Show Notes
Eventbrite has survived nearly every kind of challenge a startup can face: launching into a financial crisis, raising venture capital after 27 rejections, going public, watching its core business disappear during COVID, and eventually leaving the public markets after nearly two decades of building.
In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Julia Hartz, co-founder and former CEO of Eventbrite, to unpack the decisions that helped the company weather those highs and lows. When Eventbrite went public in 2018, Julia became just the 21st woman founder-CEO to lead her company through an IPO and the second-youngest woman to do so (milestones she remembers as both an achievement and a stark reminder of how few women had reached that point).
But getting to the IPO, and navigating what came afterward, was anything but straightforward. Julia explains what it was like to take over as CEO from her husband and co-founder Kevin Hartz, why she initially questioned whether she was ready for the job, and how leading through the pandemic forced her to find her own leadership style. She also looks back on Eventbrite’s unusual fundraising journey, from bootstrapping the company for its first two-and-a-half years to the success during the 2008 financial crisis that ultimately landed them Sequoia as a lead investor.
Julia reflects on the realities of running a public company, balancing investor expectations against the needs of customers, the mistakes that took years to repair, and the painful decision to take Eventbrite private following its acquisition by Bending Spoons. Through it all, she shares what nearly 20 years of building Eventbrite taught her about resilience, leadership, reinvention, and making hard decisions when there is no obvious playbook.
They get into:
How Julia Hartz and Kevin Hartz built Eventbrite from a bootstrapped startup into a global ticketing platform
Why 27 venture firms rejected Eventbrite during the 2008 financial crisis
How strong execution helped Eventbrite turn those rejections into a Sequoia-backed round
What it was like for Julia to take over as CEO from her husband and co-founder
Why becoming CEO felt “terrifying” and how Julia eventually found her own leadership style
How Eventbrite responded when COVID caused the company to process more refunds than revenue
The crisis-management exercise that helped Julia’s team rethink the business from scratch
What Julia learned as one of the youngest women and few woman founder-CEOs to take a company public
Why the realities of running a public company can differ from founders’ expectations
How CEOs should balance investor pressure with what is best for their customers
Why Eventbrite ultimately decided to leave the public markets
The mistakes Julia made while scaling Eventbrite and why talking directly to customers remains one of her most important lessons
What 20 years of building taught Julia about resilience, leadership, reinvention, and knowing when to let go
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Chapters:
00:00 – Julia Hartz on Leading Eventbrite Through the Hardest Moments01:27 – From MTV and Jackass to Founding Eventbrite03:27 – How Julia and Kevin Hartz Started Eventbrite08:49 – Why Live Events Survived Every Technology Shift11:03 – Taking Over as CEO From Her Husband13:38 – Leading Eventbrite Through the COVID Crisis17:19 – Eventbrite’s Fundraising Journey17:57 – 27 VC Rejections During the 2008 Financial Crisis22:16 – How to Re-Pitch an Investor After They Say No24:42 – Building a Company With Your Spouse26:58 – Taking Eventbrite Public27:11 – Making History as a Woman Founder-CEO31:17 – What No One Tells You About Running a Public Company32:40 – From a $1.67B IPO to Going Private36:08 – Why Eventbrite Left the Public Markets38:48 – Customers vs. Shareholders: Who Should a CE
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