A Newport Beach-based company that facilitates the issuance of events tickets has partnered with a cloud-based network to offer registration and tickets for online broadcasts of live events.
TicketSocket connected with Mountain View-based BlueJeans Network, a video communications service connecting people across a wide range of devices and conferencing platforms. Events planners, through BlueJeans’ integration with Facebook Live, can stream live, interactive broadcasts and augment them with TicketSocket’s marketing tools.
TicketSocket said it wants to help events organizers create a new revenue stream by enticing viewers who might not be able to attend a live event to buy tickets for live streaming, with the goal of increasing virtual attendance, co-founder and President Mark Miller said.
Examples of events are Tony Robbins Live and League of Legends gaming tournaments.
The partnership comes as events organizers, brands, and businesses look for ways to increase attendance beyond the limitations of physical venues and to boost event exposure for sponsors, he said.
“TicketSocket hopes to create a new marketplace for event attendees, from the comfort of their office or home, while not missing out on the action,” Miller said via email. “Any industry can benefit from this, including free and paid events, business seminars, e-sports tournaments, as well as VIP entertainment concerts and performances.”
TicketSocket was formed in 2012 and officially launched in 2013. It employs more than 30.
Car Repair Convenience
On-demand services for cars are gaining traction in OC. The Business Journal in December reported on Loil, an on-demand, mobile service that recently started offering oil changes, with the intent to expand into repair work.
Trusted Mechanix, started by Jarrett Rogers, 25, takes the idea a step further with on-demand, mobile auto repair, ranging from brake changes to engine replacement, and everything in between, as well as preventive maintenance.
Rogers said he was inspired to start it after seeing his mother “being taken advantage of” by an auto shop in San Diego and his general perception of a lack of trust and transparency in the auto repair industry.
“Our company is not looking at how much we can make off you, but at keeping customers for a lifetime,” he said. “We want customers walking away thinking we have their best interests at heart. … We’re not going to try to upsell you something you don’t need.”
Rogers said he finds mechanics through his friends and via word of mouth. Many of them had already been working as mobile mechanics or worked at dealerships, he said. They work for his company as independent contractors.
Trusted Mechanix’ customers can set up appointments through its website until its app is ready, Rogers said. By the end of the first quarter, customers will be able to receive a quote through both the app and website, he added. He said he wants to ultimately expand the service to other areas in Southern California and beyond. He’s bootstrapped the company himself with an amount he wouldn’t disclose.
Profs Honored
University of California-Irvine engineering professor Michelle Khine and Provost, Executive Vice Chancellor, and Distinguished Professor Enrique Lavernia have been named 2016 fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. The distinction is bestowed on academics who’ve demonstrated a “prolific spirit of innovation with outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society,” UCI said in a statement.
Lavernia is a professor of chemical engineering and materials science. His research has led to 12 patents, two of which are pending. Khine, a professor of biomedical engineering, has developed low-cost, manufacturable approaches to micro- and nanotechnologies for diagnostics, drug discovery and wearables.
They will be inducted in April as part of the National Academy of Inventors’ sixth annual conference in Boston.
More Innovators Lauded
Three California State University-Fullerton seniors have been named University Innovation Fellows by a program of the same name established to empower students to become agents of change at their universities.Â
Vanessa Ganaden, Lorenzo Santos and Steven Debolt are among the newest class of fellows selected from 49 higher education institutions in four countries. They’ll soon head to Stanford University, where the program is based, for presentations.Â
Ganaden is majoring in business administration-marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s president of the Student Innovation Collective, which facilitates multidisciplinary departments to work together on project-oriented activities. Communications-advertising major Santos is co-founder of Sigma Upsilon Mu, a co-ed fraternity formed to inspire entrepreneurs. Debolt is studying business administration-entrepreneurship.
They are the second group of students from CSUF to be selected for the program, created in 2012 as part of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The program is operated as part of Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. Plattner is co-founder of Germany-based SAP SE software company and a part-time resident of Orange County.
