Ticket Alternative Co-Founder Iain Bluett Announces His Exit
Ticket Alternative co-founder Iain Bluett is stepping down from the Atlanta-ticketing company he co-founded with friend and business partner Jamie Dwyer after nearly 20 years in the business.
Ticket Alternative co-founder Iain Bluett is stepping down from the Atlanta-ticketing company he co-founded with friend and business partner Jamie Dwyer after nearly 20 years in the business.
“Today I am sharing news that I have decided to move on from being President of Ticket Alternative,” he wrote in a letter to staff exclusively obtained by Billboard. “I am incredibly proud of the company I founded and of everything I have achieved. It is a bittersweet decision as I have loved every moment of building our company, yet deep down a change has been calling.”
Dwyer bought Bluett’s shares in Ticket Alternative back as part of the deal and brought on a new partner to run Ticket Alternative, which tickets thousands of events annually and employs more than 40 people. Clients include Rival Entertainment, the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater, RCS Productions and Premier Events. Bluett, a native of the United Kingdom told staff he was proud to have launched an international Ticket Alternative office in London and counts a 2015 Rolling Stones show at Georgia Tech and the promotion of Minnesota United FC into Major League Soccer as some of his proudest accomplishments.
“We started Ticket Alternative to serve those who love and create live events, those people who create experiences for others to enjoy. We delivered them happiness with infectious enthusiasm, all while having serious fun. We will do the unexpected to build meaningful relationships with them in ways others cannot. Those core values live on and I am thankful to those who exemplify them every single day.”
Bluett also led Ticket Alternative’s launch of the company’s own Freshtix platform and developed ticketing-platform-agnostic call center services for Atlanta’s Fox Theater as well as the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Georgia.
“And meanwhile, we’re one of the largest event wristbands suppliers in the country selling over 40 million wristbands annually,” he wrote.
“My team worked tirelessly, giving up their time with their friends and families 365 days of the year to be the best company we can be,” he added. “To my clients, many of whom became good friends along the way, I hope to continue to work with you in some form or another in the future.”
“Being an entrepreneur has been one of the most rewarding and exhilarating experiences of my life and I encourage anyone who has an idea and a dream to take that same chance,” he wrote, “but I think it also takes a true leader to make the decision to walk away at the right time and I am only able to do that because I can leave my legacy in Jamie’s very capable hands. I look forward to watching Ticket Alternative grow under the new leadership team and I will continue to support them in any way I can.”
Bluett said he plans to announce his “new adventure in due course” but first intends “to take some time off for myself and for my family to travel and assess whatever opportunity comes next.”
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