Atlanta, GA - January 28, 2020 - It’s a new year and with that comes change. I started Ticket Alternative with Jamie Dwyer, my friend and business partner nearly 20 years ago, today I am sharing news that I have decided to move on from being President of Ticket Alternative. I am incredibly proud of the company I founded and of everything I have achieved. It is a bittersweet decision as I have loved every moment of building our company yet deep down a change has been calling. We took on the largest ticketing organizations in the world and carved a niche and a culture by providing the best customer service in the business to those who wanted to buck the status quo. 

We started Ticket Alternative to serve those who love and create live events, those people who create experiences for others to enjoy. We delivered them happiness with infectious enthusiasm, all while having serious fun. We will do the unexpected to build meaningful relationships with them in ways others cannot. Those core values live on and I am thankful to those who exemplify them every single day. 

Ticket Alternative has grown into an organization ticketing thousands of events annually, partnering with hundreds of venues and event Organizers nationwide and employing more than 40 people. Some of my personal memorable moments include ticketing the many events with my friends at Rival Entertainment, managing The Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater with our partners at RCS Productions and Premier events and opening an international office in London. I’ve been to hundreds of great concerts and festivals. We’ve been responsible for ticketing the Rolling Stones show at Georgia Tech in 2015, the many Grand Prix races in Toronto and St. Pete and rode the wave as Minnesota United FC made the jump from NASL to Major League Soccer. 

After successfully white-labelling someone else’s platform for many years as a services company, we went on to develop our own platform (Freshtix) which has become one of the most respected platforms in the industry. Our ticketing-platform-agnostic call center services are utilized by such prestigious clients as the Fox Theater, the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Infinite Energy Center. And meanwhile, we’re one of the largest event wristbands suppliers in the country selling over 40MM wristbands annually. 

There are simply too many people to thank who have helped me along the way. I’ve been truly lucky to work with the best in the business. My team work tirelessly, giving up their time with their friends and families 365 days of the year to be the best company we can be and for that, I will be eternally grateful. 

To my clients, many of whom became good friends along the way, I hope to continue to work with you in some form or another in the future. Your support and belief in the little ticket company that could/did is humbling. 

Being an entrepreneur and running a small business or maybe I should say mid-size business (since we were on INC’s Fastest Growing for more than 9 years) has been one of the most rewarding and exhilarating experiences of my life and I encourage anyone who has an idea and a dream to take that same chance. But I think it also takes a true leader to make the decision to walk away at the right time and I am only able to do that because I can leave my legacy in Jamie’s very capable hands.

I look forward to watching Ticket Alternative grow under the new leadership team and I will continue to support them in any way I can.

I will be moving on to a new adventure in due course. But first, I intend to take some time off for myself and for my family to travel and explore and assess whatever opportunity comes next. 

Iain Bluett
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iainbluett/