Wish I Knew: Eric Baker, Viagogo & StubHub | Bessemer Venture Partners | Episode 3

TL;DR

Eric Baker, co-founder of StubHub and founder and CEO of viagogo, shares his inspiring story of overcoming adversity, reinventing himself, and successfully leading both companies.

Transcript

if you're gonna do something that's going to try and change the status quo you're going to get people telling you why it doesn't work and you're going to get a lot of you know rejection and a lot of naysayers and I think if everyone got people telling them yes then everyone would be doing this and it would be easy welcome to wish I knew the show ab... Read More

Key Insights

• ❓ Entrepreneurship requires resilience and the ability to overcome rejection and naysayers.
• 💪 Building a strong foundation of knowledge, contacts, and capital is crucial for success.
• 🥺 Adversity can lead to unexpected opportunities and the ability to pivot and reinvent oneself.
• 🥺 Streamlining operations and focusing on delivering value to customers can lead to increased profitability.
• 🔓 Mergers and acquisitions can create synergies and unlock greater value in an industry.
• 🙃 Keeping a long-term vision and being prepared for ups and downs are essential in entrepreneurship.
• 😤 Transparency, clear communication, and trust among team members are vital for navigating challenges and achieving success.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Eric Baker's experience at McKinsey and Bain Capital prepare him for entrepreneurship?

Eric's experience at McKinsey and Bain Capital provided him with valuable knowledge, contacts, and access to capital, which were crucial for starting and growing his own business. He learned from successful entrepreneurs in his family and sought to build a strong foundation before venturing into entrepreneurship.

Q: How did Eric's experience of being fired from StubHub impact his resilience?

Being fired from StubHub motivated Eric to prove himself and seek redemption. He channeled his resilience into starting a new company, viagogo, and worked on rebuilding his success from scratch. This experience taught him the importance of perseverance and not being discouraged by rejection or naysayers.

Q: How did viagogo turn around from being a loss-making company to becoming profitable?

Eric and his team at viagogo implemented strategic changes to streamline operations, focus on delivering value to customers, and reduce costs. They conducted interviews with employees to ensure everyone was aligned with the company's goals, leading to increased efficiency and profitability.

Q: What led to the successful acquisition of StubHub by viagogo?

The opportunity to acquire StubHub arose when Elliott, a hedge fund, bought into eBay and pushed for the spin-off of non-core businesses. Eric believed that viagogo could create more value than any other potential buyer due to the industrial logic of merging the international leader (viagogo) with the domestic leader (StubHub). Additionally, he saw a bigger opportunity beyond ticket resale that both companies could capitalize on.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Eric Baker co-founded StubHub in 1999 but was later fired from his own company. Instead of giving up, he moved to Europe and started a rival ticket resale company called viagogo.

• Viagogo faced many challenges and even shut down temporarily, but Eric's resilience led to the company's turnaround, and it became profitable and grew rapidly.

• In 2019, Eric successfully acquired StubHub, reuniting the two companies and creating more opportunities for growth in the ticket resale industry.