Interview with TiXiT CEO, Mike Figliuolo
I had the pleasure of talking with Mike Figliuolo about Columbus’ newest company. As you read the interview I am sure you will agree this is another exciting venture for Columbus, Ohio and you’ll want to check out TiXiT!
Michele: So who is TiXiT and what do you guys do?
Mike: TiXiT is a Columbus-based company that offers event promoters (sports, music, theatre, etc.) an intelligent system for discounting and selling tickets that would otherwise go unsold. We love the idea of negotiating discounts directly with venues and passing those along to consumers.
Michele: Where did the idea come from?
Mike: This is a classic “start-up started in a Starbucks” company. I was having coffee with Dave Cherry (TiXiT’s founder) one day and he told me about this idea he had for a ticketing discounting company. I’ve been involved in start-ups for several years and when Dave mentioned it, my eyes lit up.
Michele: Where did you guys go from there?
Mike: I quickly roped in my business partners Brian Link, Nick Seguin, and Mike Sheehan. We then partnered with Dave to found and launch TiXiT. Since then we’ve signed up some great initial customers and we’re offering great discounts to their upcoming shows.
Michele: How does TiXiT work?
Mike: It’s incredibly easy. Folks can register at www.tixitbox.com, tell us what they’re interested in (sports, theatre, concerts, etc.), and then see what discounts we have available. Once they find one they like they click to redeem the discount and complete the transaction on the venue’s ticketing system like Ticketmaster.
Michele: How good are the discounts and can people share them?
Mike: Since we go directly to the venue we’re able to get discounts on the order of 20-50% off the ticket price. That’s pretty hard to beat. And we love when people share the discount code with their friends and invite them to register for TiXiT. The venues love it too – it brings in new fans they’ve never come across before.
Michele: How does social media fit into TiXiT’s plans?
Mike: As I just mentioned, we love when people share our discounts with their friends. To enable that sharing we encourage folks to follow us in twitter at @TiXiTBox and fan us on Facebook. We’ll regularly be sharing the latest deals on both locations as well as on www.tixitbox.com.
Michele: So what’s coming up for you guys?
Mike: We’ve got a bunch of great events we’re offering. The best discount we’re offering right now is for The Peking Acrobats. We have other deals we’re waiting to release to the market. We’re thrilled to put these out there. I hope you and your readers come by to check us out at www.tixitbox.com and see if we’ve got a great deal for you. In the future as we ramp up, we’ll be adding all different kinds of sporting events, concerts, and other shows so the sooner folks connect with us, the sooner they’ll know about the latest deals.
Michele: Thanks Mike and good luck with TiXiT!
Mike: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me today Michele.
