Julia Hartz left a rising TV executive career at FX to co-found Eventbrite Inc. (NYSE:EB), launching the ticketing startup from a phone closet in San Francisco.
She, her husband Kevin Hartz, and engineer Renaud Visage pooled $250,000 of their personal savings to bootstrap the venture, Fortune reported.
Before making the leap, Hartz had built an early resume that included internships at “Friends” and MTV’s development department, eventually working on series such as “Jackass,” “The Shield,” and “Rescue Me.” She rose to junior executive at FX before walking away.
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While many entrepreneurs choose to build their companies on the side, Hartz committed full-time from day one.
“I’ve seen entrepreneurs do that, and I think that that’s a clever way to gain validation and product market fit, without putting yourself in such a perilous state,” Hartz told Fortune. “I did not do that.”
Eventbrite’s early growth aligned with a critical moment in tech: the expansion of social media platforms in the mid-2000s. Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) selected Eventbrite as one of its first Connect partners, giving the company access to a growing network of users seeking in-person experiences.
This partnership, combined with Eventbrite’s self-service platform, enabled organizers, including creators, performers, and niche communities to quickly set up and promote events with minimal overhead. This accessible model helped Eventbrite scale across a wide variety of event types and locations, according to Fortune.
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Hartz described the 2008 Great Recession as a moment of collapse for corporate America. Yet the demand for meaningful human connection remained strong as many people turned to affordable, local events as a way to stay connected, Fortune reported.
Between 2006 and 2019, Eventbrite raised $373 million in equity funding across 11 funding rounds from investors including Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Square, according to Pitchbook. The company went public in 2018.
