner: Cage Titans

One of the most pivotal moments of 2024 was signing Cage Titans as our pilot partner. Their willingness to embrace innovation and take a chance on Ticket Tree allowed us to prove the power of our platform in a real-world setting.

We started with two collectible-only events, where fans received digital collectibles tied to their experience. These events validated our core idea: fans love the added value of unique, shareable collectibles, and organizations benefit from increased engagement both during the event and on social media afterward. The data spoke for itself—engagement surged by 20–26%, proving that collectibles could extend the lifecycle of fan interactions.

The success of these initial events laid the groundwork for a deeper partnership. Cage Titans became our first full ticketing partner for the 2025 season, marking a major milestone for Ticket Tree. This move not only brought us to revenue for the first time, but it also signaled our transition from a founder-funded startup to a business generating real value for its partners.

This partnership represents everything Ticket Tree stands for: enhancing fan experiences, driving engagement, and building loyalty. It’s a testament to the progress we’ve made in just one year—and a clear sign of what’s possible as we look ahead to 2025.

The Numbers

• 4 Partners Signed: Successfully onboarded across our target niches, with 2 transitioning from collectibles to full ticketing—highlighting our GTM strategy in action.

• 2,000+ Collectibles Distributed: Driving a 20–26% increase in social media engagement for event hosts.

• $10K in GMV & $1K in Revenue: A solid foundation for scaling.

• End Users & Transactions: 400+ fans joined the platform, with more than 1,000 transactions on Solana—proving our accessibility for traditional fanbases.

• 28M+ Organic Impressions: Thanks to our stellar media team’s efforts. Yes, this number is real. We can tell you our secret sauce one day.

Why Ticket Tree Stands Out

What began as a solution to combat fraud and high ticket fees evolved into a mission to elevate fan experiences and social connections.

Ticket Tree isn’t just a payment processor—we’re a hub for fans to purchase tickets, trade experiences, and connect on a deeper level. By providing host organizations with tools to curate immersive experiences throughout the event lifecycle, we transform attendees into lifelong fans, building loyalty, excitement, and revenue.

Looking Ahead to 2025

We’re doubling down on what’s working and setting bold goals for the year ahead:

• Enhanced Experiences: Rolling out V2 in Q1 with features fans love—exclusive collectibles, fan friends, and fanbase communities.

• Host Partnerships: Early 2025 conversations with 4 NCAA colleges and universities.

• Agile Development: A new flywheel process will enable faster iteration, leveraging industry trends and client feedback.

• Revenue Goals: Expected $200K revenue in 2025 with an 85%+ profit margin.

• Product Offerings: Begin to explore different revenue strategies for whitelabel and collectible-only solutions.

• Funding: Opening a $400K pre-seed round in Q1 to fuel growth, expand product capabilities, and bring on top-tier sales talent.

Thank You!

To everyone who supported us in 2024—thank you for making this a year of realization and growth. Ticket Tree isn’t just a ticket app, but a fan app, and this is something we will have great success in 2025.