From 150 million paper tickets to a national digital platform
How Digital Scientists built GoFan in 75 days, operated as product partner, and helped Huddle transform into a technology company.
75
days — MVP to market
20M+
Tickets sold
$11M
Raised for expansion
10K+
Schools served
Own the disruption
Huddle, Inc. printed over 150 million paper tickets annually to more than 10,000 high schools across the United States. Their CEO, Joey Thacker, saw digital disruption transforming every adjacent market—movies, concerts, airlines, pro sports—and knew it was coming for high school athletics.
Rather than wait to be disrupted, Thacker wanted to own the disruption. Digital Scientists became Huddle's technology partner to build, operate, and eventually transfer a new digital ticketing platform called GoFan—transforming Huddle from a printing company into a technology company.
Client
Huddle, Inc.
Industry
K-12 Education, Sports, E-commerce
Engagement Model
Build-Operate-Transfer
Timeline
2015–2017+ (multi-year partnership)
Services
Innovation Research, MVP Development, Product Design, Ongoing Product Partnership
Platform
iOS, Android, Web (Ionic Framework)
Method
Paper tickets in a digital world
Huddle's business was built on printing over 150 million paper tickets and distributing them to high school athletic programs. Their advertising-on-ticket model generated revenue, but digital disruption was already reshaping ticketing in every other vertical: Fandango for movies, Ticketmaster for concerts, SeatGeek for pro sports.
The question wasn't whether digital ticketing would come to high school athletics—it was whether Huddle would be the one to bring it, or whether a competitor would eat their market.
"We decided we'd rather own the disruption than be disrupted."
— Joey Thacker, CEO, Huddle, Inc.
Jobs To Be Done
- Purchase tickets for sporting events using a mobile device
- Validate admission even where cell reception is poor
- Accurately track and disburse funds to school accounts
- Allow schools to create a branded presence for event marketing
75 days from concept to kickoff
Digital Scientists' standard MVP engagement is 90 days. Huddle needed to launch before football season ended. DS compressed the entire process—from Destination Workshop to live pilot—into just 75 days.
Destination Workshop
Mapped user groups, identified problems, and defined optimal paths for fans, schools, and athletic departments.
Product Blueprint
Created a shared vision document defining scope, priorities, and the features that would differentiate GoFan in market.
MVP Build
Focused engineering on primary use cases. Used off-the-shelf solutions for non-differentiating functions to maximize speed.
Tech Stack Selection
Chose Ionic for multi-platform delivery, Stripe for payments, and smartphone cameras for ticket validation—eliminating expensive 3D barcode scanners.
Pilot Launch
Deployed to 6 high schools for a single football weekend in metro Atlanta, testing real-world conditions under pressure.
Validation
Achieved up to 50% adoption at pilot schools with minimal advertising, validating strong consumer demand.
Technology Stack
A complete digital ticketing ecosystem
Consumer mobile app
Fans browse events, purchase tickets, and gain admission using a QR code displayed on their smartphone. The app was designed for the unique constraints of high school athletics—including poor cell reception at many venues.
- Event discovery and ticket purchasing
- Digital ticket with QR code admission
- Offline-capable validation
- Ticket transfer and sharing
School event pages
Each participating school received a branded event page where they could market upcoming games, manage ticket types and pricing, and track sales. The platform gave athletic departments a modern, professional digital presence.
- Branded school landing pages
- Customizable ticket types and pricing
- Event schedule management
- Sales and attendance analytics
Box office scanner app
Using smartphone cameras for QR code validation eliminated the need for expensive dedicated scanning hardware. Volunteers and staff could validate tickets using any smartphone, dramatically reducing the cost of digital adoption for schools.
- Camera-based QR code scanning
- Real-time attendance tracking
- Sales reconciliation reporting
The MVP validated real demand
50%
Adoption rate at pilot schools with minimal advertising
$34K
Digital gate revenue at a single quarterfinal game
2,800
Digital tickets out of 4,200 total at that game
The MVP validated strong consumer demand and gave Huddle confidence to invest further.
From MVP to product powerhouse
After validating the MVP, Digital Scientists continued as Huddle's product partner for multiple years—expanding the platform with deep UX research, competitive analysis, and continuous feature development.
