“I didn’t know if Tix had a future”: Day 1 to 1000 of Tix 

For those who’ve ever purchased a ticket to an occasion in Nigeria, likelihood is that the ticket was bought on Tix, a 6-year-old firm that has grown to grow to be the de facto platform for ticketing and occasion administration in Nigeria and past. 

However it didn’t all begin clean. Tix was born out of frustration and was practically snuffed out by COVID earlier than it discovered its footing. “We simply wished to outlive,” says Folayemi Agusto, the corporate’s co-founder and CEO. “Every little thing after that was a selection.”

In right now’s version of Day 1–1000, Agusto tells TechCabal how a aspect challenge advanced right into a continent-spanning ticketing platform, how execution—not imaginative and prescient—turned her moat, and why staying alive by means of a pandemic was the final word founder check.

Day 1 – Fixing my very own drawback

I didn’t begin Tix as a result of I had some grand imaginative and prescient to revolutionise occasion tech in Africa. We began Tix as a result of we wanted it. Easy.

Earlier than Tix, I co-founded Eat.Drink.Lagos, which started as a humble meals weblog. Again then, my co-founder and I simply wished to doc our consuming adventures. However then strangers on the web began asking to eat with us. Bizarre? Sure. But in addition a chance. That meals weblog became supper golf equipment, which advanced right into a full-blown meals pageant.

And that’s when the ache started.

Promoting tickets was hell. There was no good strategy to course of funds domestically. We’d use a Constancy checking account. We’ll inform individuals “pay in quarter-hour or lose your spot.” We’ll monitor manually. Cancel unpaid reservations. Do buyer help over Gmail. Eventbrite didn’t help Naira. Shopify helped, however paying in {dollars}? Unsustainable. We obtained dragged on-line once we couldn’t deal with crowds. I nonetheless bear in mind 2018—15,000 individuals confirmed up. We collected no knowledge. Folks couldn’t pay on the gate. POSs failed. It was chaos.

So we mentioned: let’s repair this. That’s how Tix was born.

Day 50 – The group chat the place All of it started

Tix began in a Twitter DM between myself, Nosa (Eat.Drink co-founder), Timmy of BuyCoins, and Ope of Paystack.

If I’m being trustworthy, I used to be the least dedicated. I had a great job at Andela and was solely half-paying consideration. However once we had one thing usable—a prototype the place somebody may really purchase a ticket—I obtained critical.

We examined it at Eat.Drink.Lagos Pageant in December 2019. You could possibly land on a web page, click on an image, purchase a ticket, and obtain a QR code. It was fundamental. Typically individuals obtained debited however no ticket. Nonetheless, it was progress. Company preferred how simple it was. We even did NFC wristbands so you might faucet to pay.

On March 1, 2020, we employed our first cell dev (part-time) and a full-stack engineer. 

After which 15 days later, on March 15, 2020, COVID hit. 

We had simply leased workplace house. We had been constructing an occasion firm for an period the place no person may collect. I didn’t know if Tix had a future. However I knew I wished to outlive.

Survival turned the objective. We slashed salaries by 50%. We obtained scrappy. Throughout COVID, I realized Figma. I constructed low cost code UIs. I realized SQL and constructed dashboards in Retool. We did Instagram Lives with creators, partnered with cooks, and built-in Zoom into our platform so you might host digital occasions with out a Zoom account. 

Complete income from paid occasions throughout COVID? Between ₦100,000 to ₦500,000. Possibly. Most occasions had been free. Folks used Tix for Zoom birthday events or paint-and-sip periods shipped to their properties. It was bleak. However we stayed alive. 

By late 2021, COVID restrictions began to carry. Folks had been gathering once more. We bought ₦160 million in tickets that 12 months. It was the primary signal that this enterprise may work.

Day 730 – Our first “actual” 12 months

2022 was our first actual post-COVID 12 months. That 12 months, we bought ₦884 million in tickets, a 452% enhance from 2021. We had been nonetheless a small workforce (fewer than 20 individuals), however we knew one factor: Tix was now an actual enterprise. This wasn’t a fluke. Folks wished what we had been constructing. That felt euphoric.

In September 2023, I received the NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator. I pitched dwell in New York and beat out startups throughout the continent. It was my first dwell pitch. I used to be nonetheless grieving; my brother had handed away. However that second… it gave me again my confidence. My will to construct. It jogged my memory why I began this journey within the first place.

The evolution of Tix

After we began, all you might do was promote and purchase tickets.

Now, our creators can:

• Run Instagram advertisements and monitor them with Meta Pixel integrations.
• Create GBP-priced tickets for diaspora occasions within the UK.
• Host in-person occasions in Ghana with employees and logistics powered by us.

Our product has grow to be extra strong as a result of I stayed near the customers. I knew we had hit product market match when a teammate advised me: “Once I say I work at Tix now, individuals already know what it’s.” That was new. Earlier than, we’d have to elucidate: “We’re like Eventbrite for Africa.” Now, individuals recognise us. That’s product-market match to me. We’re  in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK (diaspora). We assist organisers do greater than promote tickets. We assist them run smoother, extra pleasant occasions.

Day 1000 – Current day:  Reflections on ache, energy, and persistence

For those who requested me, would I do it once more? Sure. Completely. However in a different way.

I’d elevate cash from buyers who really perceive the occasion house. Ticketing isn’t a distinct segment. It’s huge. QuickGet in South Africa was acquired by Ticketmaster. DICE is rising quick. Folks underestimate this house.

I wouldn’t change our workforce, although. Or our title. And I’d make investments even earlier in telling our story. Tix is powered by execution. That’s our moat. I don’t worry competitors. The true distinction between concepts is execution. My philosophy nonetheless stays the identical: 

• Execution is the whole lot.
• I hate medium-effort individuals.
• I hate coasters.
• I hate “wafflers”—individuals who speak large and ship small.

We’ve had hires who realised in a single month: “This isn’t for me.” And that’s okay. Tix is intense. You possibly can’t faux arduous work right here.

What retains me going? Radical delusion. I see the way forward for Tix prefer it’s behind a glass wall. Day by day I chip away at it. It’s bulletproof, however I’ve to maintain hammering.

Success for me helps individuals—each organisers and attendees—have pleasant occasion experiences. That’s what we’re constructing. One ticket at a time.

Learn extra Day 1-1000: