Episodes
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Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events
I mentioned back in April that we had to take a hiatus until after Memorial Day "for reasons I'll share then."
Well, we were in court. In a jury trial for nearly a month. I'll be sharing a LOT about that experience after appeals. But for now:
Three things I learned about telling the truth during the most stressful month of my life:
1. You cannot hide who you are in court.
In a trial, everything is public. Much more than you might think, too. Your emails, slacks, instant messages, texts, and even your personal notes. This trial looked at everything that happened between 2010 and 2020—ten whole years.
Witness after witness got up there and tried to bend the truth. They'd be shown an email they wrote themselves and then try to explain why it "doesn't really say what it says."
Some were so absurd they'd claim entire sentences were "typos".
It would be silly if it weren't so tragic.
Tell the truth—all the time. You'll have nothing to hide when you end up on the stand, like I did for an entire day.
2. "He doesn't know what to do!"
Lying and deceiving are standard operating procedure for the vast majority of people. We sat and watched one person after another knowingly lie. They couldn't even look us in the eyes in the hallway.
But that can work to our advantage.
We only know the world we know. When they strategize, they think of what they'd do in certain situations, such as cross-examinations. What they'd say.
They read emails through their own corrupted lens. They can't fathom we'd actually get up and tell the truth.
My favorite moment of "The Miracle On Ice" is near the end of the game. The Soviet Union's coach doesn't pull his goalie. Coach Herb Brooks turns to Craig Patrick and gleefully shouts "He doesn't know what to do!"
He didn't know to pull his goalie as he'd never been in that situation.
We had a similar moment when their attorney was attacking me in cross-examination. I had to try to hide my smile. The truth was going to deliver us.
3. If you are inauthentic, people can see it. Even if you worry they can't.
We were so nervous. We knew we were telling the truth. We knew the evidence was clear. We knew who was being paid through "consulting agreements" to testify.
But we didn't know if the jury would see it.
They did. Our lawyers got to talk to them after the trial ended. 11-1 on all counts.
I wrote in April that it was Daniel's faith that got him thrown in the lion's den and only his faith could get him out.
I lost my father four days before I took the stand. He was the most honest man I've ever known. I watched people take advantage of his integrity time and time again my whole life. But he never wavered - he always did the right thing and told the truth. No matter the cost.
And when we needed it most, the truth was our most powerful weapon. -
Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events
1) You can compete without being enemies.
Competition is a part of life. If would be great if there was enough for everyone to be wildly successful, but we haven't figured that out yet, despite many wars.
When someone else is stiving for what we want, and there is a limited supply, the easiest thing to do is de-humanize the other person and make them "evil" or "bad." It's human nature and the default position of so many people. When 'that' kid is playing 'their' kid's spot, rivalries begin for no reason.
But it isn't necessary. One of my closest friends for the past 20+ years I met when we played the same position at USC. We competed every day. Another friend was a fifth year Senior at the same position when I was a freshman. I got playing time (he did too). Easy to see, though, that if I weren't there he'd have gotten more. I'm still friends with them both today and our families have become friends.
Just because someone sees the same opportunity you do, doesn't make them evil.
One caveat: Ryan and Trent are honest men who competed fairly. If others not competing fairly or legally, it's necessary to use the resources you have to defend yourself and those you're responsible to.
2. Nothing works harder than grateful
I'm often asked a great question at the end of the interview process. It's usually a version of: "What characteristics make people successful at TicketManager?"
I've spent a LOT of time considering the answer: People who want to be here.
Been doing this sixteen years - and led teams at StubHub and AEG as well. There are so many diverse characteristics which can be very successful. Everyone is so unique. But all super-successful hires share the one characteristic that they have a choice as to where they will work and they really want to be here. It's not just "a little bit better" for them than elsewhere.
If we can find that, we can build around it.
I love my job so much that when I hear others talk about theirs I immediately think "I need to go work even more" I'm so thankful for it.
3. Sometimes your faith will get you into an uncomfortable situation, and it's only that same faith that'll get you out.
Enjoyed a lesson on Daniel. His faith is what caused those around him turn on him and throw him in the lion's den to die. That same faith was the only thing that delivered him safely.
Keep the faith and do the right thing. No matter how hard it can be in the moment.
To that end, the Three Things will be taking a break until after Memorial Day for reasons I'll share then.
Say a prayer for the good in the world! -
Missing episodes?
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Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events
Let's do a fun one this week:
The top sporting events I've been to as a result of my job.
