WILLIAM GEISLER PHOTOGRAPHY
Barry Kahn is turning into baseball’s best closer without ever even having to throw a pitch.
Kahn is founder and CEO of Qcue, an Austin, Texas, software firm and dynamic pricing specialist. Dynamic pricing adjusts single-game ticket prices as late as the day of the game through computer analysis of team performance, opponent, weather conditions, day of the week and gate giveaways.
Three seasons after the San Francisco Giants became Qcue’s “guinea pig” at AT&T Park, Kahn’s company has signed deals with about 20 teams and properties, including NASCAR racetracks, Kahn said. The Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals are Qcue’s two most recent clients.
The Giants tested dynamic pricing for 2,000 outfield and upper-deck seats in 2009, the last seats to sell in the ballpark, and generated about $500,000 in incremental revenue. The club saw an increase of more than 7 percent in revenue in 2010 after expanding the system to all 41,914 seats.
Those results from the Bay Area have convinced several other MLB teams that the technology works in full-stadium mode.
“Barry is a genius. He is changing the face of ticketing,” said Russ Stanley, the Giants’ managing vice president of ticketing sales and services.
In addition to signing more teams to dynamic pricing deals, Qcue is taking the next step by searching for new options to distribute those tickets.
“It is not just about how teams price tickets but how they get those to the fans,” Kahn said. “As an entrepreneur, I look at it as I always need to be innovative.”
Age: 29
Title: CEO
COMPANY: Qcue
Education: B.S., applied and engineering physics, Cornell University; M.S. and Ph.D., economics, University of Texas
Family: Single
Career: Founded Qcue in 2007
Last vacation: Kiteboarding in Jericoacoara and few other spots along the northeast coast of Brazil
What's on your iPod: Right now I have moe, Drive By Truckers, The Hold Steady, Local Natives, Jurassic 5, Xavier Rudd, Bob Dylan, George Clinton, Ra Ra Riot and a bunch of others.
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Best stress release: Running
Pet peeve: People who are too nice. I like to
know where I stand with people.
Greatest achievement: Without a doubt,
Qcue
Greatest disappointment: The 2003
Philadelphia Marathon
Fantasy job: I’d love a shot as the CEO of USA Track & Field. That or a heli-skiing guide. Probably
the latter.
Business advice: Decide who you are and own
it. |
