SeatGeek, a ticketing business that made its debut at TechCrunch 53 years ago, has received a fresh round of investment totaling $1.65 million. The round was mentioned in a filing with the SEC, and co-founder Jack Groetzinger has recently verified that it took place, SeatGeek the firm provides consumers with a search engine for tickets, which assists them in locating the most excellent rates across numerous websites.
In Previous Funding, Ticket search engine SeatGeek raised $35m in a series B funding round led by accel capital.
Although it is most likely best recognized as a website for sports event tickets, it has also been steadily expanding its operations in the live music industry. Groetzinger states that the firm is aiming toward becoming more complete, which includes not just the sale of tickets but also the provision of ancillary services connected to live events, such as a tailored calendar.
The Mobile Technology
In addition, Groetzinger asserts that SeatGeek is “going to be diving immediately into the mobile world,” more particularly by developing “a very excellent mobile app,” after a three-year hiatus during which the company paid little attention to mobile technology. And while though the majority of SeatGeek’s expansion has occurred via natural means, he claims that the business is now prepared to begin experimenting with sponsored promotion.
According to CrunchBase, SeatGeek had previously received a total of $2.12 million; however, the company has also completed investment rounds whose sizes have not been revealed. New investor Mousse Partners took the lead in this investment round, including participation from Red Swan Ventures and another new investor whose identity SeatGeek is not yet prepared to reveal. Previous investors in the firm, such as Founder Collective and NYC Seed, have also participated in the funding round by contributing capital.
Bigger Series
Groetzinger claims that the business gave considerable thought to obtaining a more significant Series B but ultimately opted to proceed with a smaller round since it did not need the funds: “If someone handed us $10 million and deposited it into a bank account, it would simply sit there.”
However, he claims that there is a “50-50” chance that the company will raise that larger round in the future. For instance, if the paid marketing efforts are successful, it might make sense to raise more money to invest more heavily in those campaigns. He says there is a “50-50” chance that the company will raise that larger round in the future.
The Net Revenue
SeatGeek’s net revenues reached a new company record in Q4 2021, rising to $82.5 million, up approximately 45% from $56.8 million in Q3 2021, versus $4.8 million in Q4 2020, when most live events were suspended or canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In Q4 2020, SeatGeek’s net revenues were only $4.8 million.
Growth fueled by the waning effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and propelled by the company’s ongoing success in attracting significant venues and teams to SeatGeek’s primary ticketing enterprise platform, as well as the continued expansion of SeatGeek’s secondary ticketing revenue and market share.
The Financial Records
The firm had a record gross profit of $47.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of roughly 34% over the gross profit of $35.4 million in the third quarter of 2021. As a result of increased sales and marketing expenses in markets with recently signed enterprise partnerships, the contribution margin for the company was $6.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $4.9 million in the third quarter of 2021.
The company defines contribution margin as gross profit minus sales and marketing expenses. The loss from operations for the quarter came in at ($16.9) million, which is lower than the loss of ($17.9) million recorded in Q3 2021 and the loss of ($21.6) million recorded in Q4 2020. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter came in at a loss of ($11.3) million, compared to a loss of ($17.2) million in Q4 2020. This is also a reflection of ongoing increases in R&D staff expenditure designed to accelerate the company’s momentum and differentiate it from its competitors.
Financial performance in Q4 reflected record revenue and gross profit growth compared to Q3, which we believe illustrates the effectiveness of our vertically integrated strategy and allows us to capture a more significant share in primary and secondary ticket markets and better economics for our enterprise customers,” added Brad Tacy, CFO of SeatGeek. Financial performance in Q4 reflected record revenue and gross profit growth compared to Q2.
