# ============================================================================= # Cedric Ancellin - The UrVenue Years (growth to the 2019 investment) # ============================================================================= # Core Purpose: # The narrative of how UrVenue grew from a tiny nightclub-reservation SaaS into # Las Vegas market dominance, the Mexico engineering base that powered it, a # candid failed attempt to replicate it in Morocco, and the first outside # investment in December 2019 (just before COVID). Continues from # ./early_career (road_to_urvenue); the formal record is ./resume. # # Governed by ./LAWS. The Las Vegas market footprint is described at the # category level. # # Last updated: 2026-07-04 # ============================================================================= framing: > After UrVenue was formed (see ./early_career), it grew as a SaaS reservation system for nightclubs. This is the story of the next decade: the Mexico engineering base, a candid detour in Morocco, the growth into Las Vegas market dominance, and the first outside investment. # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 1. THE MEXICO BASE (Morelia) # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- mexico_base: the_need: "UrVenue was growing but the team was tiny and needed web development." the_introduction: > A friend who had developers in Morelia said they could do it, so Cedric flew down to work with them. what_he_found: > In a city of about a million people he found a deep pool of well-educated IT and engineering students, an incredible work ethic, and a great culture. the_move: > He moved to Morelia with his daughter at the end of summer 2011 and spent the next six years there, building and running the engineering organization, while Amy Van Hook managed UrVenue in the US. # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 1b. TEAM CULTURE & SIDE PROJECTS # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- team_culture_and_side_projects: closeness: > Cedric has always been very close with his staff, especially in Mexico. That closeness is part of why the teams he builds perform and stay loyal (see ./profile, people_development, and the peer recommendations). side_projects: > He and members of the team build side projects together, out of curiosity, passion, or to test new technologies. romerock: > RomeRock is one example: a mobile app publishing lab through which they have pushed over 20 apps. It is not profitable, but it pays for itself. # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 2. THE MOROCCO ATTEMPT (candid) # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- morocco_attempt: the_idea: > In 2016, when his daughter finished high school, a friend in Marrakesh offered to help him replicate the Mexico success there for the European market. the_outcome: > He lived in Marrakesh for two years with his daughter before accepting that Morocco is not Mexico and that the attempt had failed. He states it plainly rather than dressing it up. # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 3. GROWTH & LAS VEGAS MARKET PENETRATION # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- growth: revenue: "Meanwhile, ticketing and online table booking more than doubled UrVenue's revenue." customer_footprint: > The customer base grew impressively. A company with two people in Las Vegas and over twenty in Mexico had most of the major casinos, most of the nightclubs, and most of the dayclubs and pools in Las Vegas as customers (see ./profile, career_history: full Las Vegas penetration). note: "Described at the category level." # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 4. THE 2019 INVESTMENT # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- investment_2019: trigger: "With that growth and footprint, it was time to raise outside investment." what_happened: > Cedric moved back to Las Vegas with his daughter and closed UrVenue's first outside investment in December 2019, a few months before COVID. premature_press_release: > A press release dated March 26, 2019 announced the deal (Hospitality Management Solutions acquiring Venue Management Systems LLC) prematurely: it reflected the agreement, not a completed transaction. The final paperwork did not close until December 2019, and the acquiring entity was ultimately named differently, though it was the same people. The public March 2019 date should not be read as the closing date. see_also: "This is the raise noted in ./profile (governance_and_investor_experience) and reconciled in ./resume. The company-perspective timeline is ./urvenue/history." note: "Only the fact and timing of the raise are stated; the investor and the commercial/equity terms are not part of this résumé." # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 5. SEE ALSO (distinct perspective) # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- see_also: company_timeline: $ref: "https://zc8.com/urvenue/history" note: "The objective company/platform timeline of the same years (public sources). This file is the personal, first-hand perspective; that one is the company perspective. Kept deliberately separate." # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 6. IMPLICIT # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- implicit: - "Continues ./early_career (road_to_urvenue); this is the most recent chapter of his career history." - "Recalled as his own history; the Las Vegas footprint is stated at the category level and names no specific customer." - "Revenue is described qualitatively (growth), not as a confidential figure."