Industry Innovators 2026: Eric Jones

The founder of Memberly is rethinking the event business model, building a subscription-based platform designed to turn event audiences into communities.

Mar. 23, 2026 at 7:12pm

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Eric Jones, the founder of Memberly, is an industry innovator who is rethinking the traditional event business model. After experiencing firsthand the volatility and fragility of the ticketing model while producing events in Los Angeles, Jones acquired an event discovery platform and began building Memberly, a subscription-based platform designed to give event producers recurring revenue and turn event audiences into communities.

Why it matters

Jones' experience in the events industry and his recognition of the unpredictability and pain points in the traditional ticketing model led him to innovate and create a new business model for the industry. Memberly's subscription-based approach and focus on building community-driven experiences represent a significant shift away from the transactional nature of the current event landscape.

The details

After producing over 400 events and generating more than $2 million in ticket revenue, Jones learned firsthand the volatility and fragility of the traditional ticketing model. A single $50,000 loss on one event exposed the outdated nature of the system, which pushed Jones into the tech industry. He acquired an event discovery platform (ETA) and began building Memberly, a subscription-based platform designed to give event producers recurring revenue and turn event audiences into communities.

  • In 2026, Eric Jones' company Memberly has officially launched its MVP and a closed beta.
  • Jones is actively scheduling demos through the Memberly website and onboarding founding event producers daily.

The players

Eric Jones

The founder of Memberly, a subscription-based platform designed to give event producers recurring revenue and turn event audiences into communities.

Memberly

A subscription-based platform founded by Eric Jones that is designed to give event producers recurring revenue and turn event audiences into communities.

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What they’re saying

“Innovation, to me, is about industry experts, both technical and nontechnical, stepping into the driver's seat of their industries and solving problems they experience firsthand and understand intimately. In events, one of the biggest pain points is unpredictability. When I recognize friction, the questions I ask begin to change. And new questions lead to new answers.”

— Eric Jones, Founder, Memberly

“The question is no longer, 'How do we sell more tickets?' It becomes, 'How do we redesign the business model?' Memberly replaces the traditional transactional approach with a community-driven subscription model and ultimately layers in AI through Memberly Intelligence to power smarter marketing and discovery.”

— Eric Jones, Founder, Memberly

What’s next

At the time of this article's release, Memberly has officially launched its MVP and a closed beta. Jones is actively scheduling demos through the Memberly website and onboarding founding event producers daily. While scaling the platform, the company is also laying the groundwork for Memberly Intelligence and exploring strategic partnerships with brands aligned with its mission.

The takeaway

Eric Jones' experience in the events industry and his recognition of the pain points in the traditional ticketing model led him to innovate and create a new business model for the industry. Memberly's subscription-based approach and focus on building community-driven experiences represent a significant shift away from the transactional nature of the current event landscape, demonstrating how industry experts can step in to solve problems they understand intimately.