How one CEO found opportunity in crisis

This is Working Together, a weekly series on professional women and equity in the workplace. Have ideas about what we should discuss next week? Let me know in the comments using #WorkingTogether or email me at caroline@linkedin.com. 

Nearly two years after a pandemic almost destroyed her business, Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz has two words to describe her company’s crisis: Fortunate and timely. 

It took her a while to come to this assessment, of course. But after laying off 500 employees, nearly half her staff, and watching revenue go from a record high to negative growth, Hartz said the pandemic’s impact on the event industry offered a unique opportunity for reinvention. 

“I asked the team … what would we do if we could do it all over again?” Hartz said on Working Together Live. “That was probably not the question that my team was expecting me to ask at that time, but it actually was a really important question for us to consider.”

Much has been written about the importance of empathetic leadership throughout this pandemic. But the willingness to embrace uncertainty has also been essential to navigating this crisis. Hartz summoned this trait as she honed in on how her 14-year-old company could stand apart from other event platforms. 

Unlike Ticketmaster or Live Nation, which mainly cater to large concerts and other events, Eventbrite decided to focus on everyday creators who use the platform frequently. Rather than focus on selling tickets, Eventbrite invested in systems that would allow creators to use the platform as an operating system to host events and build an audience. 

The moves worked. Eventbrite became profitable again, and it hosted 4 million events and issued 220 million tickets in the first nine months of 2021. It also helped that Hartz pivoted the business toward everyday creators just as the creator economy skyrocketed.

If it weren’t for the pandemic, Hartz said it would have taken five years to make the kind of business changes Eventbrite pulled off in a matter of months. 

“What we're seeing is just this incredible rise of community connection,” she said. “Many things have changed … but one of the things that hasn’t changed is the human need to gather.”  

Hartz and Eventbrite’s rush to shift gears represents a marked departure. Unlike most Silicon Valley startups, Eventbrite’s pitch to investors in 2008 has gone roughly unchanged over its 14-year history. 

And now that Hartz has a taste of the immense potential of embracing uncertainty, she is applying it to other aspects of her leadership style.   

“Right now, especially since we're all so deeply, uncomfortable about this ongoing pandemic… [CEOs] try to make big predictions and proclamations about what it's going to be like to work in the future,” she said. “We don't know what the future of our work is going to look like, but what I do know is that it will be authentic to Eventbrite.”  

Check out the full conversation with Hartz here. 

What’s Working

An overdue first. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement has created an open seat that President Biden is expected to fill with a Black woman. In more than 40 years, only seven Black women have served as a federal appeals court judge, a position that’s considered essential experience to land a nomination for the high court. [NYtimes]

Not 50/50. For women to get what they want out of their careers, many have called for equal partnership at home. Yet, research shows that this kind of responsibility sharing is quite rare, leaving women with even more pressure to “balance” it all. “A working mother without a supportive spouse is struggling enough; she doesn’t need peers proclaiming that they’ve figured it out.” [HBR]

What’s Not

Sad and alone. A surge in loneliness has been reported among middle-aged moms, many of whom feel burned out by the added pressures of raising a family and working during the pandemic. In some instances, social media has helped these women find connection. But in others, it has only led to an increase in feelings of inadequacy. [WSJ]

Paying for no paid leave. Since the pandemic began, U.S. workers lose roughly $22.5 billion in income annually due to inadequate paid family and medical leave programs. The Family and Medical Leave Act grants some Americans 12 weeks off if they have a baby or become ill, but pay is not guaranteed. [Bloomberg]

Working Together LIVE: Thursdays at 3ET

On February 3rd, Cleo CEO Sarahjane Sacchetti will walk us through the continued impact of the virus on working parents and what solutions her company has to offer.  [Join us here]

On February 10th, IFundWomen of Color General Manager Olivia Owens will break down the funding landscape for female founders of color and the growing opportunity for investment and growth. [Join us here]

On February 17th, A. Hunter and Company Founder Ashley M. Hunter will come on to discuss how to manage risk during uncertain times [Join us here]

What topics do you want to discuss next time? Let me know in the comments below using #WorkingTogether