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Last updated on June 16, 2025
Julia Hartz never gave up on her mission to bring the world together through live experiences. She reveals how she built Eventbrite into the world’s leading events and ticketing business.
From four years bootstrapping from a windowless phone closet in Potrero Hill, San Francisco, to becoming the world’s largest event technology unicorn, Eventbrite‘s Julia Hartz and her fellow co-founders started out by spotting a massive gap in the market.
Back in 2006, ticketing giants were solely focused on major concerts and sports games, leaving an underserved middle market, Julia explains. “Ticketing platforms were built for the top 1% of events but there was nothing built for the rest of us.”
“We believed that technology could democratise access to live experiences by empowering anyone to gather a community, whether for a poetry reading, workshop, or music festival.”
Julia started to develop the business with her tech entrepreneur husband, Kevin Hartz, and tech investor and engineer, Renaud Visage. Their vision was to empower event creators and bring people together through shared experiences.
“That’s still our North Star,” she says. “As we’ve grown globally, we’ve stayed focused on making it easier for people to discover, create, and attend events that matter to them — because live experiences build real connection in a digital-first world.”
Navigating Economic Challenges: How Eventbrite Survived and Thrived
Two years after starting up, as Julia and her co-founders began to find their rhythm, the economy nosedived as the financial crisis hit. “It forced us to be sharp: capital-efficient, scrappy, and disciplined,” Julia says. “That era forged our culture.”
They kept afloat by focusing on long-term value, and making hard decisions with clarity, staying grounded in what really matters to the business. “That resilience and resourcefulness has served us in every chapter from IPO to pandemic to recovery.”
History has shown many companies born under challenging circumstances have developed a certain grit. Operating with a healthy dose of paranoia and appreciation that the market can switch overnight is no bad thing, and for Eventbrite that has influenced everything from cash flow to innovation.
Eventbrite went public with its IPO in September 2018, with a market valuation of around $1.76 billion. The company is now operative in nearly 180 countries with 16 offices around the world.
From IPO to Global Expansion: Eventbrite’s Journey of Empowering Creators
Over the last two decades, Eventbrite has helped millions of people turn ideas into income, turn passion into purpose, and small gatherings into thriving communities. “The milestones I’m proudest of aren’t measured in IPOs or revenue, they’re measured in people,” Julia says.
The company, she explains, has been the infrastructure behind real human connection, with over two billion tickets sold to date.
“What’s most powerful is the ripple effect: when we support a creator, we’re not just enabling one event — we’re unlocking moments that bring people together, spark new friendships, launch small businesses, and even inspire other platforms.”
“As a founder, that impact means everything — knowing we’ve helped fuel a generation of entrepreneurs, creators, and connectors and that we’ve done it with a deep sense of purpose and heart.”
Breaking Barriers: Julia Hartz’s Mission to Transform Tech and Entrepreneurship
When Julia started Eventbrite, less than 2% of venture capital went to female-founded companies. That stat hasn’t moved much in over a decade.
“But, what’s changing is visibility and momentum,” Julia asserts. “Today, more women are founding, funding, and scaling companies.”
“At Eventbrite, 7 of our 8 board members are women, and we’ve built a leadership team that reflects the kind of future we want to see in tech — not just for optics, but because it drives better decisions and stronger performance.”
Julia’s optimism for women in entrepreneurship is fuelled by what the future holds. “I see the next generation coming up unapologetically ambitious, mission-driven, and collaborative.”
“The pipeline is growing but the structural changes in funding and representation still need work. What gives me hope is that we’re not having to explain why this matters anymore. We’re focused on how to accelerate it.”
As Julia reflects on her founder journey, she urges earlier stage founders to be in touch with their core values. “Be crystal clear about the problem you’re solving. Every decision should trace back to your mission.”
For more stories from inspirational women founders, download our 100 Women Founders to Watch.
Click here to read Julia’s newsletter, Small Business, Big Lessons.
