History

"Barry Kahn grew up hearing how his father, Richard, went bust as a concert promoter. He had been thrilled to book Bob Weir, the rhythm guitar player for the Grateful Dead, to play a club in Washington, D.C. But then the club's owner booked the Dead's famous frontman, Jerry Garcia, to perform a few days before Weir - who then played to a nearly empty house.

Like Kahn's dad, many promoters have trouble selling out live events: About 55% of the tickets go unsold. Kahn's startup, called qcue, hopes to slash that surplus by helping ticket sellers properly price their products. 'While getting my Ph.D. in economics, I got really bothered by inefficient markets,' says Kahn. 'And the ticket market is as inefficient as it gets.' "
- Adriana Gardella (CNN Money)

These stories of the entertainment industry and musings about market efficiency have since evolved into a company that provides pricing software for the live entertainment industry. While still graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin, qcue was the largest winner on the collegiate business plan competition circuit, winning the Texas Moot Corp and Rice Business Plan Competitions.

Funded by angel investors including Jack Gill (formerly of Vanguard Ventures) and Rod Canion (founder of Compaq), qcue is poised to transform the ticketing industry. Working with lighthouse client, the San Francisco Giants, qcue is introducing dynamic pricing to live entertainment starting with the 2009 MLB Season.