Julia Hartz: Eventbrite (with Julia & Kevin Hartz)

The episode pairs Eventbrite's origin story with the shock of COVID-19: an events company whose product depends on people gathering is suddenly operating amid cancelled in-person events. The hosts focus on three moments—the company's 2006 founding by Julia and Kevin Hartz, Julia's leadership through the 2018 IPO, and the effort to streamline the business during the pandemic. Their choice to feature both spouses reflects how closely the company's history is tied to their shared life as founders and family.

Kevin's path runs through the early PayPal network. At Stanford he met Peter Thiel and Keith Rabois through student politics; later, Silicon Graphics exposed him to powerful workstations, graphics, and the possibility of what computing might look like years ahead. He describes the PayPal group as a network whose key figures attracted talent across Stanford and the University of Illinois, including Max Levchin, Roelof Botha, Reid Hoffman, and Elon Musk. Kevin had invested in PayPal before launch, but distinguishes himself from the company's actual team and says he turned down invitations to join.

The early PayPal story illustrates the value of observing actual product use. The team first explored infrared money transfers on Palm devices, then noticed the friction of requiring users to be physically present. Because accounts were tied to email, online transfers became more natural, and eBay sellers quickly adopted PayPal to receive payments. The product expanded from a general payment platform into an early vertical use case. Kevin's lesson is to run experiments, watch how customers actually use a product, and follow the behavior that emerges rather than assuming the original concept is correct.