When Fiona Boyd and David Eadle decide to start an e-business venture, you can be certain it will be a knockout success in no time at all, with their latest venture RushCrowds proving they have the midas touch.
The entrepreneurial duo are the creators and original owners of the very successful ArtsHub and ScreenHub online subscription websites.
RushCrowds connects members to events and events to members. Event promoters use RushCrowds to inform members about their venues, shows and events. In exchange, RushCrowd members gain free admission or discounted ticket entry by promoting the event they wish to attend by sharing a link to their friends or followers through Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare.
Membership to RushCrowds is free. You sign up on their website and choose whether to connect your Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare account to the site.
This approach allows promoters to reach an art hungry audience. It gets bums on seats and helps make a night out more affordable for many people.
A night out can be an expensive exercise, when you take into account taxis, babysitters, drinks, entry fees, and can discourage people from going out, " says Fiona.
Tickets are limited so members must act fast if they wish to attend an event. Perhaps you have already seen the links on your Facebook wall or Twitter account.
RushCrowds has grown so fast the team are planning to open a site in Sydney later this month or early September before taking on the rest of Australia and the world. They are planning to add retail and real estate to their platform.
We initially had the idea for RushCrowds back in 1999 when we wrote the business plan for a similar concept called Arts Rush. However at that time we could not see how to get a big enough market share quickly enough. Not everyone had an email address for example," says Fiona.
It would take another ten years before they began realising their dream, along with co-founders Michelle Nicol and Ed Dowling.
David and Fiona are featured in the book 50 Great e-Businesses and the Minds Behind Them by Emily Ross and Angus Holland published in 2007.
Currently RushCrowds has special or free offers available for the following: the dance performance I Left My Shoes On Warm Concrete and Danced In The Rain, at the Arts House; a comedy show by Hung Le (violinist, comedian, actor, novelist and playwright); Krakouer, a play about two brothers who played AFL in the 1980s, at the Frankston Performing Arts Centre.
Check the RushCrowds
website for details.
Fiona Boyd and David Eadle
