We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Roberts and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Dan, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
A life without risk is probably not that exciting. If you want to stand out then you have to try something new, walk a path that isn’t being walked by many others. I’ve worked for myself the majority of my life, with all of the ups and down that brings. Sometimes you squeak by, sometimes you have some cushion, but you always know you’re working to build up something that is uniquely yours.
At times I’ve taken a job with someone else, the longest of which was when I had a partner who was bed-ridden and me working for myself became too much. I rode that job for a while, even after we parted ways, and used that breathing room to prepare me for the next venture.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’ve been in IT for 27 years. I was a good developer but failed to learn about business, marketing, and the things it takes to make a business succeed. You can have the best product and if nobody uses it then it’s going nowhere. This was my life through most of my projects.
Business and marketing sense arrived over the years through the school of life. My most recent venture has risk, but a calculated risk. It has marketing built in. It has identified a need, a pain point, in the current event ticketing offerings and presents a win-win alternative.
It was a leap of faith, but I spent a lot of money to buy a killer domain: multipass.com. I built a system that can use conventional QR codes for ticketing (printed, email, app, mobile website) but can also use branded or co-branded chip cards as your ticket. One card in your wallet can be your admission to every event you buy on multipass.com. Of course we have the standard offerings of promo code, waiting rooms, ticket lottery, and more. Throw in lower fees and an aftermarket sales system that shares resale fees with the original artist/venue and we’ve got some things that others aren’t offering, things that are pushing good buttons for the events that have given us a go.
Finally, it sounds silly but you get to hold your chip card up and say “multipass”, and for some reason people really enjoy doing that!
My side project is light painting photography, which involves creating magical long-exposure photos in dark rooms or locations, completely without photoshop. I sometimes set up photo booths at events, and I’ve built an interactive video version of the same.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a hockey fan I have to recommend taking in an Avalanche game, especially this year with them leading the league! If I’m not at a game then I watch them from Sobo 151, a Czech hockey bar.
For food I like Watercourse (vegan) and City o City (vegetarian) and I have recently discovered Somebody People (a vegetable-forward dining experience).
If Monica Lewin is throwing a Denver Social Society event then I’d say check that out. Her next big event is a Kentucky Derby party.
Finally, support local artists (Spectra Art Space comes to mind) and musicians, make some friends, find a warehouse party. It’s one thing to go to a city and see the ‘city things’. It’s quite another to connect with the people that make the city worth visiting in the first place.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Most of my relationships have been with artists, most of them feminist. They supported me and I supported them, drawing encouragement and enthusiasm from each other.
Gina, for encouraging me to challenge the rules of the game.
Kasia, for reigniting a spark that had faded.
Lindsey, for her daring heart, for reinforcing the challenge of the rules of the game and for being a sex-positive die-hard feminist, and for creating some damn fine art.
Mandy, for exploring connection with someone from a different walk of life. Stepping outside our bubble is the only way to make a change in the world.
Cass, for a fierce-yet-goofy heart, the conviction of her beliefs, the ear she’d give everyone, the voice she was for the voiceless.
Theresa, a smile, a breath of fresh air, and a major spark and co-creator to my current light painting photography passion.
Adriana, for walking with me through the blues, and for making her own art, her own style. Find your voice!
Reagan, for showing me a door of reinvention, even at a great cost. Be who you are and always keep moving forward.
The people you align yourself with can lift you up or tear you down. If you live each day in doubt you will not be a successful creator, it’s better to be solo than to have that. If you live each day with love, encouragement then you can reach for things with a bit more risk, knowing you have support if you fall.
Website: https://www.multipass.com
Instagram: @hackthelight
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/multipassdan/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hackthelight
Other: http://www.hackthelight.com
Image Credits
Models: Sylvia Ross, Flower By Julia, Alex Wood, Gregory Howell Lights: Erin Simmons