Sports industry veteran and entrepreneur Cole Rubin launched Seat Club in early January of 2024. Seat Club is the first and only subscription-based tickeint platform were members buy tickets with no fees or markups.
Rubin, a life-long Baltimore Ravens fan, joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about the platform and his 20-year career.
"I've been in live events for as long as I can remember, paying my way through college by doing travel packages for Baltimore Ravens road games. That was how I paid my way through school. We ran that business for a number of years and then transitioned into Dynasty Sports and Entertainment now known as Logitix where we helped teams and rights holders to be able to better price and distribute their ticketing."
Under Rubin’s direction, Dynasty grew into one of the largest inventory and technology providers to both primary and secondary market ticketing companies and exchanges, and was responsible for automating the distribution of multiple billions of dollars in ticketing content annually. Rubin exited the business in 2020.
After a long run with both businesses, Rubin was able to spend more time with his family. That interaction period sparked the idea of the need for Seat Club.
"I've really had the time to be with my family. I have twin 12-year olds, a nine-year old, a wife and we're all sports fanatics. When I was in the industry in the past we would get great access to go to events. Teams would have us out. We'd get comp tickets and they really rolled out the red carpet for us. Since I've been out of the industry, I've been buying tickets like everyone else, searching on the various four to five websites, looking at the same tickets, only to have to go through the long sales funnel to be hit with that fee at the very end of the transaction. I live in South Florida. My family members are huge Miami Heat and Florida Panthers fans, both of those teams most the finals in their respective sport in the same week. It just so happened they were alternating days where my family was going to a game pretty much every other day. The amount of fees were just outrageous. From that point on I said I know there is a better way. I became obsessed with creating a platform that frankly serves my family and helps us to be able to go to games for the best price possible, thinking that there are many others who value live events the way that we do. People who are sick of paying these fees and want to be able to access the same inventory at the best possible prices."
Rubin admits he's a big "live" guy who is willing to pay high prices to see big games and music stars. He understands the actual cost of attending sports and other events, but the entrepreneur can't accept the astronomical fees attached to the price of a ticket.
"When you go to these sights and you're buying expensive tickets because "live" has become very expensive. We live in an experiential world. When you're seeing fees tacked on that are 30-35 percent, in addition to that already expensive price, that's where I have an issue because that doesn't need to be there. That's just the profit for that ticketing exchange that's connecting a buyer and a seller. So at Seat Club what we're seeking to do is for $99 a year you can become a member of Seat Club and get access to that same exact inventory without any fees or markups. It's somewhat of a Costco model where the only money that Seat Club makes is on that $99 membership fee. That saves people a lot of time and money."
Seat Club’s $99/year membership includes:
-Access to the same ticket inventory as the top secondary sites
- No fees or markups, members buy tickets AT OUR COST
- There is no cap of the number of tickets that can be purchased. Subscribers are entitled to unlimited ticket purchases annually.
- Fan Protect Guarantee on tickets purchased (24/7 support staff)
Rubin says while his family is gearing up for a possible Super Bowl appearance by the Ravens, his sports-minded family is really crazy about basketball. Cole played high school hoops, lacrosse and tennis at Tilton School in New Hampshire. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the George Washington University with a double major in Marketing and Sport Event Management. He resides in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife Niki and children Raya, Mason, and Judah. Rubin is also passionate about giving back to his community as a member on various boards for local, non-profit organizations.
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Cole Rubin here.
