How FC Schalke 04 Raised €90M From Its Own Fans | Matthias Tillmann (CEO) & Keal Blache (vivenu)

Keal Blache leads global partnerships and strategy at vivenu, the technology leader in global event ticketing. vivenu was built on a simple conviction: the organizations that create live experiences should own them, from the ticket to the data to the revenue. Its API-first, white-label platform gives clubs, colleges, and event organizers full control over how they sell, who their fans are, and where every dollar flows, instead of renting that relationship from a ticketing middleman. Trusted by brands like the Grammy Awards, HYROX, Stanford Athletics, and the Special Olympics, vivenu supports hundreds of premier event enterprises in more than 40 countries. That model brought Schalke to vivenu in 2021 and convinced the club to extend the partnership by six more years. It's also what's driving adoption across North America, where close to 70 clubs in the USL ecosystem and more than 150 colleges now run their ticketing on vivenu. For a club like Schalke, whose 220,000 members are its most valuable asset, the level of fan experience options vivenu offers fits 100% to the club's culture and strategic positioning.

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Guests:
Matthias Tillmann, CEO, FC Schalke 04
Keal Blache, VP of Global Partnerships and Strategy, vivenu

Host:
Kareem Rae, Founder and CEO, One Soccer Nation

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
02:16 - Inheriting 170M in debt
03:39 - Why relegation nearly broke Schalke
05:52 - Winning the 2. Bundesliga
07:14 - Building the Schalke DNA
09:17 - German fan culture
11:40 - Life with 220,000 bosses
15:40 - Why Schalke went to the bond market
18:27 - What a fan bond requires
22:51 - Inside the 90M bond
25:23 - Keal Blache and vivenu
26:02 - Member, customer, creditor
28:06 - Can US clubs crowdfund this?
29:50 - The 17.50 euro ticket rule
36:31 - Two price moves, opposite directions
39:44 - How price hikes break trust
42:44 - Why Schalke rejects dynamic pricing
48:07 - Ranking match day revenue levers
51:10 - The arena 365 days a year
53:20 - Sponsorship and owning fan data
56:13 - Whose jersey is the fan wearing?
58:54 - Native resale markets
1:00:07 - Schalke and the US market
1:01:49 - The Monterey Bay FC partnership
1:04:10 - Why USL and not MLS
1:08:44 - A Schalke bond in Ohio?
1:12:06 - Rapid fire
1:13:25 - Outro