1. The Greatest Game Ever Played: USC - Texas Rose Bowl 2006
2. The Helmet Catch
3. Kobe's Finale
4. Tiger Wood's One -Legged Major
5. Super Bowl LIV - Chiefs vs Niners
6. The Fastest Knock-out in UFC History
7. Bama- Clemson 1 - The 2016 Fiesta Bowl Shootout
8. World Heavyweight Title: Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 1
9. Corey Seager's Heroics - 2023 World Series Win Amidst Loss
10. The Infamous Plaster-in-the-Gloves: Cotto vs. Margarito 1
11. * Jason Lezak’s comeback - The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Much more in the Substack about the experience along with some pictures.
Please excuse that we didn't have cameras on our phones until 2007, and even then they were pretty bad, so I don't have the best pics of each event.
Next time we see one another, I'd love to hear yours - along with a list of the top 5 in history you'd go to if you could -
Nearly everyone wants to be a leader.
We ask the same 11 questions in every final interview with our prospective teammates. When we ask where people think they want to be in ten years, nearly all candidates say they want to be leaders.
But the truth is, many actually want to do something other than the actual work of leadership. They want what many believe comes with being a leader: money, power, and prestige. But strip what society has adorned to leadership, and most people would choose another path.
Why? There are four things start-up leaders have to do that most people (really) don't want to do -
Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events
Super Bowl Edition: Week 2
Las Vegas' debut as a Super Bowl host was a wild success. It was easy to get around, there was an abundance of rooms and entertainment venues, and even the game was easy to get in and out of.
Three Things I Learned from the first Las Vegas Super Bowl:
1. Las Vegas will enter the new regular rotation.
In the old days, the Super Bowl regular rotation was (with number of Super Bowls hosted): Miami (11), Southern California (11), New Orleans (10), Tampa (5), Phoenix (4)
Recently, the NFL has awarded Super Bowls to the rotation cities and to cities with new stadiums. Las Vegas fell under the "new stadium" classification but, given the way the city hosted the game, the strength of the market, and the city's ability to handle inclement weather, there's no doubt Las Vegas will be in the rotation once a decade going forward.
From the looks of things, the rotation will be (from West to East): San Francisco, Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa and Miami
2. I failed at my promise
The first years of TicketManager (then known as CEG and Spotlight) were very rough. We were broke, working every waking hour, and weary.
I played golf one day with a an older pseudo family member who was about to pull away from his business and enjoy retirement. I remember the conversation vividly. He felt so guilty doing the things he'd earned - like playing golf and working a (gasp) eight hour day for a change.
I was adamant in my response and feelings that I'd never feel guilty if we got through the dark times. And boy were they dark.
All weekend in Vegas my better half noticed I looked detached and like I wasn't enjoying the incredible access we had with customers and partners. I turned down dinner invites and passed on access and invitations to others. Truth is: I felt really guilty.
At our wind-down dinner on Sunday after the game, our VP Sales was clearly exhausted. I mentioned to my wife that "I hope he gets everything he deserves. He works so hard and cares so much." I hadn't seen him all week.
She stopped me in my tracks when she responded: "You do too. And don't forget it."
After dinner I was talking to an entrepreneur friend. I asked him if he was taking Monday off. "No" he responded "there's not point in it. It just delays the work I need to do anyways."
Me neither.
So many think being an entrepreneur ends with half-days and freedom.
It doesn't. Freedom has fangs. And the to-do list never stops. I thought I'd be able to enjoy the fruits at some point. I now know that's not part of the game…and I don't want it to be.
3. When we work the event, we aren't part of the event.
Last week I got to go to the Grammys, the Super Bowl, and the events around them. One thing stands out to me as strange: When the people who work the event post as if they're attending the event.
It's strange to me. We're the servants of the event. We weren't invited to have the fun. It happens at every Grammys and Super Bowl party. Very strange. -
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events: On layoffs, cuts, and competition1. Surviving an attacking bear is a lot different than advancing a career. Growing up playing sports, there were always tryouts. And, unfortunately, there usually weren't enough spots for everyone. Usually, when someone doesn't make a team, get one of the promotions, or gets caught in downsizing, they focus on who they believe was the worst of those who did get the job."They took 12 players, and I'm better than the 11th and 12th" is a trap. There are often reasons those last two are in their spots. An example: When I played club volleyball growing up, we had a team with invitation-only tryouts during my junior year. Nike had pulled together the best local players and started a club with only one team in one age group to win gold in 1997. The coach, flying in weekly from Los Angeles, took ten kids. I was tenth.There were a lot of better players than me who complained, but I was taken as a project with potential. The following year, I was a starter. In my senior year, we took ten kids once again. One of them, my good friend to this day, played defense. We took him over a lot of outstanding players who could play multiple positions. They all whined, and still do, that they were "robbed by politics" and should have been on the team instead of him. They are wrong. He was a good player, and, more importantly, he was the absolute best teammate any of us ever had. He was a huge reason for all our success- which made him more valuable to our team than any of those other guys. When a sales team does layoffs, they often cut the "bottom 30%." Now, I'm not justifying layoffs at all. (We're guilty of it once - 13 people at the beginning of Covid, when live events went away for a year - done before PPP - and hired them all back within six months.) But nobody in the top 50% is concerned. The top half of the leaderboard is usually safe. We're not running from a bear. We need to be at the top of the pack. Trust me, I've been 10th out of 10. It's not a place anyone wants to be. 2. Cut to the clear line. I learned a similar lesson from my better half, who was a competitive cheerleader growing up at the highest levels. Her coach would say every year there was no roster size; they would "cut to the natural line," which I find to be terrific wisdom. When we set out to hire X number of people for a team, we sometimes don’t find enough talented people. But sometimes we find too many. I've found cheer coach advice perfect: Cut to the natural line. One of our best hires was an "extra" hire in 2013. She's on the executive team here today. 3. Sometimes it's just not personal. Everything is personal to us. It's who we are . But sometimes, there just isn't room and a decision has to be made. Sometimes, it's not because we're not good enough, it's because someone is a better fit for what they're looking for. I was told, in college, I didn't get an internship because I wasn't professional enough in how I spoke. Then I made a nice living in sales. I wish we lived in a world where we could hire everyone and everyone made the team. But sometimes, not making it is the best blessing.
