The Principals of Founders Investment Banking recently advised the shareholders of TicketBiscuit in its growth equity investment from Ballast Point Ventures.

TicketBiscuit is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that provides ticketing solutions across multiple verticals. The company’s scalable software enables its clients to ticket events from 10 to 10,000+ people, providing world-class support for both event promoters and ticket buyers with the latest cutting edge features. Founded in 2001 by Jeff Gale, the company currently processes over $100 million in annual ticket sales across multiple verticals. Originally designed as a platform for music venues and comedy clubs, TicketBiscuit has recently turned its attention to niches historically ignored or with needs traditionally unable to be met by other ticketing platforms, including dance studios for their recitals and tourist railroads.

Through research and investigation, TicketBiscuit determined that the K-12 and amateur athletics niche was the next space it wanted to pursue. Schools have historically been unable to ticket electronically or sell online due to intensive capital expenditure requirements for barcode scanners and difficulty maintaining a ticketing portal for events. The TicketBiscuit platform and its patent-pending Share and Tear™ technology eliminates the headaches and budgetary complications that have prevented schools from selling tickets electronically.  While there are several companies that have historically served the K-12 market and provided paper tickets, no competitor exists with the features or functions of TicketBiscuit’s platform. Having launched a brand to target this market, StateChamps, the company was looking to build its sales and marketing in order to penetrate the space, and continue to build out features that would both increase revenue and add desired functions for its client base.

Founders worked closely with the TicketBiscuit management team to build a marketing package that highlighted the strong base the company was operating with and illustrate the large opportunity in the K-12 space. With an eye towards growth equity investors who focused on the software space, the Founders team identified and engaged a targeted list of potential investors and partners.

The process identified Ballast Point Ventures, a Tampa, FL based venture and growth equity investment group that targets opportunities in the Southeast.  Ballast Point quickly developed a strong rapport with the TicketBiscuit management team. After assessing the opportunity on hand in both the legacy niches and the K-12 space, Ballast Point understood the value in deploying capital to penetrate the market quickly and deeply. They differentiated themselves strongly in not just being a group willing to write a check, but also a team with extensive software experience able to provide strategic and operational support going forward with aligned interests with the existing shareholders.

The investment and capital infusion led by Founders accomplished the following objectives:

• Recapitalization of debt, removing a personal guarantee from prior notes taken out
• Capital infusion to hire and expand the sales and marketing teams focused on penetrating the K-12 space
• Value added partner who would serve on the board of directors and be a strategic sounding board for the TicketBiscuit management company

About Founders Investment Banking, LLC

Founders Investment Banking is a merger and acquisition advisory firm based in Birmingham, Alabama. Its team’s proven expertise and process-based solutions help companies and business owners access capital and prepare for and execute liquidity events to achieve specific financial goals. The firm focuses on technology and specialty pharmacy clients across the United States, and oil and gas, industrial, and manufacturing clients located across the Southeast. For more information, visit www.foundersib.com. In order to provide securities-related services discussed herein, certain principals of Founders are licensed with M & A Securities Group, Inc. or Founders M&A Advisory, LLC, both members of member FINRA & SiPC. M&A Securities Group and Founders are unaffiliated entities. Founders M&A Advisory is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Founders. The testimonial presented herein does not guarantee future performance or success.