Michael Dodsworth is the founder and CEO of Fanfare, a platform built to help e-commerce brands handle massive product drops without breaking under pressure. With a background as a founding engineer and multiple startup exits—including to Salesforce and Ticketmaster—Michael has spent his career building systems that can handle huge spikes in demand. After years of solving ticketing chaos for live events, he created Fanfare to bring that same reliability to e-commerce, powering launches like SKIMS’ $1 million-in-a-minute drop and making high-pressure product launches seamless for brands of all sizes.

On this episode we talk about:

– Michael’s first job delivering newspapers in the UK and how early discipline shaped his work ethic

– Discovering coding as a teen and the path from hobbyist to startup engineer

– Lessons learned from early-stage startups, rapid-growth environments like Salesforce, and the difference between startup and corporate life

– Building and scaling systems for massive ticketing events, including Taylor Swift and Disney, and the pain points of high-demand launches

– The origin story of Fanfare: why e-commerce brands struggle with product drops and how Fanfare solves for scale, bots, and customer experience

– The value of capturing data from failed buyers and turning negative sentiment into future sales

– How relationships and reputation lead to new opportunities in the startup world

– The impact of AI on software development, product launches, and democratizing the ability to build apps—even for non-coders

– Practical advice for anyone looking to break into tech or launch their own product in the age of AI

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Discipline and Action Matter: Early lessons in discipline and showing up every day translate directly to entrepreneurial success—momentum comes from taking the first step, even when the path is unclear.

2. Solve Real Problems at Scale: Fanfare was born from firsthand frustration with broken product launches and ticketing drops. The best businesses address urgent, widespread pain points for both brands and consumers.

3. AI Is Leveling the Playing Field: The latest AI tools make it easier than ever for anyone to experiment, build, and launch products—regardless of coding background. Knowing how to prompt, direct, and design will be as important as traditional engineering skills.

Notable Quotes

“The more you do it, the more you get used to it, and the more it becomes habit, the easier it becomes.”

“At a startup, you just have to fix and chart those paths. There’s nothing there—you have to define the process.”

“You have to make sure you’re ready to capitalize on whatever luck comes your way.”

“Being able to direct AI agents to do a particular thing is a real skill. Knowing how products should be laid out will matter even more in the future.”

Connect with Michael Dodsworth:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-dodsworth

Website: fanfare.io

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