OEN Member Spotlight – Mike Nierengarten of Showbacker
Showbacker is a website where users can reserve first run tickets to a concert before a show is even booked. 
Q: What does your business do?
A: Showbacker users can reserve tickets to local concerts before a show is booked. If enough users show interest in a specific show, Showbacker & its partners book the show, and users receive their tickets.
Q: What problem does it solve?
A: Showbacker mitigates the risk promoters and venues take when booking bands. By limiting the risk, promoters and venues can better gauge interest in a show & better understand the local market value of a band.
Q: How did you come up with this business idea?
A: I lost enough money booking concerts that I wanted to find a system where promoters would no longer lose money.
Q: What are your biggest challenges?
A: The biggest challenge is attempting to disrupt a long-standing model with established players and systems for conducting business.
Q: What are your goals for the company?
A: The main goal of the company at this point is to create a proof of concept and verify the concert funding model. Secondary goals include establishing the partnerships in the industry that will allow Showbacker to be successful.
Q: Are you looking for funding?
A: I am not actively looking for funding, but I am searching for the right partner, which could include some level of investment.
Q: What would funding enable you to do?
A: Initial funding would help launch the site, feature some shows, and enable Showbacker to better determine financing needs and better forecast revenue.
Q: Have you been an entrepreneur before?
A: Showbacker is my 3rd business but 1st tech startup. I previously ran a promotions company (Direct Entertainment) in Las Vegas and am currently running an internet marketing consulting company (Obility Consulting).
Q: What brought you to OEN? What do you hope to gain from membership?
A: Angel Oregon brought me to OEN membership, but I have been attending OEN events for years. I am hoping to gain a connection to fellow entrepreneurs and to benefit from the collective knowledge of the group.
Q: What has been the biggest surprise in your entrepreneurial experience to date?
A: The number of resources available to me in my 3rd startup is so far beyond the support I had with my 1st company. Looking back at all the mistakes I have made, I cannot help but wonder where I would be with the community, workshops, & support available today.
Q: What has been the best entrepreneurial advice you’ve received?
A: For me the entrepreneurial drive is inherent in my genes. I benefit most from folks who caution me to slow down. The best advice I have received was to start my business while working full-time within the industry. I know a lot of V.C.’s & investors want a bacon-level commitment, but as an entrepreneur, not having to worry about your bills makes starting a business a lot more fun.