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Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
1. Do the thing at the start of the year, season, or quarter, not at the end.
We started TicketManager on Sept 27, 2007. End of a quarter and end of year
We raised one of our rounds on Nov 1. End of year in final quarter
It’s a really small thing, but we’ve had to explain it quite often when talking about YoY trends
It costs nothing to wait until the start of a new cycle, quarter, or year. There’s plenty to explain along the way. I don’t need something else.
2. The great RFP awakening.
2023 was a year of correction for SaaS businesses. Growth slowed for many, NRR dropped, Net Expansion went off a cliff (see chart), layoffs were rampant, FCF was king, and profitability mattered once again
But something else happened too:
Discipline in services returned.
growth-at-all-costs businesses learned that growth has a cost. And it changed customer expectations.
Customer after customer came to us looking to switch vendors. The problem, the deals they were offering were money losers. I saw it in so many businesses too, specifically SaaS, Agencies, and live events.
Investors were eating that loss in the name of future profits only they learned those profits weren’t coming.
Now those customers are wandering the market looking for someone to respond to their RFP terms.
Our answer has always been the same: No thanks. Suggest the same for you. Business is best when everyone is healthy. We're not going to pay $100 for something and sell it for $90.
3. Covid tried to kill the multi-year deal.
SaaS TCV bookings targets got smashed this year as customers felt burned being stuck in multi-year deals over Covid.
See #2 on this one. Don’t break the math. Do what will grow your business into a healthy vendor your customers can rely on. Let your competitors repeat the mistakes of the past. Once in a one year, companies don't go to multi year.
4. Stars like confetti.
I hope you had a terrific holiday.
The fallen world is built to tear down beauty.
But when God shows it in moments, in people, and in nature, man is it breathtaking.
As Rustin Cohle proclaimed when looking at the vastness of the dark night sky in True Detective: “Once there was only dark, if you ask me the light's winning”
Happy New Year.
#TeamLight
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46. "Wrestlers" - The Netflix Documentary on Al Snow's Ohio Valley Wrestling could be taught as a full semester course in business school. The show chronicles the plight of a small wrestling business which has been around for decades but is struggling to adapt to the ever changing environment around them (spoiler: the Netflix exposure gave them a huge bounce after the show). What I learned watching "The Wrestlers" and have seen in my career:
a. "How we've always done it" - those sinking the ship are often the ones stubbornly killing their own business who will fight any change. OVW was once a prominent player in wrestling. Back in the day, there were wrestling territories. These were smaller outfits who would act as a feeder system to the bigger businesses - WWE, WCW (now owned by WWE) and AEW. In the past decade, the WWE has bought up territories and created their own minor-league where they develop talent. At the same time, cable TV, especially regional cable, has fallen off a cliff. OVW was on a fast track to bankruptcy until two new investors bought in. It's a fascinating watch to see how stuck in the past the wrestlers and Al Snow are when discussing what to do next. An example: The new investors wanted to tour more and partner with local venues - which seemed successful. Al wanted to build to a big Pay Per View at the end of the year with the goal of 500 buys. They got 70. Yes, 70. At $15 a piece that's a whopping $1,050. That market opp had passed, and they wouldn't adapt. Will happen to you to. How we do things in our business today is so different than five years ago. Oh, and when you're trying to implement change in your org or a customers? You'll get the same pushback. It isn't nefarious, it's human nature.
b. Never act impulsively in the moment. There are multiple blow ups between managers, investors, and the "talent." People get heated. It happens. That's not the time to do anything. This isn't a Morgan Wallen tune. Get out of there before you damage your culture.
c. Wanting something isn't enough. A harsh reality in life is watching someone who really wants something, works hard for it, and doesn't get it. The show is full of people who won't let go of a dream that just won't happen - both in the "talent" and on the business side. And they're stuck because of it. I wanted to play in the NBA. Good thing I gave that up as I love what I'm doing now. We can get stuck rooting for people, but, in the end, this is a business. We have to love them enough to help them move on. The show provided a bump for the stars. Had it not come to town, they were all reduced to wrestling in parks in front of hands full of people while working the night shift at the Holiday Inn to make ends meet.
