Eventbrite Cofounder Julia Hartz Sells Company for $500 Million and Plans Next Steps

Julia Hartz, cofounder and former CEO of the ticketing platform Eventbrite, sold the company to Bending Spoons for $500 million. The sale ended her two-decade tenure leading the business. Hartz stated that she has not been without a job since she was 15 years old.

Hartz began her career as a teenager working in cafes and driving children to activities. While at Pepperdine University, she interned on the sitcom Friends and later worked in MTV's series development department. She left positions at MTV and FX four years into her television career to start Eventbrite with two cofounders.

The company raised nearly $350 million in funding, went public in 2018 with an initial valuation of $1.76 billion, and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted public gatherings. In recent years, Eventbrite faced profitability challenges and conducted headcount reductions.

Last year, Hartz and the board decided to sell the company and take it private. Hartz stated that operating as a private company would reduce overhead costs. The sale occurred after the company's stock value declined significantly since the IPO.

13, Hartz completed her last day at Eventbrite.

She is now considering various opportunities, including starting new companies with her husband and Eventbrite cofounder Kevin Hartz, who prepared a list of 27 potential ventures. Hartz has joined the board of the Live Like Braun Foundation, run by Jenn and Dan Levi, which raises grants and awareness about impaired driving risks.

Hartz is assisting former Eventbrite employees in finding new positions. She is also pursuing personal interests, such as learning piano, improving her golf skills, playing chess with a robot, and experimenting with AI tools including Claude code and OpenClaw.

Hartz expressed interest in internships to gain new experiences at entry levels.

“I’m so grateful that I got to lead a company that I helped create," Hartz says. Hartz noted that the board, consisting mostly of women, provided diverse opinions during the sale decision. She described the choice to step away as difficult but necessary for the company's next phase.”