UK: Festicket, the world’s largest platform for music festival experiences, has received $4.6 million in funding from creative specialists, Edge Investments.
Edge’s investment follows a pivotal year for Festicket, which closed the year with an earlier Series D funding round led by transatlantic venture capital firm Beringea.
Festicket partners with festivals to provide travel packages that combine tickets, accommodation and transfers in one complete package for prospective attendees. The company has four additional offices alongside its London HQ – in San Francisco, Amsterdam, Berlin and Porto – and has worked with more than 2.5 million customers, over 1,200 festivals and 4,500 suppliers across 50 countries worldwide.
Founded by Zack Sabban (CEO) and Jonathan Younes (CPO), the management team has since been bolstered by a series of senior executives hired from companies such as Live Nation, Eventbrite, and Channel 4.
Edge’s investment will support Festicket’s entrance into new markets, primarily North America and Asia, alongside development of the underlying technology platform. Festicket is also planning to invest further in its community of festival fans from around the world, with the aim of building an exclusive membership tier with added benefits in 2019.
Investment Director David Fisher led the investment from Edge, alongside Investment Manager Josh Burge.
Edge Investments Founder and CEO, David Glick, said: “What attracted me to Festicket was its talented and committed management team. Zack and Jonathan have an almost telepathic bond, and in common with the best entrepreneurs they know why they are building Festicket into a huge business, solving an everyday millennial pain-point by streamlining, personalising and curating thousands of live experiences for millions of customers.”
Edge Investments Director, David Fisher, said: “We are excited to partner with such a fast-growing company. The experience, events and festival markets continue to grow exponentially and Festicket is strategically positioned to benefit from these combined trends as a horizontally integrated platform. We are delighted to support them on their journey.”
Festicket CEO, Zack Sabban, commented: “We welcome this new investment from Edge at a really important time for Festicket. Edge has a unique network and wide music industry knowledge, as well as an excellent understanding of our approach to content and community – a crucial ingredient in our growth recipe. The investment team are very passionate about our business and they believe in and understand our mission and business model. It feels like a perfect match.”
Festicket CPO, Jonathan Younes, added: “The new round of funding will support more product and technology work to continue to improve our user experience and discovery tools. We are delighted to welcome the Edge Investments team and build, with their support, the best platform for festival fans around the world.”
