Wes Brodsky (’99)

Wes is Founder and CEO of Contender, which powers dynamic negotiation and real-time pricing analytics for live event tickets.

With over 15 years experience in the ticketing industry, Wes serves at CEO and Founder of Contender. Contender is an offer-based live event marketplace & consumer app that encourages buyers & sellers to agree on fair deals that reflect the real-time value of a ticket. In essence, Contender makes every ticket on the $12b resale market negotiable, while providing tools for teams, artists, venues and resellers to maximize inventory and optimize unsold seats.

Think Stubhub x Craigslist x Priceline.

Prior to Contender, Wes was the top individual ticket reseller on eBay while also serving as a consultant to both eBay and PayPal's ticket experience team. Noting that both buyers and sellers suffered from the loss of potential sales due to an inability to communicate, Wes developed SaveFans, the first negotiable online marketplace for tickets which Mashable named one its "Genius Startups" of 2010.

"UCLA Ventures provides a unique opportunity to connect with and share common experiences with like-minded Bruin entrepreneurs, alumni, students, and investors while giving back to the LA start-up ecosystem," said Wes.

Wes graduated UCLA in 1999 with a B.A. in Business Economics.