How Julia Hartz Built Eventbrite from a Startup to a Billion-Dollar IPO | E120

What do you do when the dream you've chased no longer fits? For Julia Hartz, it meant walking away from a promising career in Hollywood to dive into the unknown world of startups. As an intern on the set of Friends, she learned the value of kindness, clarity, and high standards. But the real test came in tech, where she bootstrapped through a downturn, faced 27 VC rejections, and ultimately co-founded Eventbrite, one of the world’s leading event ticketing platforms. In this episode, Julia joins Ilana to discuss her leap from TV to tech, how she led Eventbrite through a crisis, and how she continues to reinvent herself and her business. 

Julia Hartz is the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite, a global ticketing and event technology platform that empowers creators to bring people together through live experiences. In 2018, she took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange, making her one of the few female founders to lead a tech IPO.

In this episode, Ilana and Julia will discuss:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:02) Julia’s Leap from Performance to Broadcasting

(04:28) Her Internship on the Set of Friends

(07:15) Discovering Her Path in TV Development at MTV

(10:59) The Original Jackass Pilot and Startup-Like Creativity

(14:55) Transitioning from MTV to FX and Facing Uncertainty

(18:47) Leaving Hollywood to Build a Startup

(26:43) The Product Strategy That Transformed Their Business

(32:29) Getting 27 Rejections from VCs and Refusing to Quit

(35:50) How the Financial Crisis Created Their Breakthrough

(40:03) Reinventing Herself to Become CEO

(46:05) How COVID Nearly Took Down Eventbrite

(51:09) The One Rule She Always Comes Back To

Julia Hartz is the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite, a global ticketing and event technology platform that empowers creators to bring people together through live experiences. In 2018, she took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange, making her one of the few female founders to lead a tech IPO. Today, Eventbrite has powered millions of events and facilitated billions in ticket sales in 180 countries.

Connect with Julia:Julia’s Website: eventbrite.comJulia’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/juliahartzJulia’s Instagram: instagram.com/juliahartz

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