Buying movie tickets has never been easier with services such as Fandango and MovieTickets.com. But a tiny Seattle area startup by the name of DSD is looking to make its mark with a new online ticketing service dubbed MuveeTix.
A developer of point-of-sale software, the company offers a full suite of products for entertainment and ticketing venues, including online ticketing, employee and concession management, as well as credit card processing.
We caught up with the company founder and vice president of business development, Mindy Cushing, for the latest installment of Startup Spotlight.
Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: “We dream and build goofy stuff that makes life simpler when you go have fun, ya know, that thing you used to know how to do?”
Inspiration hit us when: “We got a little mad, and decided to fight back. Yeah, we often hear “Eye of the Tiger” as the soundtrack playing in our minds.
VC, Angel or Bootstrap: “Bootstrap. Adjective. Relying entirely on one’s efforts and resources. Self-generating or self-sustaining. Yep. That’s us. With real boots, spurs and maybe even a lasso. Why? This is the only way we know how to do things: work hard, work smart and stay inspired. Never give up. Bring in people you care about and trust to work with you. Work harder because now those people depend on you for putting food on their table. The circle of life and all that. We’re not sure there is any stronger motivation than this.”
Our ‘secret sauce’ is: “Linda, Vanessa, Patty, Ric, Ryan, Don, Mark, Chris, Jeremy, Christopher, Mindy, Christie and Michael… on a sesame seed bun.”
The smartest move we’ve made so far: “Hiring people that are smarter than we are.”
The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: “Hiring someone who wanted more than his share of the pie.”
Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: Oh man! We have to choose?! What a line up! Can we negotiate a kind of tag in/tag out scenario here? Gates is clearly a brilliant businessman. His story is an amazing one. And, he married up! Our CEO would tell you he did the same thing, so hey – in our book – he’s awesome. Jobs: we’re not counting him out. Immortal advice and all. Zuckerberg: we’d want to tag him in when we need a huge dose of fearlessness, and rebellion. And thoughts on how to annoy the entire world with upgrades, but still have them addicted to our product and come back for more! However, if we had to choose just one, we think we’d pick Bezos. First of all, he built Amazon. Amazon is local. We love local. Amazon made the Kindle. We love reading. But really, it’s because he never listens to the negative, ignores the hype and does exactly what he wants to do. Not to mention he is successful and LIKEABLE, while doing exactly what he wants to do. So, we’d choose Bezos, because he’s kinda like us.”
Our world domination strategy starts when: “Wait. Who told you about our plans for world domination? That is classified information. You know what? It doesn’t matter, because it’s coming soon… very soon. Definitely before the zombie apocalypse happens in December.”
Rivals should fear us because: “At the end of the day, no matter how big and bad the bully thinks he is, he always ends up working for the geeks. We might be a little smaller, but we’re scrappy and we never give up. #CueEyeOfTheTiger.”
We are truly unique because: “We start every board meeting by rolling a D20, and we know our competitors are still using a D12.”
The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: “Starting over. We’re not the traditional new kids on the block. Our team has decades of experience behind them, many of us have been working together for years. However, what we were, became no more. So even though we are proud of who we were and where we’ve come from, we had to begin anew… and when bad things happen to a good company, it’s worse than starting over at zero. You are starting over from a negative place. Your employees get worried. Your clients are suddenly concerned. So you have to move faster than everyone else, stay ahead of the curve. We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and grateful it’s not a train!”
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: “Hire people smarter than you. People before profit. View employees as an investment, not as an expense. But most of all: Never. Give. Up.”
