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- Sandy Khaund built UPGRADED to fight ticket fraud using blockchain and enhance fan connections.
- He bridges real-world problems and tech, from Web3 ticketing to youth education with Raspberry Pi.
Sandy Khaund may not be a name that often appears on the timelines of crypto enthusiasts, but his work has actually touched a sector that is much closer to many people: the world of sports and entertainment.
Not as an athlete, nor as a concert promoter, but as a man behind the scenes who thinks hard about one simple thing—tickets. Yes, stadium or concert tickets. Something that is often considered trivial, but is actually the starting point for Khaund to uncover a bigger problem: fraud, scalping, and the relationship between brands and fans.
This story begins when he founded UPGRADED, a digital ticketing platform that utilizes blockchain. This technology is used not just for the sake of style using a new term, but to really solve real problems that have been making things difficult for organizers and spectators.
He transformed traditional tickets into digital assets that can be tracked and verified through smart contracts. No more fake tickets or incidents of “your ticket has been used by someone else.”
Interestingly, UPGRADED is not just about technology. Behind the scenes, Sandy sees it as a way to build trust and a direct relationship between event organizers and fans.
In the old model, tickets often changed hands without control. But with Khaund’s system, organizers could see who was attending, send exclusive content, and even offer personalized digital merchandise. A personal touch in an increasingly digital world.
Eventually, this innovation caught the attention of an industry giant: Ticketmaster, which acquired UPGRADED in 2018. Many might have thought the story would end there. But Khaund was just starting to warm up the engine.
From Stadiums to Blockchain, and Back Again
After UPGRADED, Khaund went on to found Credenza, which focuses on integrating Web3 technologies like NFTs, tokens, and decentralized economic systems for the sports and entertainment industry. This time, it’s not just about tickets, it’s about the entire fan experience—from digital collectibles, to social interactions, to new economic opportunities for brands.
However, this move doesn’t necessarily replace the old system. What Credenza is doing is bridging the traditional world with the Web3 scene. It wants to make complex technologies like blockchain something that can be used without having to understand the technicalities. It’s like using a smartphone without having to know how the chip works.
Tech, Impact, and People: The Sandy Khaund Formula
On the other hand, Khaund is not only active in the startup world. He once sat on the board of MakerDAO, a stablecoin project that is quite well-known in the DeFi ecosystem. Then, he also became a Managing Partner at Mindspring Capital, which invests in various sports technology projects, and served as Chairman at Rock Daisy, an analytics platform used by many major sports teams.
If we look again, Sandy Khaund’s movement pattern is always rooted in two things: technology and closeness to users. He doesn’t just make tools, but creates experiences.
Even during the pandemic, he co-founded Inventors University to teach girls to build computers from Raspberry Pi. Just imagine, from creating a digital ticketing system to educating the younger generation to build computers. His reach is not narrow.
Furthermore, what sets Khaund apart from many other technologists is his consistency in continuing to solve real problems. Not following trends, not chasing momentary hype, but prioritizing function. Even in the last podcast he attended, he had time to ask an interesting question: “Why don’t we as fans have control over our own experience?”
Perhaps that is the common thread of everything he does—putting control back into the hands of the people who really care: the fans, the users, and the community. No hassle, no technical knowledge, but still with a solid foundation: transparent and trustworthy technology.
