Yoonew

Yoonew, Inc., stylized as yoonew, was a New York City start-up that operated an online marketplace for tickets and ticket derivatives tied to major championship sporting events. Founded in September 2004 by MIT Sloan students Gerry Wilson and Hagos Mehreteab, the company was created to make high-demand sports events more accessible to fans who could not afford to buy final-game tickets at peak prices. Its concept emerged after Wilson had difficulty obtaining an affordable ticket to the 2003 World Series. After the idea performed well in business-plan competitions, the founders launched Yoonew as an exchange in which users could trade contracts connected to the future outcome of sports playoffs. The company’s principal innovation was the Fantasy Seat. Rather than purchasing an immediately usable ticket, a customer could buy a contract associated with a team, a potential matchup, or a specific event. A Team Fantasy Seat converted into a ticket if the selected team reached the championship event. A Matchup Fantasy Seat converted if both specified teams reached the event; because this outcome was less likely, the contract could be cheaper than a team-based position. Customers could also buy ordinary event tickets. Contracts linked to eliminated teams expired and were removed from portfolios, while successful contracts were converted into tickets that could either be kept for attendance or resold through the exchange. Yoonew also supported a short-selling model, although it required traders to hold an underlying ticket as collateral. This allowed a ticket holder to take positions against teams expected not to reach a championship game. The arrangement gave the platform characteristics of both a ticket marketplace and a prediction-oriented trading venue, while still tying settlement to the delivery of event tickets. The business encountered financial and operational challenges during its early development. In 2005, co-founder Gerry Wilson reportedly liquidated his 401(k) to help provide customers with tickets for the NCAA Final Four. Yoonew later raised $2 million in investment and expanded its platform. In October 2007, it introduced a real-time price-charting interface modeled on the kind of visual market information associated with major internet finance services. The redesign was criticized in the source material as being more convenient for traders than for ordinary fans. In July 2008, Yoonew introduced Yoonew Direct, a more consumer-oriented Adobe Flash interface that operated alongside the existing Yoonew Exchange. Customers could use the same account across both interfaces, and tickets purchased through Direct could be traded on Exchange. The company also added exact-seat ordering for at least one event, allowing users to specify section, row, and seat rather than selecting only a broad seating category. The feature was initially associated with the 2008 US Open. Yoonew ultimately ceased operations on February 1, 2010. The company notified users by telephone on January 31 that it could not deliver valid Super Bowl 2010 futures. According to the account summarized in its reference material, the merchant bank handling credit-card deposits had failed during the broader economic crisis, leaving funds owed to Yoonew unavailable. The company also stated that it was involved in litigation with The Ticket Reserve. Yoonew said it would return money paid for winning Super Bowl 2010 Fantasy Seats, but the platform was shut down and its forum and blog were decommissioned. The brand is therefore a defunct example of an early online sports-ticket exchange that combined resale, futures-style contracts, and event-outcome trading.

Yoonew was established in September 2004 by Gerry Wilson and Hagos Mehreteab, who were associated with MIT Sloan. The founders sought to address the high cost and scarcity of tickets for major championship games. Wilson's unsuccessful attempt to obtain an affordable 2003 World Series ticket helped inspire the business concept, which subsequently received support in business-plan competitions. The company created an online exchange in which users could buy, sell, and hold sports-ticket positions before the outcome of a playoff was known. Its central product, the Fantasy Seat, was an outcome-dependent contract. A Team Fantasy Seat was tied to one team and became a ticket if that team reached the relevant championship. A Matchup Fantasy Seat was tied to two teams and settled only if both reached the final. The platform also sold conventional tickets. When a team was eliminated, related futures expired; when a team or matchup qualified, the contract converted into an event ticket. Holders could keep the ticket or offer it for resale on the exchange. Yoonew's structure allowed consumers to seek lower prices months before a championship while giving traders a way to speculate on playoff outcomes. Short positions were also permitted, but the company required the short seller to possess an underlying ticket. This collateral arrangement limited the exposure created by shorting large numbers of Team Fantasy Seats. Growth was difficult at first. In 2005, Wilson reportedly used retirement savings to help supply tickets for the NCAA Final Four. The company later obtained $2 million in investment and continued developing its marketplace. In October 2007, it introduced real-time price plotting intended to make contract prices easier to follow. The feature also highlighted a tension in Yoonew's design: tools that benefited active traders could make the service less approachable for ordinary fans. In July 2008, Yoonew added Yoonew Direct, an Adobe Flash interface designed to complement the trader-oriented Yoonew Exchange. Both interfaces used shared accounts, and purchases made through Direct could be transferred to the Exchange for trading. Around the same time, the company added exact-seat ordering, initially for the 2008 US Open, so customers could specify a section, row, and seat instead of choosing only a general seating tier. The company ended its business on February 1, 2010. One day earlier, it contacted customers to explain that Super Bowl 2010 futures could not be fulfilled. The company's explanation cited the failure of the bank responsible for its merchant account and the resulting nonpayment of credit-card deposits owed to Yoonew. It also disclosed litigation with The Ticket Reserve. Yoonew stated that it would return money paid for winning Super Bowl 2010 Fantasy Seats, shut down its online community properties, and direct remaining inquiries by email. No later operating activity is identified in the supplied reference material, and the brand is treated as defunct.

