In the ever-competitive world of sports and entertainment, Todd Humphrey, former SVP of innovation for the Seattle Kraken, has set out on an ambitious journey to redefine how fans experience live events. This venture signals a bold new chapter not only for him but also for the wider sporting and entertainment landscape. What does this mean for entrepreneurs, particularly women seeking to carve their path in male-dominated sectors like sports, tech, or consultancy? As someone who has successfully navigated challenging industries myself, I can't help but find parallels, and valuable lessons, in Todd's approach.
Humphrey's new consultancy, Highmark Sports Group, has been designed to optimize customer experiences in sports, events, and beyond. From innovative technology to a more personalized approach, his goal is clear: eliminate friction in the customer journey to create a seamless, rewarding experience. There's much to learn here, especially for business owners looking to build customer-first models.
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Todd Humphrey’s Strategy
As a serial entrepreneur with experience across multiple disciplines, I recognize that blending technology with the human touch is both an art and a necessity. Humphrey demonstrates how this balance can be achieved across five key areas:
1. Map Entire Customer Journeys
Humphrey advocates for meticulously plotting the entire customer experience, from app navigation to in-venue store purchases to post-event feedback. Entrepreneurs can take note: it’s about constantly identifying friction points. For instance, customers frustrated with long queues at sports events became Humphrey’s starting point, leading him to integrate Amazon’s "Just Walk Out" checkout technology at the Seattle Kraken's Climate Pledge Arena.
Actionable Tip for startups: Use tools like Miro Journey Mapping to visualize pain points and ideate solutions. Tools like this make mapping intuitive and insight-driven.
2. Integrate Seamless Technology Without Alienating Users
High-tech solutions must feel natural to users. Humphrey’s work with self-serve kiosks to reduce waiting time in arenas is an excellent example. However, he also acknowledges the importance of training human staff to connect with fans, not relying solely on machine-based interaction.
For entrepreneurs, this is a reminder that no tech can replace authentic rapport with your audience. In ventures like my own project Fe/male Switch, we use AI to guide female entrepreneurs through gamified learning experiences but ensure we mesh it with realistic, human-centered mentorship sessions.
3. Combine Data with Empathy
Leveraging technology is great, but data insights must translate into understanding people. Humphrey’s advice to startups emphasizes listening to your customers actively. The secret lies in regular, meaningful conversations with your target audience.
How can this apply? Entrepreneurs can conduct micro-surveys online via tools like Hotjar or host monthly sessions with key customers. In my own startup, I schedule “growth sprints” where user feedback directly guides product updates.
4. Train Your ‘Frontline Army’
Todd learned that even with mobile apps facilitating incredible fan convenience, your "frontline team", ticket sellers, ushers, managers, define much of the customer experience. Small gestures like eye contact, remembering repeat visitors, and celebrating fan milestones create deep loyalty.
For business owners seeking scale, replicating this model in onboarding, customer support, or even app user interaction could yield great results. Real growth stems from making your customers feel deeply valued.
5. Prioritize Long-Term Conviction Over Short-Term Hacks
During his transition from running teams to starting Highmark Sports Group, Todd demonstrated loyalty to his vision, investing heavily in partnerships and bespoke innovation consulting, even before securing major contracts.
This is a lesson in focusing on foundational depth rather than short-term optics. For startups, resist the urge to chase every trend. Instead, build conviction in your value proposition and niche, pivot only when the logic, and data, justifies it.
Mistakes Entrepreneurs in CX Innovations Should Avoid
It’s one thing to learn from the successes of trailblazers like Humphrey, but perhaps even more imperative is learning from potential missteps.
- Over-Engineering Unusable Solutions: Automation is fantastic, but overly tech-heavy solutions without real utility will alienate customers. Remember, people, not just machines, use your products.
- Neglecting Iterations: Sports and entertainment are high-emotion fields, first impressions matter. However, Todd proves perfection comes through iterative refinement rather than immediate mastery.
- Undervaluing Human Interactions: Thankfully, Humphrey didn’t lean entirely into tech, he’s repeatedly talked about the "human glue" that makes stadiums come alive. Don’t bypass the power of authentic relationships.
Todd’s Vision Applied Beyond Sports
What makes Todd Humphrey's story particularly striking for startup founders everywhere is its universal relatability. Sports fans and event attendees represent just one segment of a much larger spectrum where frictionless customer interaction matters. Arenas, workplaces, online platforms, each needs smarter solutions that remove silos and simplify engagement.
Take a minute to visualize how Humphrey’s ideology might work for ecommerce platforms. Instead of long wait times, frictionless CX here might mean blazing-fast checkout or drone-based delivery on demand. For creative industries, imagine "fan engagement" tools mapping out customer behavior and preferences for artists.
For female entrepreneurs tuning in
Speaking out of personal experience, I remember pushing boundaries during my intital launch years with CADChain, a sector hyper-dominated by systemic structures. Humphrey’s strides into the sports niche showed me that change, while slow, is within reach, defying odds begins with consistently showing up prepared.
Steps Entrepreneurs Can Take Now
- Map customer touchpoints that need friction removal, start doing this TODAY via Google Docs or Flow charts
- Start pilots or micro-features customers can test fast; quicker launches gather faster feedback.
- Document learnings gleaned straight from failures.
In Conclusion
Todd Humphrey’s journey isn’t just about sports; it’s about reshaping human expectations holistically. By embracing this ethos, startups or freelancers CAN drive forward radical change
FAQ
1. Who is Todd Humphrey, and what is his new venture about?
Todd Humphrey is a former Senior Vice President of innovation and fan experience for the Seattle Kraken. He launched Highmark Sports Group, a consultancy aimed at improving customer experiences in sports and entertainment. Check out Highmark Sports Group
2. What innovations did Todd Humphrey implement at Climate Pledge Arena?
Humphrey introduced technologies like Amazon's "Just Walk Out" payment system to reduce wait times in stores and implemented digital tools for seamless customer interactions during events. See fan innovations at Climate Pledge Arena
3. How is Todd Humphrey involved with the Seattle Torrent?
Humphrey serves as a senior advisor for the Seattle Torrent, a new women’s professional hockey team, which had its first home game on November 28, 2025. Learn more about the Seattle Torrent
4. What inspired Todd Humphrey to focus on customer experience (CX)?
Inspired by the "working backward" method from Amazon, Humphrey focuses on eliminating friction for fans at every touchpoint, making tech-driven yet human-centric experiences a priority.
5. What lessons can entrepreneurs learn from Todd Humphrey’s approach?
Entrepreneurs can learn to map the full customer journey, maintain regular customer dialogs for feedback, and balance technological innovation with personal touchpoints.
6. How can technology and human interaction coexist in CX improvements?
Humphrey emphasizes that technology should amplify the experience but not replace human connections. Training and engaging frontline staff are equally critical as adopting new tech solutions.
7. What are the main challenges faced in customer experience enhancements in sports?
Common challenges include over-engineering solutions, lack of iterative updates, and undervaluing human interactions within automated systems.
8. What business sectors could apply Humphrey’s CX ideology beyond sports?
Ecommerce, online platforms, workplaces, and creative industries can adopt his approach to improve holistic customer engagement through frictionless, data-driven interactions.
9. What is the future of fan experiences in sports according to Todd Humphrey?
The future involves blending automation (like AI and mobile apps) with authentic in-person experiences that keep fans emotionally invested in live events.
10. Where can I find in-depth insights from Todd Humphrey's interview?
Read the original story on GeekWire, which covers Todd Humphrey's journey and CX strategies in detail. Explore the GeekWire article
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.