Gametime raises $4M to make it easy to get mobile tickets for sports events

Gametime has raised $4 million from Accel Partners and some prominent pro sports team investors to create a mobile platform so that you no longer have print tickets for sports events.

San Francisco-based Gametime is an Android and iOS app that makes it easier to purchase last-minute tickets using your mobile device.

Above: Gametime view of 49er’s Levi’s Stadium

Image Credit: Gametime

“We believe that pure software companies can develop a better user experience in this category than those who specialize in sports,” said Brad Griffith, founder and chief executive, in an interview with VentureBeat.

Griffith got the idea for the company a while ago when he and his brother were trying to buy last-minute tickets for a San Francisco Giants game. They were at a bar and realized they had to print the tickets. They talked to the bartender and got permission to go to the office and print the tickets. They accidentally printed in color, and it took extra time, even though all they really needed was a bar code or QR code. They arrived late to the ballpark.

“We figured there had to be an easier way,” Griffith said.

Colin Evans, one of the investors, has also joined the company as chief revenue officer.

The San Francisco 49ers let you transfer tickets to friends via digital transfers, rather than requiring them to pick up tickets at a Will Call window.

“Some teams are probably years behind that,” Griffith said.

Fans can buy tickets at 14 participating venues. They can get tickets for MLB, NFL, NCAA, NBA, NHL, and MLS games.

Gametime launched its app in mid-2013. Tickets sold on the platform are up 600 percent since January, and August was up 50 percent over July.

Above: Gametime view of Cal Bears stadium

Image Credit: Gametime

When you try to buy a ticket at a participating venue, Gametime will make some calculations and surface the 50 best tickets that people are selling for it. It takes into account the price of the ticket and the quality of the view from the seat. By automating this process, the fan no longer has to wade through thousands of tickets for sale. The user can get an image of the view from the seat before purchasing. Gametime takes a small piece of the overall transaction.

“It’s such a better user experience,” Griffith said. “Our percentage averages out to a very small number. The market grows if you take a smaller percentage.”

Gametime will use the funds to continue the development of the company’s user experience and hire new people. To date, the company has raised $5 million.

“We saw a lot of similarities between our investment in HotelTonight and what the Gametime team is creating,” said Brian O’Malley, a partner at Accel Partners. “Gametime’s mobile-only approach provides a serious differentiator – by prioritizing the mobile, on-the-go customer, the company will be best positioned to build the most intuitive and user-friendly ticketing experience.”

Besides Accel, investors include Jeff Mallett, a principal partner of the San Francisco Giants; Vivek Ranadive, CEO and founder of Tibco and owner of the Sacramento Kings; Sam Shank, cofounder and CEO of HotelTonight; Jared Simon, cofounder and COO of HotelTonight; Aaron Levie, founder of Box; and Colin Evans, founding executive at StubHub.

The company has 15 employees. If there’s a problem, Gametime refunds fans 115 percent of their money. But Griffith said his company only deals with trusted suppliers of tickets.