Dynamic pricing start-up Broker Genius raises $15m

Broker Genius, a New York-based developer of dynamic pricing technologies for ticket resellers, has raised US$15m in series-A funding from Boston venture-capital firm Volition Capital.

The company, which to date has priced more than $2bn worth of secondary ticket inventory, will use the investment to grow the reach of its platform, which “automates a reseller’s pricing strategy, leading to increased profitability and rapid growth”.

IQ asked in December why (Ticketmaster Platinum aside) dynamic pricing – in which prices fluctuate based on market demand, as in sports and hospitality – hasn’t yet taken off in primary ticket selling. While many believe the growth of secondary ticketing indicates most primary-market tickets are underpriced, Greg Loewen of Digonex said there is a view of “dynamic pricing as code for ‘price gouging’”, with artists concerned about “alienating their loyal fans with primary ticket prices that are perceived as too high”.

“Volition Capital’s investment will allow us, among other things, to continue investing in data science so we can more accurately forecast market trends”

There is, of course, no such concern in the secondary market, where artists and their representatives have no control over pricing; Broker Genius was formed after its founders realised “how much money was being left on the table when trying to price sports, concerts and theatre tickets”.

CFO John Lucier says the new investment will allow the company to “continue enhancing and scaling our world-class pricing services” on behalf of its customers, who include the “world’s largest ticket resellers”.

“It has been an exciting period in our history,” adds Broker Genius’s CEO and founder, Sam Sherman. “The future of Broker Genius relies on constant innovation, which is centred increasingly around big data and machine learning. Volition Capital’s investment will allow us, among other things, to continue investing in data science so we can more accurately forecast market trends and behaviours.”

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