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From invites to registrations, and onboarding partners, managing an event is a herculean task. Ticket 9, a Coimbatore-based B2B (business-to-business) startup, leverages technology to automate manual processes involved in organising events, streamlining the workflow.  

“Ticket 9 is built on the idea that anyone anywhere in the world desiring to create an event, sell tickets or engage attendees in events should have a powerful tool to do it easily,” Santhos Premraj, Co-founder and Product Architect, Ticket 9 tells YourStory.

Founded by Yazhini Shanumgam and Premraj in 2022, events tech startup Ticket 9 is building SaaS products to help users create, manage, promote, and monetise events of all sizes. 

Among other things, Ticket 9 helps organisers schedule email notifications and track ticket sales. 

According to the co-founder, creating an event and taking it live on Ticket 9 “is as simple as creating an email id”.

“Our platform is designed to be user-friendly, particularly for first-time event organisers, while also offering flexibility for larger events,” says Shanumgam, Co-founder and CEO, Ticket 9.

One of the challenges faced by event organisers, for example, is effectively managing the check-in process, particularly when dealing with a large number of attendees, Co-founder Premraj says. To address this issue, the company developed a robust QR-based check-in validation system.

“By implementing the QR-based check-in system, we simplified and streamlined the entry process for event organisers. Attendees can simply present their QR codes, either printed or on their mobile devices, at the entry points. Our system quickly and accurately verifies the validity of the QR codes, ensuring a smooth and efficient check-in experience for both organisers and attendees,” he adds.

The B2B platform charges a minimum transaction fee of 5% on each ticket sold through its platform. 

Started with an investment of Rs 18 lakh (∼ $22,000) from the founders, the company made $23,000 in revenue in FY23.

Other players in the B2B events management space are Bookmyshow and Paytm Insider. 

Behind the scenes

Premraj began his career as an event organiser, working on large events such as marathons and live concerts. The lack of technological support at these events pushed him to develop solutions for the sector.

He discussed the idea with his friend Shanmugam, an event enthusiast who was working as a team lead for a software company. 

The initial idea for Ticket 9 was conceived in October 2019, and the founders began working on an events tech solution using their small savings from their first company. They registered their domain and the beta version of their events solution was released in February 2020. 

The beta version was primarily focused on supporting physical events. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 forced them to pivot their business strategy.

“The development and release of the beta version took us eight months, and it was initially a product stemming from our first company. However, as we worked on the idea, we realised the importance of adapting to the industry trends post-COVID, leading us to expand Ticket 9’s capabilities to support virtual and hybrid events alongside physical ones,” states Premraj. The founders declined to comment on their first venture.  

Operating from their previous company, they organised more than 60 virtual events during the pandemic. The events were virtual sports, meetups, and business webinars with attendees of around 500+.

Two years later, in 2022, they registered as a separate entity under Ticket 9 Event Tech Private Limited.

“We adapted our platform to accommodate virtual and hybrid events, aligning with the changing needs of event organisers in the new normal,” says Premraj.

So far the startup has supported more than 270 events in both virtual and physical space. These include Rovers – International Sports Carnival, Coimbatore Badminton Champion, and Creaticon – The Social Company.

Market opportunity 

According to Verified Market Research, the global events industry market size was valued at $887 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $2,194.40 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 13.48% from 2021 to 2028.

“We have captured approximately 0.7% of the market share thus far. We cater to the events industry by type (music concert, festivals, sports, exhibitions and conferences, corporate events and seminars, and others),” says Shanumgam.

In May 2023, the startup raised $120,000 in its pre-seed round from M2P Co-founder Prabhu Rangarajan, bitsCrunch’s Founder, and CEO Vijay Pravin Maharajan and CTO Ashok Vardharajan, and other angel investors from the US, Singapore, Australia and Bangkok.

The platform currently has users from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bengaluru. Ticket 9 has a team of 12 members.

As for the future, Ticket 9 hopes to expand operations internationally. 

“We are in talks with a few event organisers in UAE regions for strategic partnerships. We are working on a new phase of development for our global operations. The initial expansion will start from UAE regions and in Singapore within this year,” says Shanumgam.