Julia Hartz
Co-Founder & President, Eventbrite
Discussion
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
As Co-Founder and President of Eventbrite, I focus primarily on our customers and our team. I spend my days driving strategy to recruit, onboard and retain the Britelings as well as leading our executive staff through major strategic objectives. I’m excited to share my journey and learnings with your community.
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Hang Zhao
@sgzhaohang
Hi Julia, thanks for joining!
I'd like to know how you guys attracted your first 1k users in the beginning? Any growth hacks?
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@sgzhaohang Hi Sexy Hacker! The first 1k users for us really came from our earliest adopters - tech bloggers and inexplicably, speed dating hosts. Once we identified those early users, we made it our mission to get to know them and understand their needs. We were in constant dialogue with these customers to really know what motivated them and how we could build a set of tools to help make them successful. My best piece of advice for you is to gather a small group of early adopters, become obsessed with their every move, and truly understand what motivates them so you can build a product or service that makes their lives better. Frankly, it's not a hack but the hard work you must do to validate your product/service/idea and begin to grow a sustainable business.
Alleah at Bliss Wine
@blisswineimport · Chief Wine Drinker, Bliss Wine Imports
@juliahartz @sgzhaohang Did you do this in the form of surveys? What are the top 3 questions you would ask?
Mitchell Lee
@dontmitch · working on pennyapp.io
@juliahartz @sgzhaohang We wrote a recap of how we acquired our first 500 users. I'd be interested in knowing if there's any overlap between our approaches. Medium tells me it's a 7 minute read, so no worries if you don't get the time ;) https://medium.com/@dontmitch/yo...
Tigran Hakobyan
@tigranhakobian · Entrepreneur, Co-founder/CMO @ inapptics
Hi Julia, thanks for joining us on PH Live!
As I am mostly blogging about productivity and productivity hacks, it's interesting to know the top 3 tools/apps/resources you use to be more productive during the day. Can you please share with us?
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@tigranhakobian I eat, sleep, breathe productivity but am far from an expert...here's what I've figured out so far:
1. Slack -- great for real-time transfer of information, especially potent for small groups of people, and the sooner we can get away from a back-logged email inbox, the better.
2. Google Hangout -- I can connect via video chat with anyone in the company (8 offices around the world) from my phone.
3. Brutal prioritization -- at the start of each week, make a list of the most important things you must accomplish and make sure you tackle those first. I
Tigran Hakobyan
@tigranhakobian · Entrepreneur, Co-founder/CMO @ inapptics
@juliahartz Thanks for an interesting reply! A week ago my article on productivity hacks was published on one of the startup blogs, and prioritization was one of the key points there as well. If you have some 3-4 minutes you can have a look at http://theunderdog.io/2015/10/29....
daniellevine
@daniellevine · Docket.report
@juliahartz Thank's for doing this AMA! I'm wondering, what's the best thing you've come across in the last 30 days and why? Could be anything, a product, an article, a tea, a quote. Anything! Thanks for answering.
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@daniellevine
Quote: "Focus more and relax a bit."
Book: The Martian
Coffee Hack: add coconut oil
Article: https://medium.com/working-paren...
Product: Amazon Echo
Daniel Ek
@eldsjal · CEO, Spotify
@juliahartz what's biggest change in your day to day job last few years?
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@eldsjal Hi Daniel! :) I think the thing that has changed the most for me in the last couple of years is that I've gone from doing to thinking to communicating. Much of my role is communicating the strategy to the company and making sure it's not only resonating, but also inspiring (not so much in a cheerleader "rah rah" way but more authentically). I miss the pure "doing" days of an early startup but I've embraced this new role because I can see how impactful my work is when I get it right.
Jourdan Bul-lalayao
@jourdanb21 · Co-Founder & CTO, Jobox
Hi Julia!!!
Thanks so much for chatting with us on Product Hunt!
My question is intentionally vague as I'd love for you to answer it based on your interpretation of the question!
If you had only one tip to share with entrepreneurs on how to build a successful start-up, what is your absolute #1 tip?
Harry Stebbings
@harrystebbings · Podcast Host @ The Twenty Minute VC
Hi @juliahartz thanks so much for joining us today. What would you say is the biggest driver that has made Eventbrite the go to place for all things events and invitations? Would love to hear your thoughts. Also, as you handle the customer relations side, what is the most requested feature from clients, not present in the current Eventbrite?
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@harrystebbings we are a unique platform in the ticketing industry because of our self-service model. Through this, we've been able to build an incredible breadth of events that are powered through the platform. Meaning, you can find any type of event on Eventbrite: cooking classes to music festivals to yoga workshops to networking events. This breadth has allowed us to create opportunity for ticket buyers to find relevant events which in turn, fuels more ticket sales for our organizers. So, coming back to what I consider the biggest driver of our growth -- our ability to continue to scale a robust, yet simple, self-service platform.
Your second question around customer relations and most requested features -- to be honest, we are asked for vertically integrated features every day from our organizers. To answer these needs and build the strongest platform in ticketing, we are working to bring API partners and developers on to our API platform, Eventbrite Spectrum.
Alejo Rivera
@alejoriveralara
Hi Julia! What advice would you give about starting a business with a significant other? What were some of the things you and Kevin decided were important to do, and what was important not to do? Especially during the early days of Eventbrite.
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@alejoriveralara the greatest advice we ever received about working together as a couple and co-founders came from Michael and Xochi Birch, who said "Divide and conquer: never work on the same thing at the same time." Frankly, I think this applies to all co-founding teams. You're much better off finding a partner who has complimentary skills to your own and trusting each other / staying out of each other's way. You get from A to B two times faster.
stephentbiz
@stephentbiz · Founder & CEO @Flipmass
Hey Julia,
What are the biggest challenges you have had in building a successful team?
What tips can you provide in aiding those challenges?
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@stephentbiz one of the biggest challenges in building a successful team is nailing the right fit in terms of: skill, experience, timing, and personality. I also think it's important to look at non-negotiable attributes when trying to create the ultimate team. One of ours is GRIT. It's also as much about development opportunities as it is about hiring but if you don't get the hiring right most of the time, you'll be in a constant "catch up" mode. So, best to zero in on becoming extremely proficient in hiring the right people first.
Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg · Former Product Hunt
Hey Julia! Thanks for joining us today.
What is something you used to fervently believe that you now see as fundamentally misguided?
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Julia Hartz
@juliahartz · Co-Founder + President, Eventbrite
@eriktorenberg Hi there. :) Mine would be that some people don't need a steady and healthy amount of sleep. Everyone needs to sleep. It's the only known human superpower. Says my mom. Hi Mom!