Being within the C-suite is a high-pressure job with lengthy hours, board duties, and intense scrutiny. However what’s it wish to be a prime govt once you’re off the clock?
Fortune’s collection, The Good Life, exhibits how up-and-coming leaders spend their money and time exterior of labor.
Right this moment we meet Julia Hartz, the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite.
Likelihood is in the event you’ve been to a stadium live performance, underground comedy present, or a cooking class, you’ve used Eventbrite to attain your seats.
The 45-year-old entrepreneur working the worldwide self-service ticketing platform hatched the thought for her enterprise from her time in leisure. Lengthy earlier than founding the corporate in 2006, Hartz labored as an intern on the set of Buddies, which sparked her ardour for media manufacturing. She went on to develop TV exhibits at MTV and FX Community, serving to churn out hits like Jackass, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, and The Defend. She credit trade heavyweights like producers Drew Tappon and John Landgraf with exhibiting her the ability of leisure.
“I had the incredible privilege of learning from television icons,” Hartz tells Fortune. “Those experiences deeply shaped my creative and leadership perspective before I made the leap into tech and entrepreneurship with Eventbrite.”
Eventbrite has processed over two billion tickets globally since 2006.
Wanting to copy that very same leisure magic for dwell audiences, she co-founded Eventbrite, which has since processed over two billion tickets globally. The enterprise is in almost 180 international locations, distributing 83 million paid tickets for over 4.7 million occasions in 2024 alone. With 89 million month-to-month customers, individuals are scoring seats at occasions starting from a sundown Bach live performance in Central Park to a home music cruise on the Hudson river. Eventbrite has a robust presence within the U.S. and throughout the U.Okay.—particularly in London.
Hartz’s enterprise continues to develop with curated “It-Lists” in fashionable cities like NYC, L.A., and London. It’s additionally catering to Gen Z’s tastes by creating genre-bending occasions like a cheese rave hosted by Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski in New York, mixing dance music with artisanal cheese. And the CEO’s downtime is simply as eclectic because the occasions Eventbrite concocts—she brews mushroom-enhanced espresso, attends common hypnotherapy classes, is the mother of TikTok-obsessed teenagers, and is a Lego lover.
“Besides hypnotherapy, I Lego so hard,” Hartz says. “I’m currently working on a three-foot-tall tower from the Lord of the Rings, complete with the Eye of Sauron on top.”
The funds
Fortune: What’s been the very best funding you’ve ever made?
Palms down the very best funding has been touring with family and friends. Time is the final word luxurious and indelible recollections from distinctive experiences are all we’re taking with us.
And the worst?
Each time I enter one in all my teenage daughter’s rooms and see the buildup of TikTok- and trend-purchased objects, I might say that’s my funding low.
What do your childcare preparations seem like?
We welcomed our first daughter about two years after founding Eventbrite. In these early days, she typically got here to the workplace with us—napping below my desk in her automotive seat and later in a Pack ‘N Play. We’ve been extremely lucky to have native mother and father who’ve offered regular assist with each childcare and companionship through the years.
As our household grew and life advanced, we constructed a robust village of pals, household, and trusted crew members to assist us navigate the juggle of elevating 4 daughters whereas working an organization. Kevin [my husband] and I’ve at all times shared parenting duties equally—it’s a task that has grown in tandem with our journey as co-founders and startup operators.
There can be mutiny on the bounty if we stopped our Hulu subscription or our Max subscription.
What are your dwelling preparations like: Swanky condo within the metropolis or suburban sprawling?
We’ve lived and labored in San Francisco for 20 years, and to rely this metropolis out can be a serious mistake. I’m now witnessing the third wave of regeneration since transferring right here, and it’s nothing wanting thrilling. San Francisco is in our DNA—we’ve by no means critically thought-about dwelling anyplace else.
How do you commute to work?
I stroll, which is such a luxurious and now a serious a part of my wellness routine. I take heed to walking-focused hypnotherapy throughout my commute.
Do you carry a pockets?
A pockets?! Who isn’t accepting Apple Pay? I’ve a pockets, however I solely use it for journey. My favourite bank card by far is Ramp—we use it for Eventbrite and for Group Hartz. (Kevin is an investor)
Do you spend money on shares?
Kevin and I stay substantial shareholders within the firm, which retains our work deeply aligned with the long-term pursuits of all our shareholders.
Outdoors of that, I’m lucky to be married to a prolific angel investor—so I typically get to satisfy among the most fun next-generation founders proper in our front room. I sometimes spend money on startups myself, particularly once I’m impressed by the founders and the imaginative and prescient they’re constructing. It’s a privilege to have entry to that type of early-stage innovation and expertise.
What private finance recommendation would you give your 20-year-old self?
Maintain working exhausting. Cash comes and goes so all you may actually matter on is your individual work ethic and values.
What’s the one subscription you may’t dwell with out?
There can be mutiny on the bounty if we stopped our Hulu subscription or our Max subscription.
The place’s your go-to wristwatch from?
Apple.
The requirements
How do you get your each day espresso repair?
I make my espresso at dwelling with a Jura machine and Blue Bottle espresso beans. I combine in manuka honey and mushroom (chaga) drops—all of us love our honey and mushrooms in California for the time being.
What about consuming on the go?
I by no means flip down a burrito.
The place do you purchase groceries?
I really like Bryan’s Grocery in SF!
How typically in per week do you dine out versus cook dinner at dwelling?
We eat at dwelling nearly each night time with the household. It’s extra than simply consuming at dwelling—it’s our each day ritual, a sacred pause in our full lives the place telephones are put aside and tales movement.
What can be a typical work outfit for you?
Denims and a sweater with sneakers.
Are you the proud proprietor of any futuristic devices?
All my futuristic devices should do with anti-aging…just lately I invested within the LYMA [laser anti-aging skin system].
The treats
How do you unwind from the highest job?
Apart from hypnotherapy, I Lego so exhausting. I’m at the moment engaged on a three-foot-tall tower from The Lord of the Rings, full with the Eye of Sauron on prime, as a present for Kevin’s startup, Sauron—the world’s first perceptual dwelling safety platform that constantly scans the perimeter of your house.
What’s the very best bonus deal with you’ve purchased your self?
I simply began getting all in favour of classic jewellery—every bit has a narrative, and I really like that.
Take us on vacation with you, what’s subsequent in your trip record?
Rising up in Santa Cruz, the seashore wasn’t only a vacation spot—it was an extension of our yard. That connection to the ocean has stayed with me, and the seashore stays a continuing in my life that I really like sharing with my household. We like to be within the water—browsing and diving collectively. One place specifically that’s so particular to us is Fiji.
Fortune desires to listen to from leaders on what their “Good Life” seems to be like. Get in contact: emma.burleigh@fortune.com.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
