Eventbrite ft. Julia Hartz - A thriving events company took 14 years to build and nearly disappeared in 14 days

10/05/23 • 45 min

What happens to an events company when every event is canceled? “Even if you have spent 14 years building something, it could truly be gone in 14 days.” After working tirelessly to revolutionize how live events are organized, this was the reality Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz faced in March of 2020 as pandemic lockdowns went into effect, extinguishing the lifeblood of her business. She brought the same strategic thinking and grit that had led the company through its previous inflection points to rally her team and reinvent Eventbrite in the middle of a global shutdown.

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Featuring: Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz

Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-eventbrite/

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Featuring: Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz

Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-eventbrite/

Previous Episode

Block ft. Jack Dorsey - A controversial hack week project becomes the #1 financial services app

CEO Jack Dorsey reflects on Block’s origins and defining moments with host Roelof Botha.

Dorsey founded Square in 2009 with a clear vision: economic empowerment for all. Their dongle that turns iPhones into credit card readers was just the start. With Square, small business owners were able to reach more customers and better manage their companies. But when Cash App, which emerged from an internal hackathon, started to gain traction, Square had a decision to make: stick to their core focus, or risk building an unproven product for consumers? Dorsey explains how Block succeeded by weaving new products around a core vision, and how a controversial shift in strategy led them to fully deliver on their founding mission.

Host: Roelof Botha, Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital

Featuring: Jack Dorsey, Alyssa Henry, Brian Grassadonia

Next Episode

HubSpot ft. Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah - How an underdog helped invent modern marketing, and then took on Goliath

Founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah reveal how they took a blog started as a hobby and turned the ideas behind it into a $20+ billion success. In 2006, HubSpot upended traditional approaches to marketing by taking advantage of the the nascent internet in a new way: By capitalizing on seach engines and social media, they offered a way to pull customers in rather than pushing ads and mailers out. They coined the new category “inbound marketing.” They continued to defy conventional wisdom, deciding to serve small businesses over big enterprises, and taking on a Goliath in a new category. As the founders explain, zigging where others zag is the key to their success.

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Featuring: Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, Pat Grady, Dannie Herzberg

Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-hubspot/