Ticket validation UX
DS redesigned the ticket experience using a "Simplified Ticket Stack" with an Apple Wallet-inspired metaphor. The new design clearly indicated consumable tickets, added transfer and share flows, and introduced a dedicated validator mode for gate staff.
- Apple Wallet-inspired ticket stack
- Transfer and share flows
- Dedicated validator mode
- Redeemed and transferred state management
Comparative research
DS conducted deep competitive analysis across the ticketing industry—studying Fandango, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, Delta Airlines, Eventbrite, and others—to identify best practices for ticket layout, validation workflows, and admin tools.
This research informed every design decision, ensuring GoFan's UX met or exceeded the standards set by consumer ticketing leaders.
Follow School & My Schools
DS designed fan engagement features that let users follow their schools and receive event notifications. Taking cues from social media patterns, the follow function was integrated into school pages and the checkout flow for maximum adoption.
- Follow CTA on school home pages
- Follow prompt at checkout
- My Schools management page
- Desktop and mobile responsive
FanBase CRM platform
DS conceptualized a CRM platform connecting fans, schools, and brands through automated marketing integrations. The platform would manage ticketholder data, partner promotions, and enable contextual messaging based on fan behavior.
- Segment, trigger, and message tools
- A/B testing for delivery and subject lines
- Partner and brand management
- Integration with MailChimp, beacons, and sales data
Reserved seating — a new dimension
In a later version of the platform, DS designed and built a reserved seating feature that enabled fans to reserve specific seats or groups of seats at a given venue. This functionality moved GoFan beyond general admission into a more sophisticated ticketing experience.
Schools could create virtual versions of their event venues and configure individual seating sections, giving athletic departments greater control over their ticketing operations.
Seat selection and purchase flow
Designing for every stakeholder
DS conducted rigorous persona and stakeholder research to ensure the platform addressed the needs of every user group in the high school athletics ecosystem.
Fan / Parent
Ticket Holder
Wants a simple way to buy tickets, stay up to date with schedules, and avoid carrying cash. Needs to distribute tickets to family members easily.
Student
Fan & Athlete
Tech-native generation comfortable with mobile ticketing. Needs an easy way to get into events without printing or losing physical tickets.
Athletic Director
Program Oversight
Oversees all athletics programs and budgets. Wants improved gate security, faster fan intake, and easier money collection without cash handling risks.
Booster Club
Supporters & Fundraisers
Needs a way to easily advertise events and sell tickets to people who can't attend in person. Wants to move beyond paper tickets and cash receipts.
Ticket Validator
Gate Staff & Volunteers
Needs to quickly validate both paper and mobile tickets. Must help fans with basic problems at the gate while keeping intake fast and secure.
School Admin
Financial & Operations
Oversees budgeting for all school events. Needs simple, efficient reporting and data collection for sales reconciliation.
Building a technology company
DS's Build-Operate-Transfer engagement model enabled Huddle to build internal technical capability over time. The MVP eliminated initial risk, the operating phase built a full product with proven market traction, and the platform's success enabled Huddle to:
- Raise $11 million to fund GoFan expansion
- Acquire competitor Preptix, who had an 18-month head start
- Get selected by NFHS Network as exclusive national digital ticketing partner
- Merge with PlayOn! Sports (2022), backed by KKR's North America Fund XIII
- Become a national platform serving 10,000+ schools, 500,000+ events, partnered with 40 state associations
2015
MVP built in 75 days
2016
Preptix acquisition
2017+
Product partnership continues
2022
PlayOn!/GoFan merger (KKR-backed)
Today
National platform, 20M+ tickets
"Great insight, direction and innovation while delivering a high quality mobile application in only a few weeks."
B.J. Pilling
VP New Business at Huddle · Later CEO of GoFan
B.J. Pilling went on to lead GoFan as CEO through the PlayOn! Sports merger.
The DS engagement model in action
Build
75-day MVP. Multi-platform mobile app. Validated in market with real users at real high school football games.
Operate
Multi-year product partnership. Deep UX research. Competitive analysis. Continuous feature expansion from ticket validation to reserved seating to CRM.
Transfer
Client builds internal capability. Raises $11M. Acquires competitors. Goes national. Merges with PlayOn! Sports backed by KKR.
Ready. Set. Innovate.
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