Jeanette Savell’s first rave blew her mind.
It wasn’t the music, the lights, or even the free-spirited EDM culture. Jeanette, then a teenager, was instead fascinated by how such amazing live events come together behind-the-scenes.
“My parents have always said, ‘You should go try something once before you judge it,’’’ she says. “Going to a rave wasn’t my thing, but once there, I couldn’t stop thinking, what are the business operations here?”
To say that Jeanette is a go-getter is an understatement. That’s why she fits in so well as Lyte’s new fan experience specialist. Here, the Southern California native talks about being human, not being a fangirl, and Lyte being an amazing urban legend in the startup world that turned out to be the real thing. Read on.
Maggie: You are still settling in at Lyte. Tell us what you’re doing.
Jeanette: I’m Lyte’s new fan experience specialist. I’ll also be handling social media along with Jim (Lane, Lyte’s Fan Experience Manager). I’m working on creating a campaign and getting a baseline focus on our fan experience and social media strategies; what do we want our end goals to be? How do we get there to effectively show what our platform can do?
I want to give fans a lot of real-time information so that our team can help them instantaneously by answering any questions they have, addressing problems, and — most importantly — to let them know that there is a person on the other end who is real and relatable. We’re a lot like them. We’re human. We love going to live events. Lyte is all about making sure they have the best experience possible. We aren’t just robots behind the computer and it’s important for fans to understand that.
I’m going to work remotely, based in the Inland Empire, where I’m from. But I’ll be in San Francisco (at Lyte headquarters) one week a month. I get the best of both worlds! I get to come to San Francisco a week a month and work with this amazing team, and still live near my family in Southern California.
Maggie: You’ve been working in the live event industry since you were a teenager. How did that happen?
Jeanette: I went to a show when I was 18 that was put on by Insomniac and was like, “Well, this is interesting.” It was the first time I had been introduced to the larger festival world. I started volunteering for Insomniac so I could learn that and more. It grew into a position and I was there for five years.
In college, I majored in sports and entertainment marketing. I didn’t want to major in business. It was too basic for me. I wanted to know the selling points on these festivals, the keywords, the plans. How do you get 10,000 people to a regional park in San Bernardino on a Friday night? I started to thrive in the operations part, how it all works and comes together. You can learn all the theories in a textbook, but until you see a live event you have no concept, really.
At the time, I asked my supervisor, “If there is a slow time at a show, can I pick your brain about how you got to where you are? Who do I need to network with?” He saw that I took the time to volunteer, and was like, “This girl has got a flame under her.” He introduced the right people to me in management. I ate it up. And I wasn’t a fangirl — I barely knew who any of the artists were sitting at dinner backstage.
Maggie: You must have experienced a lot and learned a lot at such a young age. What was that like?
Jeanette: You have no idea. You have to be constantly using your brain. The tough part is learning to make a split decision at a moment’s notice. Bigger than that you have to trust yourself, that you are making the right call and moving forward to the next thing. I grew so much as a person during that time — and as a human being. Sometimes, I felt defeated, but at the end of the show, I always felt stronger. I learned something from every single person, from fan to employee, by working probably 45 shows over five years. I’ll never forget it.
Maggie: What did you do when your time was up at Insomniac?
Jeanette: I took on a role at Coldwell Banker as a marketing director. I was there for about two-and-a-half years. I got them started in effectively marketing the company using the internet. My boss was old school and had been there for 40 years. He didn’t at first understand the grasp that social media and other digital channels have. But I began working on social media and paid ads, and as he started to see the number go up he understood completely.
Maggie: What brought you to Lyte?
Jeanette: I know Brooke (Contreras, Lyte’s Field Operations Manager and Client Services Manager). I had once hired her to work a show at Coachella, and she had posted about the position on her social media. She thought I would be a great fit with my experience in events and marketing. So, I thought, I’m going to go ahead and give it a shot. The next thing I knew, I was getting a call for an interview.
With having as many years and experience as I do in the production field, this is great. I’ve seen so many fans get taken advantage of. And we all know someone who has gotten scammed trying to buy tickets.
How are more people not using Lyte? Lyte is a safe, effective way to get your butt in a seat at the end of the day. And for venues, festivals, and artists, getting fans there is a huge revenue source. We need to get more people on the ball, to understand how great Lyte is. I’ll be working to get that messaging out all I can.
I’m referring to this position as an urban myth. It’s almost unreal. But Lyte is happening; it is real, and these amazing jobs do exist at startups.
I’ve always been a helper-nurturer-mama bear. Being a part of such a crucial startup fits that, and I’m so excited to help more fans get into seats. I believe everyone should be able to see their favorite artist or live event without having to sell off a kidney in exchange for a ticket. Lyte is making it all happen.
About Lyte
Lyte makes it easier for fans to go to more live events. Founded in New York City and San Francisco by CEO Ant Taylor, our killer fan feature is returnability. In an industry where a “no refunds and no cancellations” policy is the standard, Lyte enables fans to return their event tickets, no questions asked, to the official point of purchase.
Lyte also provides a safe and official reservation booking system, offering fans who sign up a fair price for in-demand tickets. One hundred percent of the tickets bought and sold through Lyte are issued through our ticketing partners and delivered directly to fans. Lyte has delivered millions in fan savings — $1.8 million in 2018 alone. It’s only getting better from here, thanks to our growing partnerships with bands, venues, promoters, ticketers and festivals.
For the industry, we function as a full inventory management solution, including a private-label secondary market to optimize event yield for event producers. Visit lyte.com.