Festicket is a new UK startup targeting music festival goers, a market in Europe which, by some estimates, is worth £12 billion. Users browse the curated directory of music festivals and with one click can book a festival package — tickets, transport and accommodation — therefore eliminating much of the pain associated with attending festivals and potentially opening up the festival market to an even wider audience.
Founded by Zacharie Sabban (CEO) and Jonathan Younes (CTO), Festicket is trying to make attending festivals as easy as booking a package holiday. Traditionally, attending a festival — especially abroad — involves a sort of DIY approach of researching a festival, booking tickets, finding a place to stay, and arranging transport or relying on one of the more traditional niche travel/coach companies that lay on special arrangements for festivals, although these still often involve a certain amount of extra organisation, such as sourcing accommodation. This results in a lot of friction in the booking process and an itinerary that is disparate, with booking confirmations/receipts that are issued by multiple providers. Festicket consolidates this process.
Along with its one-click booking, the startup is also attempting to differentiate itself by the content it provides around each festival to aid the discovery process (it even links to an artist’s SoundCloud account, if available), along with competing on price and customer service. There’s a social travel element, too, with the ability for festival goers to share their experience and network with one another.
The business model is fairly straightforward: Festicket has agreements with suppliers and takes a 20 percent commission on each part of the packages it sells (i.e. tickets, accommodation, transport, extras).
The London-based startup is thus far funded by friends and family to the tune of £70k, but is in the process of raising an angel round.