How Michael Dodsworth Is Fixing the Broken Ticketing System for Fans and Brands

Anyone who has tried to buy tickets for a major event knows the frustration. Long queues, crashing websites, bots buying inventory, and fans left empty-handed. The system often feels broken—and for businesses running product launches or ticket sales, the experience can damage trust with their most loyal customers.Brands spend months building excitement for a launch or event, only to see systems collapse under demand. Customers wait for hours, inventory disappears instantly, and the experience leaves fans angry instead of excited. Even massive companies with billions in resources still struggle to handle high-demand launches.In this episode, Jeff Kikel talks with Michael Dodsworth, CEO and founder of Fanfare, a platform designed to solve the chaos of high-demand launches. Michael shares how his frustration as a consumer—and his experience as a software engineer at Salesforce—led him to build technology that helps brands manage massive traffic spikes, eliminate bots, and reward loyal customers.They also dive into entrepreneurship, startup lessons, and how emerging technologies like AI are changing the way businesses are built today.If you're interested in building businesses, solving real problems, and creating your own Freedom Day, this episode is packed with insights. Key Takeaways:Why ticket buying and product launches often create terrible customer experiencesHow scarcity marketing and high-demand events overwhelm traditional systemsThe opportunity entrepreneurs can find by solving frustrating consumer problemsMichael’s journey from software engineer to startup founderLessons learned from working at Salesforce and scaling large software platformsWhy startups must focus on real customer problems firstHow AI tools are dramatically accelerating product developmentWhy niche problems can still create highly profitable businessesThe importance of feedback, failure, and learning fast as an entrepreneurAbout the Guest:Michael Dodsworth, founder and CEO of Fanfare—the platform turning product drops into sellouts without the chaos. After nearly two decades in the trenches of high-stakes launches for top brands, Michael has seen it all—crashed servers, bot-infested queues, and fan meltdowns. He’s the guy behind the scenes when Taylor Swift tickets break the internet or a sneaker release spirals into a PR nightmare.Links:https://fanfare.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-dodsworth/Fast Five Questions:If you woke up and your business was gone, you have $500, a laptop, a place to live, and food, what would you do first? “I have an Australian shepherd that needs feeding in the morning… otherwise he gets kind of grumpy. I think it would be hitting the whiteboard thinking about the problems that I see… thinking about the people I know and the skills I have and how I may be able to solve those… and then just start building.”What is the biggest mistake that you have made in business? “I think maybe not doing this sooner… especially with the pandemic. There was a huge opportunity here and I was probably a few months, maybe a year and a half too late… I was slow in trusting myself and taking the plunge.”What is a book that you would recommend? “I read The Mom Test when I started this… it’s about getting feedback from customers and removing the ego from conversations so you don’t bias yourself into making incorrect choices.”What is a tool that you use every day that you would recommend? “AI is everywhere… I’m using speech-to-text everywhere now. I’m using a tool called Whisper Flow… I pretty much just use one key to turn the microphone on and dictate.”What is your definition of freedom? “Think about those niche problems you see seven or eight times a day that nobody is solving… Maybe it’s not a billion-dollar problem, maybe it’s a few hundred-thousand-dollar problem. If you have enough of those, you’re in a good place.”About Jeff: Jeff spent the early part of his career working for others. Jeff had started 5 businesses that failed before he had his first success. Since that time he has learned the principles of a successful business and has been able to build and grow multiple seven-figure businesses. Jeff lives in the Austin area and is actively working in his community and supporting the growth of small businesses. He is a board member of the Incubator.Edu program at Vista Ridge High School and is on the board of directors of the Leander Educational Excellence FoundationConnect with the Freedom Nation podcast at https://freedom-nation-podcast.captivate.fm/Connect with Jeff:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomnationpodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffKikelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkikel/Thanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! 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