*
insight
Letting it
T
go
icket Cake was founded in 2011 by
entrepreneurs Dylan Jorgensen, Jacqueline
Jensen and Joe Henriod, who moved to Las
Vegas in May 2012. Here they became one
of the first startups to receive money from the Vegas
Tech Fund, the local seed stage fund of the Las Vegas
Downtown Project. By its close, in August 2014, the
company had more than 320 event organizers who
used TicketCake.com and processed $1.5 million in
ticket sales.
We met up with Dylan Jorgensen and Jacqueline
Jensen to get their views on why the team’s biggest
venture yet, came up short.
CG: What went wrong? Can you point to a specific
moment or thing as a cause?
We worked really hard to get more done as
individuals, but we weren’t building a system that
could grow and scale without our continual support. In
the end, that’s what hurt us.
CG: What are the early symptoms of a failed
startup?
We could tell when our team wasn't ready to pivot
again. We still had some money in the bank so it
was possible but it just wasn't exciting anymore.
Creating Genius Magazine | Page 14
CG: Looking back on everything, what would you
have done differently?
It never dawned on us that Ticket Cake didn't work.
We thought we controlled the Ticket Cake universe.
When Ticket Cake was still alive, we never considered
what failure would have looked like. We got so
wrapped up in our own success that we didn’t pay
attention to all of the failures that were adding up.
CG: Can we chalk this up as a learning experience
and just move on?
I suppose. Success and failure seem equally important
on the surface, but it's really what you learn from each
outcome that matters. It’s how you make adjustments
to both hedge your bets and roll the dice faster going
forward.
CG: Any advice for all those failed startups out
there?
We all know it’s not about the money. Startups are first
and foremost about people. Failed startups resemble
failed relationships. They hurt in a lot of irrational
ways – and that’s ok – just be ready for it.