The CEO of Eventbrite has left a comfortable career in Hollywood to launch the company of $ 225 million with its own money: “ If it is a disaster, we will simply be mowed ” ‘

Barely five years in her upward television career – where she had climbed the ranks of Junior Executive to FX – Hartz threw the towel on her 9 to 5 to launch Eventbrite in 2006, as a manufacturer entirely with her husband and her co -founder Renaud Face colleague.

The field was: “Come work on something that does not exist. We will use our own money to finance it, and if it is a disaster, we will simply be mowed, ”says Hartz Fortune.

Eventbrite is now estimated at 225 million dollars and offers events ranging from wrestling courses to comedy shows to cheese raves with Queer eye Star Antoni Porowski.

But it all started when Hartz and her husband – the entrepreneur Serial and the early investor of Paypal Kevin Hartz – assembled a dream team to ensure that Eventbrite was destroyed. They recruited another face co -founder to come on board as director of technology, and the trio of entrepreneurs decided to throw $ 250,000 on their own money to operate Eventbrite, moving to San Francisco.

Hartz had to sacrifice his work to put all his energy in Eventbrite, along the route that other entrepreneurs have dropped: juggle a full -time job while changing a business next to it. Instead, she found it better to wipe her slate and leave her television career to continue Eventbrite. It was a professional bet that paid long -term.

“I saw entrepreneurs do this, and I think it is an intelligent way to win validation and the product market, without putting you in such a perilous state,” explains Hartz. “I didn’t do that.”

The inspiration was struck during his work from 9 to 5 Friends And The shield

Hartz started working at the age of 14 – cafes passing through cafes and led children to activities after school – and has not removed the foot since.

While frequenting Pepperdine University, she worked as an intern on the set of Hit Tv-Show Friends, Getting an internship at MTV later in the series development department. It was a “magical” experience that finally won her a job at the station – once she graduated, Hartz went directly into the development of shows, especially Jackass, the shield, And Save me through MTV and FX. Part of his work involved looking for Fandom events, and suddenly, something clicked.

“I remember having gone to this Fandom event which was incredibly niche, and feeling the energy of people in the room, it just stuck me,” said Hartz. “It was this palpable and kinetic energy … When we started Event Britter, I thought about it from the start:” How to allow people who gathered others in these areas of niche passion and create this magic? “”

While most couples can twist their hands at the idea of putting their finances at stake to launch a business together, Hartz’s partner was enthusiastic about going to the bulb moment.

In fact, the success of almost 20 years of the CEO of Gen X may never have managed to introduce himself if it was not for her husband Kevin – who invests in the startup then little known called Paypal – allowed him to jump in entrepreneurship.

“These are just serial entrepreneurs who can convince someone,” said Hartz. “We have succeeded with less than a quarter of a million dollars … I’m really, really proud of that.”

Failure of a business idea in a ticketing giant of $ 225 million

Once Hartz has made the decision to leave television forever, she packed her things in boxes and led the California coast to settle in her company’s new headquarters: San Francisco. The Silicon Valley HUB had technological connections and access to industry to help take things up. So, just like that, she moved to Potrero Hill, the “Warehouse District”.

“I moved horses and plywood in a window closet without window on Monday, in this warehouse district in San Francisco, leading in my head:” Wait, and if he was crazy? ” Well, it’s a bit late for that, ”explains Hartz. “I have been working since I was 14 without a break. So it was really important to me that I work on the first day. ”

Eventbrite was able to ensure that things were partly taken off in part from the perfect timing; In the mid -2000s, social media platforms sought to bring its users together in real life. Facebook made Eventbrite one of its first Connect partners, solidifying a huge new customers looking for community events to participate.

Then 2008 arrived, and thousands of workers from all over the United States were licensed in mass during the financial crisis. Hartz said that “the world collapsed” during these disastrous years, and people were desperate from the community while facing difficulties. It was a difficult time for American workers in companies, but it was an opportunity for Eventbrite to bring them together. During the next decade, the company would raise a total of $ 373 million in equity funding thanks to 11 fundraising laps, according to Pitchbook, attracting investors like Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital and Square.

The ticket platform has since accumulated a fans base in nearly 180 countries – in 2024 only, it had distributed 83 million tickets paid for more than 4.7 million events. With 89 million monthly users, people mark seats during events ranging from a Sunset Bach concert in Central Park to a House music cruise on the Hudson river.