Make it Social, the Edinburgh-based social checkout and group payment provider, appears to have ceased trading. Several organisations have now contacted TheTicketingBusiness reporting that calls and emails have gone unanswered – with ticket rightsholders unable to upload their inventories onto the system or get support responses.
By way of API and components Make it Social offered a ‘social checkout’ function across a number of markets including travel, event ticketing and restaurant booking. It claimed that “social booking technology is enabling larger group sizes, rising from an average 2.3 to 7.9 people per social group” whilst also providing “increased data capture and enhanced customer experience.”
The company secured a number of high-profile partnerships over the last year including an international deal as a Ticketmaster Nexus partner, plus UK contracts with The Ticket Factory, the West End via Ambassador Theatre Group and leisure operator SkiWorld.
Last year the company offered this background to its integration with ATG for the Wicked theatre show (pictured): “After successfully launching social booking in the festival and sport industries, Make it Social is excited to bring its technology to the enchanting world of theatre with Ambassador Theatre Group via a real-time API with Enta Ticketing Solutions.
“The real-time integration between Make it Social and enta Ticketing Solutions showcases the benefits that can be brought to market through a ‘collaboration of strengths’. Making use of secure messaging, service-orientated architecture, and a serverless infrastructure; this integration is not only something fully realised, but also a platform that is ready to scale and adapt to the needs of a complex and ever-changing business sector.
Furthermore it went on to say that the Make it Social technical API within the enta Ticketing Solutions’ Wicked box office platform now “offers many West End clients the chance to effortlessly add social booking to their customer service without doing the extra work.”
Companies House lists two directors for Make It Social: Eddie Robb, the 30 year old Scottish entrepreneur who started the business – inspired by the challenges of booking events for friends but never getting the money back from them – and an American, James Vincent Baker.
TheTicketingBusiness understands that last year Make It Social received a cash injection from a US investor. It appears that despite the contracts and market growth, Make It Social did not have sufficient cashflow to keep pace with market opportunities. The last accounts filed with Companies House to 30 April 2018 indicate the company had net liabilities in excess of £567,000.
Make It Social’s Twitter account has not been updated since May. Calls and emails to Make It Social were not returned.
UPDATE: Since posting, TheTicketingBusiness has learnt that a Winding Up Order is underway on the company.
Subsequently, Eddie Robb has reached out to TheTicketingBusiness with the following statement: “In spite of ‘Make it Social’s successful partnerships, I had to take the difficult decision to close the business owing to unforeseen circumstances. I informed clients personally of this decision and of the subsequent impact of no longer being operational. I would like to thank everyone who has supported us during our journey during which I have learnt a great deal.”
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