For most of us, ‘programming’ or ‘coding’ are words that we don’t use in our everyday conversations. For TicketLeap’s Chief Technical Officer, Keith Fitzgerald, though, these are words that he hears everyday, multiple times a day. We sat down with Keith to get some background on what exactly goes into building the site that we use to buy tickets, and how he has a hand in it.
Photo by SkoutMedia
TL: You’re the Chief Technical Officer of TicketLeap. For those non-technologically savvy, what does that mean?
KF: As the CTO, I’m responsible for the execution of all technology initiatives within TicketLeap. In this role, this includes anything from platform updates to how we manage supporting our clients.
TL: What’s it like to manage the technology operations at a start up?
KF: It’s exciting and stressful at the same time. We’re a 24/7 business so I’m rarely too far from my trusty MacBook Air and a reliable internet connection. I frequently look at what other startups are doing to efficiently manage their workflow and use the tools I think work best. It’s important for us to use products that are compatible with the work that we do here at TicketLeap.
TL: Why/when did you join TicketLeap?
KF: I joined TicketLeap in September of 2009. I was very interested in early stage companies and I love live events so I thought it was a great fit. I loved Chris’ passion for the future of ticketing and his drive as an entrepreneur. We actually talked about building a ticketing platform on top of AWS during my interview.
TL: What goes into building the platform that I use to buy/sell tickets on TicketLeap?
KF: Quite a bit. I’ve found that great planning is the cornerstone of great execution, so our product roadmap always extends ahead to the next four quarters. We also have visionary goals that go beyond that time frame, which are important in helping us shape where we see the products we’re delivering now moving into the future. In saying that, though, one of the great things about technology is that we can discover a way to make the platform better at a moment’s notice, so we have the flexibility to turn on a dime and adjust our services (which we do!).
TL: What kinds of things have you been seeing in the event/ticketing world and how has that impacted how people interact with TicketLeap?
KF: Definitely social media. Buying a ticket to a live event is probably the most exciting and shareable transaction that happens online. We’ve adjusted the products we’re putting out based on the fact that people love to tell their friends about the event they’re attending and want to encourage them to attend as well.
TL: How did you get involved with technology and what advice do you have for someone who is interested?
KF: I was fortunate enough to learn BASIC when I was in elementary school in the early 90’s (yeah, yeah, I’m dating myself). I started programming before Google existed, so I had to go to this thing called a library and checkout a (most likely outdated) book if I wanted to learn more. Because I often ran into the problem of information in the books I was reading not being up-to-date, I found the best way to learn anything is by doing. That concept still applies today, even though there are so many more resources for people who are interested in programming; for example, a great place to start is building something for the web. With HTML5 and responsive design, it’s easy to build nifty, functional apps that look great on your laptop and your phone. Once you learn a bit of UI design and JavaScript, you might be ready to start hacking on some server side code or a mobile app.
Thanks, Keith! You did a great job breaking down a tech job for us non-techies. Want to know more about what Keith and his team are up to? Follow him on Twitter!