036: Z’Tejas, Scaling to $100M, Empowering Staff, and Creating a Culture of Trust with Randy Cohen

Randy Cohen is the owner of Z’Tejas (a renowned TexMex chain in Austin) as well as the Founder and Chief Energizing Officer (CEO) of TicketCity.

He started TicketCity in 1990 with the goal to make it easier for fans to get tickets to their favorite events. Since then, the company has grown into one of the largest privately held ticket marketplaces in the world.

By 96’ he had reached $12M in sales. As the internet took off, and with the acquisition of SoldOut.com, company revenues surpassed $100M. 

In this episode, Randy shares the story of starting and scaling TicketCity into the company it is today. We discuss the challenges of running an event based business during Covid and how he kept all his staff happy and employed, despite being hit hard.

We also dig into Randy’s framework for building a culture of trust and empowering staff to make decisions on their own, while serving customers at the highest level. 

Key Takeaways with Randy Cohen

• The story of how TicketCity started and scaled its first $12M in sales by 1996. By 2000 the company reached $100M after acquiring SoldOut.com.
• Why Randy bought a failing restaurant and his philosophy around taking a chance on people who have a passion to win.
• How Randy navigated the struggle of running 2 event based businesses during Covid, without letting any staff go.
• The core values Randy instills in all of his staff that empowers them to make decisions on their own.
• The power of a morning huddle and how Randy energizes the people around him to be the best version of themselves.

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