1
2008
(Le) Poisson Rouge opens.
I co-open a multi-genre cabaret on Bleecker Street, NYC with no venue experience and no MBA. From day one, the booking workflow is duct-taped together out of whatever existed.
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About VenuePilot · Origins
Built inside a venue, not a boardroom.
VenuePilot originally started as a database that I taught myself to build so I could run my own room — quietly, between shows, on the side of the desk.
The spreadsheets we had been running on stopped holding up, so I replaced them.
VP LAUNCH
JUSTIN AND BRENDAN
First, there was a venue.
I came to the cello backwards. Punk rock guitarist first, classical cellist in high school, then straight out of college into life as a freelance musician in New York. The two never felt like opposites to me, and that is the entire reason (Le) Poisson Rouge exists. I wanted a room where classical could stand next to the other genres pushing at the boundaries of pop culture instead of being kept apart from them.
So in 2008 I co-opened one: an 800-capacity standing or 350-capacity seated cabaret in Greenwich Village, New York City, programmed to do everything. Punk, jazz, classical, comedy, electronica, opera, talks. I had never run a venue and I had no business degree, which is a similar story for many folks who open a room. I wasn't aiming to build a career as a club guy or a serial entrepreneur. I just wanted the room to exist.
Every system we tried broke somewhere. The calendar couldn't handle holds and confirms the way bookers actually think. The reports couldn't tell us what an artist drew the last three times we hosted them. Oh — and the ticketing fees were killing us!
So I taught myself how to build databases and built our own.
The arc
Eighteen years, condensed.
2
2016
VenuePilot is codified.
The database I'd been running the room on for years becomes an actual product. I start showing it to other venues, and a handful sign on. Most of them are still with us today, and doing better than ever.
3
2020
The pandemic. NIVA.
Independent venues are first to close, last to reopen. I open VenuePilot up for free, ticketing included, to any venue trying to survive. I also join the founding board of the National Independent Venue Association. The Save Our Stages Act passes.
4
2022
VenuePilot lands.
Becomes its own company. Boot-strapped and growing organically, with sustainability at its core. Flat $0.75 per ticket from day one.
5
2026
UpFront launches.
Independent rooms across North America run on VenuePilot, built by a team where almost everyone, including the devs, is a musician too. We announce UpFront, a revenue-based advance paired with the same $0.75 ticketing.
Where we are
Still independent. Still here.
Ten years in. No institutional money. No exits planned. We've grown almost entirely on referrals from venues who saw us working in someone else's room and asked if they could have it too.
The math has stayed the same since day one. Every fee, every promise, every line on the charter — written down, posted publicly, and adhered to.
$0.75
Per ticket. Day one to today.
$0
Institutional investment taken. Ever.
100%
Independent.
"
What keeps venues here has to do with something beyond the tech. It's a mission, and a business model built to sustain it. Our growth has mostly come from operators telling other operators, which is the patient way to grow and the only one we trust.
Justin Kantor
Founder
The next chapter is your venue.
Sign up free. See if the story holds up in your room.