An Alabama startup believes it is poised for explosive growth on the back of your plans next weekend.
In March, EQ Tickets eclipsed six figures in sales after just two to three months in a beta stage, according to founder Aaron Caradonna.
Its model is simple: Slash the markup for online tickets for big concerts, games and other major events, and make higher margins on connected events like tailgates or after parties that choose to offer tickets exclusively through EQ Tickets.
“We cut the same inventory deal as all those other players, and then we just have a very small markup, like 2% to 3%. So that was our lead magnet to get people introduced to us and attracted to us. (It) was ‘who is this new group that has 20% to 30% cheaper tickets for 100,000-plus events?’” Caradonna said.
A former corporate and mergers and acquisitions attorney with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and , Caradonna had always wanted to start a company and had long represented artists and athletes. His brother, an investment banker who handled ticketing for major events like Coachella for a private equity firm, is a cofounder as well.
“Then our other partner was a music artist who had toured internationally,” Caradonna said. That partner is Boston Rapper Rapta. “So we thought, what can we disrupt, what could be an idea? And eventually we settled on what’s now EQ Tickets. And the first thing that we wanted to do was make tickets more of an experience than transactional.”
Founded in 2021, EQ Ticket currently has about 10 to 12 employees, with plans to hire a minimum of two to three more engineers in the year ahead, Caradonna said. Though EQ Tickets is fully remote, much of its work is done in Huntsville. The company garnered a $2 million investment from early Apple investor Fred Warren in 2022, and is planning to fundraise again this year. Then it will likely look to institutional venture capital.
Alabama saw a surge in VC deals last year.
“We have not set a number that we’re looking to raise, but we’re going to take it out to the market because I don’t think people realize how strong our demand and sales have been,” Caradonna said.
EQ Tickets also offers a social function, whereby users can see events connected to what they’re already finding tickets for, buy tickets for those and follow users and sellers to stay in the know.
“You log on, you buy a ticket to the game itself, and you see, yep, there’s a mixer beforehand for UNC alumni,” he said. “I’m also going to have that to check out. And oh my goodness, man, my roommate is also in town. I didn’t even know he was in town. We’ve lost touch with each other but since we follow each other on EQ, that’s pretty cool, I’m going to reach out to him. And then I’m also going to go to the UNC after party bar afterwards. So that’s very good for all those event organizers. And then it’s also much better for the fan themselves.”
During the next two years, the company plans to focus on landing more work in the Southeast, including in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville.
“I would love to build a powerhouse new tech company right here in the Southeast,” Caradonna said.
Caradonna isn't the only one. Bronze Valley Investment Accelerator invested in several companies that moved to Birmingham.