• 2010

  Operations cease

  [1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  Yoonew ceased operations after announcing that it could not fulfill Super Bowl 2010 futures and would return money paid for winning contracts.

• 2008

  Yoonew Direct launches

  [1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  The company launched a consumer-oriented Flash interface and added exact-seat ordering for an initial event.

• 2007

  Real-time price plotting added

  [1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  Yoonew introduced a redesigned interface with real-time price charts for its exchange.

• 2005

  Early ticket-delivery financing challenge

  [1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  During the company's early period, co-founder Gerry Wilson reportedly liquidated his 401(k) to help provide customers with NCAA Final Four tickets.

• 2004

  Yoonew is founded

  [1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  Gerry Wilson and Hagos Mehreteab founded Yoonew in September as an online exchange for championship sports tickets and ticket-related futures.

A market-oriented online sports-ticket platform intended to give fans earlier and potentially lower-cost access to major championship events while enabling ticket trading and speculative positions.

• Ticket derivative · 2004

  Team Fantasy Seat

  A contract tied to a selected team and championship event. If the team reached the event, the position converted into a ticket; if the team was eliminated, the contract expired and was removed from the holder's portfolio. The product was intended to let fans obtain exposure to a potential final at a price established before qualification was certain.

• Ticket derivative · 2004

  Matchup Fantasy Seat

  A contract based on a particular potential championship matchup. It settled into a ticket only when both named teams reached the final, making it riskier than a Team Fantasy Seat but potentially cheaper. Holders could retain the resulting ticket or trade it through the exchange.

• Online ticket marketplace · 2004

  Yoonew Exchange

  Yoonew's original exchange interface allowed users to view prices, trade ticket contracts, and resell tickets or converted Fantasy Seats. Later versions included real-time price plotting and supported the platform's trading-oriented functions.

• Consumer ticket interface · 2008

  Yoonew Direct

  Introduced in 2008 as an Adobe Flash interface, Yoonew Direct was designed to make the service easier for ordinary fans to use. It shared accounts with Yoonew Exchange, and tickets bought through Direct could be traded on the Exchange.

• 2010

  Decision to shut down the businessStrategy

  Background

  Yoonew stated that its merchant-account bank had failed during the economic crisis and had not remitted credit-card deposit funds owed to the company. It also referred to litigation with The Ticket Reserve.

  Action taken

  The company stopped operations, notified users that Super Bowl 2010 futures could not be fulfilled, decommissioned its forum and blog, and said it would return money paid for winning contracts.

  Aftermath

  Yoonew became defunct and its exchange was no longer available for ticket trading or contract settlement.

  Source

• 2008

  Launch of Yoonew DirectProduct launch

  Background

  The real-time trading interface had been perceived as more useful to traders than to average sports fans.

  Action taken

  Yoonew introduced a separate Adobe Flash interface, Yoonew Direct, while retaining the Exchange. It also enabled shared accounts and movement of purchased tickets between the two services.

  Aftermath

  The new interface broadened the platform's intended audience, but the company later ceased operations in 2010.

  Source

• 2010

  Yoonew ceases operations after Super Bowl ticket-delivery failure[1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  Bankruptcy · Other

  Yoonew stopped operating after informing customers that it could not deliver Super Bowl 2010 tickets associated with valid futures. The company attributed the failure to funds being trapped after the bank handling its merchant account became insolvent during the economic crisis and also referred to litigation with The Ticket Reserve.

• 2008

  Yoonew launches Yoonew Direct and exact-seat ordering[1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The company launched Yoonew Direct as a more accessible interface alongside Yoonew Exchange and added exact-seat ordering for an event initially identified as the 2008 US Open.

• 2007

  Yoonew introduces real-time market price plotting[1]Yoonewen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  Yoonew changed its interface to display real-time price plots for its ticket-related contracts. The redesign improved market visibility but was described as potentially favoring traders over casual ticket buyers.

1. 1Yoonewen.wikipedia.org