Eric Baker (businessman)

Last updated

Eric Baker
Born
Eric H. Baker

Los Angeles, California, US
Education Harvard College
Stanford Business School
Known forFounder and CEO, Viagogo
Co-founder, StubHub

Eric H. Baker is an American businessman, the founder and CEO of Viagogo, and co-founder of StubHub.

Contents

Early life

Baker was born and grew up in Los Angeles.[ clarification needed ] [1] [2] Baker graduated from Harvard College in 1995, and received an MBA from Stanford Business School in 2001. [3] [ unreliable source? ]

Career

Baker worked for McKinsey & Company for two years, and then Bain Capital, a private equity firm in Boston. [3] [2]

StubHub

A year after enrolling at Stanford, Baker co-founded StubHub in 2000 with classmate Jeff Fluhr.The idea came when Baker saw a Broadway play and struggled to buy secondhand tickets. He remembered the need for a more efficient way to buy these tickets and developed the idea during a Stanford competition. [4] [2] Baker and Fluhr withdrew from the competition after being chosen as finalists due to concerns that someone might take their idea. [2] [1] The two began to network with potential investors in the music and sports industries. By March 2000, the company was incorporated and five months later, the duo had raised $600,000 in seed funding. [5] While Fluhr dropped out of Stanford to focus on StubHub full-time, Baker opted not to immediately join the company. [6] While he was completing his MBA, the first version of the website launched without him in October 2000. [7] [ unreliable source? ] He rejoined StubHub as its president in 2001. [8] However, Baker and Fluhr clashed on the direction of the company and Baker was fired from StubHub in 2004. [6]

In 2006, Baker moved to London. [6] Baker did not sign a non-compete with StubHub so was able to launch a new ticketing marketplace, Viagogo, later that year. Viagogo initially focused on Europe and launched with inaugural partners Manchester United and Chelsea Football Club. [6] Baker has been its CEO since then. [9] Baker owns Viagogo through his Delaware-based company, originally named Pugnacious Endeavors. [10]

In 2020, Viagogo completed its acquisition of StubHub out of eBay, with the combined company rebranding as StubHub and Baker as CEO. [6]

In May 2018, the UK Government's digital minister, Margot James, advised that consumers should not use Viagogo for secondary ticket sites as "they are the worst". [11] [12]

In August 2018, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority took Viagogo to the High Court for breaking the law; Baker did not issue any comment or statement. The company reached a resolution with the CMA in November 2018. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Viagogo: who runs it and who owns it? | Money". The Guardian. March 24, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Eric Baker: Respectable face of ticket touting". Telegraph. January 12, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Eric Baker – Founder and CEO, Viagogo.com – MusicTank". Musictank.co.uk. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  4. ↑ Steele, Anne (November 29, 2019). "The Tale Behind StubHub's Sale: How Eric Baker Bought Back the Ticket Seller". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ Eng, Dinah (July 23, 2012). "StubHub: Anatomy of a game-changing idea". CNN. Fortune. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Kirsch, Noah. "The Worst Deal Ever: The Inside Story Of The Epically Bad Decision By StubHub's Cofounder To Buy His Company Back". Forbes. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  7. ↑ Warner, Andrew (October 29, 2009). "How Questioning Basic Assumptions Made StubHub A $310 Million Company - With Jeffrey Fluhr". Business Podcast for Startups. Mixergy. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Eric H. Baker: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Eric H. Baker: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Viagogo: who runs it and who owns it? | Money". The Guardian. March 24, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Viagogo taken to High Court by competition regulator". BBC News. August 31, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  12. ↑ Johnston, Chris (May 30, 2018). "Don't buy tickets from Viagogo, minister warns". BBC News. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Viagogo ordered to clean up ticket sales". BBC News. November 27, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
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