I don't get to watch a lot of TV, but The Wrestlers was worth my time if you're looking for something to watch. -
What I learned in business from playing sports in college.
I played volleyball at USC. Not exactly the big time - but a fun time and the top of the mountain (at the time) for a small sport.*
What was it like?
I graduated high school in June. In July, I got a list of classes for the upcoming semester. As an athlete, I got to register first! Seems like a bonus, yes?
No. It's for a reason. Practice was from 2-6 pm each day with occasional weight training, which would go until 7. Be there, dressed and ready, at 1:45. So I had to cross off 60% of the available classes.
My day was simple during my freshman year:
8 am to 1 pm: To take a full load, I'd have classes until 1 pm every day. That left me 45 minutes to eat lunch, get to the locker room, get dressed, get taped, and get to practice.2 pm to 6 pm: Practice. Competing hard with the best in the country to try and get on the court.6 pm Shower up, change, get to the cafeteria, and eat dinner.7 pm-9 pm: Mandatory study hours. Each athlete had to do ten supervised hours each week. If we wanted free time on the weekends, we had to get it done during the week9 pm: Back to the dorm for the first time since 8 am - if only just to drop off a backpack.That's 13 hours. If we had a group project with non-athletes, this was the only time we could meet - and they weren't keen on it as it was party time for most.
Every. Single. Day. There were no days off. The football player’s schedule was worse.
Ten players were in my freshman class - ranked second in the country. One of them played all four years at USC. Four played for the USA and one, who didn’t finish, was an All-American.
What I learned from playing sports in college:
Hire college athletes. Having the physical ability to play sports has nearly zero to do with succeeding in most workplaces. Getting buckets on the hardwood or running fast won't help someone sell more insurance or write better code. But the discipline to get good grades while playing a college sport? That's miles ahead of most. The same goes for those who held down a job and got good marks in school.There's always someone trying to take my spot. The sooner we learn how to use that competition and fear, the better. I played a lot and even started a few times as a true freshman. The next year, the #1 recruit at the position chose USC. And then again the next. That's life. College athletes know that better than most.You better love what you do. I only played for two years at USC. When I got there, I loved volleyball. I played year-round and spent the summer after high school playing for Team USA. The following summer, I was burned out and, though selected to the U20 USA National Team, I declined and went home to Cupertino. One year later, I was done with the game - even though I started 10 of my last 11 matches and finished the 11th. My career path hasn't been much different. The more I've risen, the less balance there is. I learned early, I needed to love what I do. And I'm so grateful that I do.Shortcuts only hurt me. Nobody else. The cheating at USC was rampant. Thanks to friends on the football team, I got copies of tests in advance, had tutors try to do my homework for me, and even had my midterm essay swapped out with the starting running backs. I played volleyball. I needed to get an education. There were so many chances to take shortcuts. I learned not toNever underestimate what I’m capable of. Volleyball is a spring sport, so the first practices are in small groups. I was paired with a setter, Caleb, and a fifth-year senior, Trent, who played my position. He absolutely humiliated me. As one-sided a beating as one could endure. I called my dad after practice near tears to tell him I couldn’t do this. The game is so much faster so much higher off the ground. He reassured me that they wouldn’t have brought me there if they didn’t think I could do it. Stick with it.
I was seventh out of seven on the middle blocker depth chart at our first full-squad practice. I barely got to play. Only the top two started.
I started my first match four months later. That felt like an impossible outcome after that first small group practice. A bonus non-work related one: Share this experience with the overeager youth sports parents. Too many push their kids toward this life without knowing what it really is. The glitz is nice, but there is a LOT of grit behind it.College sports aren't for everyone. It turns out they weren't really for me - though I had some great times and learned many life lessons.
Go Trojans =)
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Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Be great and get left alone. A personal preference here but: I like being left alone to do my job. Now don't get me wrong, I love learning from those around, ahead, and behind me in their careers and seek those people out. But I don't like someone asking me what I'm doing, having regular check-in meetings, and micro-managing me. I don't believe most people do.
Thing things I've learned to be left alone at work - Show more
