Have you ever wanted to challenge yourself to learn a scary new skill? Ultra action offers ordinary people the chance to sign up for eight weeks of free training to learn boxing, MMA or stand-up comedy – and then showcase their new skills on the big stage, at a glamorous event, in front of over 1,000 people.
Ultra Events has a unique user journey: Participants sign up for eight weeks of free training to prepare them for their final event, whether it’s a boxing match, MMA match or stand-up comedy performance. After those eight weeks, participants are asked to commit to selling at least 10 tickets to friends and family to come and watch their event live.
The UK-based company launched its first event in 2009 with Ultra White Collar Boxing in Derby, UK. Fast forward ten years and Ultra Events entered the world of e-commerce, selling tickets online for the first time through their website in October 2019. Ashley Gordon, Technical Operations Manager at Ultra Events, helped them set up the Woo store. As a self-taught developer who learned WooCommerce for fun a few years ago, he chose Woo for its simplicity and familiarity.
Initially, about six months before the first sale on their website, Ultra Events began their foray into online sales using Eventbrite. However, their services were inadequate and unaffordable. Switching to Woo allowed them to significantly improve and customize their site. “With the help of various plugins like Tickera, we were able to get up and running fairly quickly,” says Ashley. “It was a sliding scale shift, starting with our smaller events and testing the setup before moving everything.
Today, their business has seen huge year-on-year sales growth, including a tripling of sales after COVID-19 and up to 60 orders per second during peak periods. One hundred percent of tickets are sold through their Woo store.
Industry: Events, Sports
Key products: WooCommerce
Key results:
- It consistently records double-digit year-on-year sales growth.
- Sales increased by 500% in four years.
- It processes up to 60 orders per second during peak event periods.
- He has raised more than £37 million for charity.
Other products used:
Ultra Events’ sales have grown considerably since the launch of their online store in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the in-person events industry, causing their sales to drop, Ultra Events bounced back – with a bang. Their sales almost tripled between 2020 and 2023 and doubled again the following year. In 2024, their sales jumped again, representing an impressive 500% jump from their pre-pandemic beginnings.
Although their events in a sense sell themselves because the participants are responsible for selling the tickets, Ashley says Ultra’s marketing efforts focus on increasing registrations for the program itself and supporting participants during those eight weeks with top-notch customer service. They promote the program on their social media channels and use Google Ads to raise awareness. In addition, they have prioritized the user experience by ensuring that their website visitors can easily find event tickets and make a hassle-free purchase.
According to Ashley, this emphasis on customer experience is largely the reason for Ultra’s growth. It also accounts for their increase in promotions across their three brands. They have added over 350 more events since 2022 alone. They have also increased their commitment by becoming ISO certified to ensure that a set of strict standards are followed at all of their events. Ultra Events is one of the few events companies in the UK to hold this certification.
Today, during peak event periods, the Ultra site will see up to 60 orders per second. That’s a huge feat, but the increased traffic doesn’t come without its own challenges. To ease some of the strain on their website during these high traffic times, they recently introduced a virtual waiting room system that allows up to 20 users per minute per site for a maximum of 250 sessions. Putting this cap in place is a win-win: It keeps the cost of Ultra low and ensures that the user experience doesn’t have to suffer. Instead of experiencing a slow page or server errors when trying to make a purchase, customers enter a queue with a position number and estimated wait time. Bonus: Gives Ultra an opportunity to sell to a captive audience while they wait.
“The size of the user base and community means that no matter what project you’re working on, chances are there’s someone out there who’s done the same. If you need help building your projects, they are very easy to find.” —Ashley Gordon
Ashley describes himself as firmly on “Team Woo”. Since learning WooCommerce, Ashley has not considered using another e-commerce platform. “Any new project I’m working on, my first thought is, ‘Can I achieve this with WordPress and WooCommerce?’
One of the biggest positives of developing with Woo is the built-in community, ready to jump in and support each other.
“The size of the user base and community means that no matter what project you’re working on, chances are there’s someone out there who’s done the same. If you need help building your projects, they are very easy to find,” says Ashley.
For them, success looks like continuing to grow their business and increase enrollment in their programs. It also means that their customers will have a smooth program and their friends and family can easily purchase tickets. “All of this is possible thanks to WordPress and WooCommerce, which make a developer’s life so much easier, and the great support they offer,” he says.
To date, since Ultra Events began in 2009, they have raised over £37m for charity.
Ultra Events prioritizes charitable donations and uses them as a pillar of its business model. In fact, they use their gifts as a key indicator of their success and growth.
The charity collection is part of the agreement to which the participants commit themselves when registering for the program. As well as supporting ticket sales during their eight-week journey, participants are also asked to raise funds for a charity of their choice.
Ultra Events currently runs events in the UK and from 2023 in Canada – but they have big plans to launch new markets and other cities in the future. Their current expansion plans include the US and Australia. “We’re taking these steps to really expand internationally,” says Ashley.
They have just started selling tickets for their new events in Canada, currently in English, but are considering offering the option for Canadian French as a translation. In 2023, they held their first Canadian event in Calgary and have grown to 15 Canadian cities hosting over 30 events a year.
As they continue to grow their Woo store, they plan to launch a multi-location solution tailored to their international audience. This plan would mean separate pages for each currency offered: GBP, CAD, USD and EUR.
They are developing the second version of their ticketing platform. According to Ashley, the main difference is reducing their reliance on third-party plugins and doing a lot of their own development work. For example, they took care of all their own tickets, suppliers, fees and statistics using their own solutions.
The future belongs to Ultra Events and Woo.
“I love Woo and WordPress. I think it’s great and I’ve really enjoyed developing it.” — Ashley Gordon
Sydney is a social media manager (her colleagues might even say a social media wizard) and esteemed gif curator at Woo. When she’s not creating joyful content, she enjoys spending time with her rescue puppies and moonlighting as a keyboardist and singer in a rock band.