Bio : CashorTrade
CashorTrade is the only fan-first social ticketing platform where real fans buy, sell, and trade tickets at face value, and avoid scalping.
Brando Rich / CEO & Co-Founder
Brando Rich is the CEO and Co-Founder of CashorTrade. With 30 years of being a true music fan traveling the country seeing live shows, 17 years of running thriving web development firms, and his leadership background in education, martials arts and political activism, his life long skills sets combine to create real fan-based ticketing solutions for fan communities around the globe.
Brando began his leadership lifestyle after receiving a black belt in martial arts when he was 12. He became a Sensei at his local dojo, and later ran his own martial arts school. While receiving a Bachelors of Science and Education degree at Johnson State College in VT and Humboldt State University in CA he created and ran environmental and political activist groups. This led to working with local representatives to draft and pass legislation in the VT state house as well as political movement building helping to create the Vermont Mobilization for Global Justice.
In 2000 Brando and his brother Dusty started their first web development firm and grew to maintain 250 clients. After a decade of work in the field they created a specialized software company called SimpleNation, that offered custom CMS infrastructure for clients and web based marketing services.
In 2009 the brothers returned to the live music scene after five years as the band Phish came out of hiatus. Frustrated obtaining tickets, they set out to build a global movement of fans devoted to face value ticketing. As there was no more standing in line at brick-and-mortar box offices and ticketing became primarily online, they saw brokers were sophisticated with high-tech software and scalper-bot programs buying up large volumes of tickets and re-listing them for exorbitant prices. The brothers realized how the ticketing industry lacked transparency and most of all, trust. Today CashorTrade is a global face value movement with over 1 million fans spanning 46+ countries. The company has grown to 30 passionate employees and has brought on a number of powerful investors and advisors including executives from global brands, artist and venue management, ticketing platforms and NBA sports teams. Brando Rich and his family reside in the majestic city of Burlington, VT.
Dusty Rich / CMO & Co-Founder
Dusty Rich is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of CashorTrade and shapes the vision and strategy to grow the Face Value Movement. In 2009, Dusty and his brother Brando were shut out from Phish's return concert due to brokers using bots to monopolize ticket sales & drive inflation in the resale market.
Dusty & Brando combined their web development & activism skills to create a prototype for the first fan-to-fan face value ticket exchange. They set up a tent during Phish’s summer tour to introduce the concept, and the movement was born. It is now over 1 million fans spanning 46+ countries split between the app and social networks.
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and a decade at Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s as a software engineer on the global digital marketing team, Dusty melds technology and values into CashorTrade’s service and culture. His community-oriented approach brings transparency and trust to the ticketing industry, preserving access to the arts for all.
Dusty remains dedicated to elevating the fan experience, fostering community empowerment, and uniting businesses and fans to advocate for positive change. CashorTrade has integrations with nonprofits to provide access to donate towards causes important to artists and the overall company values. Originally from Hollis, New Hampshire, Dusty lives with his family of devoted Taylor Swift fans in the green mountain state of Burlington, Vermont.