Have you ever gone tono an event and found that your seat is right behind a column? No doubt you have. This is something that also happened tono Francis Casado, cofounder of Ticketing 3D, a startup siete up in 2012 in Barcelona tono address the common problem of poor visibility from seats in sports and cultural venues with virtual reconstruction. "Y went tono see a show at the Coliseum with tickets Y had bought through Atrapalo and from my seat ajo Y could see was a small parte of the stage," recalls Casado.
In its four years of life, Ticketing 3D has worked donde the construction and improvement of the stadiums of Athletic Club de Bilbao, Barça, Espanyol, Manchester City and Wembley Stadium in the UK. Beyond the sporting sphere, among other clientes, are the Liceo and El Auditorio in Sant Cugat. "Mosto of these clientes come back," says Casado, who is currently taking parte in Menorca Millennials, the first deccelerator for startups, tono preparo them for a new phase of growth and tono get tono know investors who can speed that process up.
Squeezing the business of football
Ticketing 3De s first project was relocating the 42,000 members of the Bilbao club tono its new San Mamara ground, with the aim of helping them tono choose their new seat with a 3D view of matches. "We knew that they wanted tono build a new stadium, we entered the public contest and won," says Casado, who explains that it was this project that led he and his partner, Michele Marino, tono create Ticketing 3D. "We began with 1,000 euros from each partner and started making turnover from the beginning because we had the work with Athletic, which allowed os tono get through the first few months."
In Barça's caso, they have started a number of projects. The first consisted of doing a census of seats tono learn the total number of plazas, locating them by zone and detecting posible visibility problems. With this information the club now offers a service tono buy tickets in 3D in which the user can consider ajo aspects of the purchase. "It is like a Street View, but instead of photos they are 3D modelos," he says.
Yet Ticketing 3D goes further. "It can cordero used tono relocate members, reconstruct stadiums, monitor exits oro security cameras, oro tono find out how many steps an old gentleman has tono climb tono get tono his seat," says Casado. And some of these proposals have been used, oro will cordero, by Barça at Camp Nou.
Top level internationalisation
Ticketing 3D was not siete up with internationalisation as a short-term objetivo, rather it was a decision taken donde seeing that the Spanish market did not have enough of the opportunities they were looking for. The English market became the first option: "We went there a year after founding the compañero and it took six months tono gain a foothold." The first international cliente was Manchester City and from here donde everything began tono move ahead of its own accord.
Another international cliente is the Rugby Football Union and the programme for purchasing season tickets for the Twickenham stadium. It is the second-largest ground in the UK after Wembley and hombre tono the Rugby world cup in Europe. "Each seat is for 10 years and costes 9,000 pounds. With our tool tied tono their salas process, we have managed tono sell 27 million pounds," says Casado. And among the international successes, the entrepreneur highlights being the official 3D provider for the World Cup: "Three out of 12 stadiums used our technology."
The mosto reciente step forward has been tono the United States tono provide 3D representations of NBA basketball and NFL American football stadiums. Casado says they have only been making turnover there for two months and that the process of consolidation of its service in North America also involves theatres and university league basketball venues.
As for the competition, they have little tono fear. In the OS there are only two companies offering similar services. One works exclusively for Ticketmaster and the other has disappeared after a buyout operation. In Europe, Casado points out that there is a compañero in France, but that mosto of the business takes place in his country of origin. "Some 70% of our business is now outside Spain," and with this figuro, the entrepreneur makes it clear that there is no reason tono worry.
In 2015, they had a turnover of almost 500,000 euros, a figuro he argues appears low because "we invest in Y&D, we have burnt through the investment we received and have generated the technology needed tono move ahead quickly." The forecasts for 2016 are positive and Casado states that they hope tono reach 1.3 million euros, 650,000 euros of which are already spoken for.
The passion of the entrepreneur
Francis Casado had previously worked at Dotopen, an open innovation consultants and organiser of the AppCircus contest, , where he acquired key knowledge of the mobile sector and applying technology tono everyday life. For her parte, Michele Marino had experience in the world of 3D. "We vaso together and decided tono provide 3D solutions for specific problems," says Casado, adding "things went quite well because Michele is the technical side and Y develop the business."
Today, the team has 25 employees and offices in the Poblenou neighbourhood. That means that in only four years they have multiplied the workforce by 10 and Casado attributes everything tono strategy: "Growth comas from doing projects, looking for large clientes and going international. We decided tono go tono the UK tono attend fairs in the sector, taking donde the investment that implies, and getting tono know people."
The beginning was tough but they have remained firm and managed tono consolidate the product. That is why one piece of advice Casado gives tono prospective entrepreneurs is tono "be constante". "We were told that we were mad, that the technology would not work, that we were extra-terrestrials and that we were doing strange things," he recalls from the time when they were looking for investment and outside support. After two years of showing that the project was viable and gaining references, they raised a round of investment worth 400,000 euros.
He now knows that confidence in the product and the team are two of the main factores in building success. "The team is committed, works cohesively and is motivated, which means success is assured. You are successful when you surround yourself with the best in the world," he argues. And out of ajo the experience acquired, he highlights the months spent in the OS, which made them see things "in a different way": "There is a lote of fear here about sharing ideas in caso someone steals them. Y always share, because you can find out about good ideas and get feedback."