Embrace the Face! CashorTrade.org Revolutionizes Ticketing for Fans
We are the good people. Case in point, Brando Rich, Founder of CashorTrade.org. Brando and his brother Dusty are on a mission to disrupt Ticketmaster and Stubhub to put concert tickets back in hands of fans instead of scalpers. We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Brando about how the concept for the CashorTrade revolution began.
When did you first start going to shows? Do you remember your first concert?
Brando Rich: For sure! I was 14 and went to Lollapalooza. Crazy time. Back then it was like the only large festival there was. Now there are tons. It was crazy though, Primus headlined. My brother and I crowd surfed across the grounds. You could just have a couple people toss you up and then point in the direction you wanted to go and the crowd would carry you! It was the quickest way to the front row or across to the portapotties. It actually became a mode of transportation.
My next show was when it all came together though. Phish at the UNH field house on 5-8-93. Such an amazing show. It was the first time I really got to see a sense of community amongst a musical experience. My next show after that was The Grateful Dead at the Boston Garden. My brother and I were getting in a lot of trouble with the cops back then and my parents were grounding us for months at a time. We kind of had enough and ran away to see the Dead for a couple nights. Slept under a bridge and really learned what the scene was all about. Anyone who has seen the Grateful Dead, they know. The lot scene was like no other. We're talking to tons of people who have been on the road for decades at a time. Harry Krishnas dancing down the streets and massive drum and dance circles like I have never seen. There was nothing like it. No band has even come close to that sort of following, that scene. It was like the sixties were truly living on right there before our eyes.
Brothers Dusty and Brando Rich of CashorTrade
How did the concept for CashorTrade start?
Brando Rich: After trying to get tickets for Phish's return from hiatus we were shut out, yet there were tons of tickets on Stubhub and other scalper sites going for upwards of $2000. My brother and I being web designers had enough and decided something had to be done. We quickly built cashortrade.org in a little over a week. We were not sure of what would come of it but by the end of the year we had over 5000 members.
Did you ever except it to grow so quickly?
Brando Rich: We did not. Word spread but it still has been mainly underground all this time. Over the last 2 years, over 75,000 new members have signed up. It's now reaching more fans as we have many different bands, genre types, and age ranges. CashorTrade has been a side project for many years. It's now reached such a size that it is time to give it the time and focus it deserves. There is so much potential.
So far we are averaging about 20,000 ticket traded this year since January. Things really pick up come June which is our busy season. Last year we had over 45,000 ticket sales, so we're off to great start this year already.
In November last year we sold our web design company and I am now working on the project full time. We recently hired a couple new developers and now have a small team focused on the mission. The time has come to take a fun fan exchange idea and bring it to the main stream. CashorTrade is a real alternative to the corruption occurring on today's secondary ticket market. Much like AirBnB disrupted the lodging industry, and Uber the taxi industry, CashorTrade is disrupting the ticket industry. The time of exploiting fans is over. CashorTrade is the first platform to give fans what they want -- a fair and ethical market place where they can score tickets for face value, make friends, and revel in the majestic experience that these events bring.
What is a day like in the CashorTrade office?
Brando Rich: With our team it's quite fun. I live at the bottom of Church Street in Burlington, so I roll up each day on my electric scooter and sit down each day to make the web experience better for our fans. It's exciting and rewarding work. We are working on many things and have a new platform on the way that we've been working very hard on that we hope to launch this summer. We are working on building our blog and our social media presence. We've also been doing a ton of really huge ticket giveaway this year that have been exciting. It's fun.
With the future of Cash or Trade, what are some of your visions?
Brando Rich: We are just dipping our toes in the investor market and learning what it is all about. We have done a great job building this excellent community so far, but if we want to become a real contender in the secondary ticket industry, and be a real competitor to StubHub, Ticketmaster, and the like, we need the proper funding. We feel there is no reason that CashorTrade could not gain a significant market share by doing what no secondary reseller site does...giving fans exactly what they want.
How can fans within the community support growth or spread the word?
Brando Rich: Next time you make a ticket trade w/ a friend, use the site. It's free and you can leave each other great reviews. Refer the site to your friends and post to social media. Friend referrals are the most powerful form of marketing today. Together we are the change the ticket industry so badly needs. Embrace the face!
