Podcast Summary: How I Built This – Advice Line with Julia Hartz of Eventbrite

Host: Guy Raz
Guest: Julia Hartz, Co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite
Date: February 12, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode of How I Built This: Advice Line, Guy Raz is joined by Julia Hartz, co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite. Together, they answer business questions from entrepreneurs and creators needing advice on growth, focus, and building brand awareness. Julia shares her perspective on the evolving power of live events, how to navigate dual business models, engage community, and cultivate intentionality in product experiences. The atmosphere is direct, supportive, and practical, with both Guy and Julia offering actionable takeaways to real callers.

Key Themes and Discussions

Julia Hartz on Eventbrite’s Acquisition and Her Leadership Journey

• [00:45–03:35] Julia discusses Eventbrite's announced acquisition by Bending Spoons, reflecting on 20 years at the helm, her excitement for the next chapter, and her openness about supporting the company's mission, whether as CEO or in another role.
  • “I feel lucky that I’ve been able to helm this company through thick and thin and all the twists and turns and I'm just excited to do whatever I can to help make it successful in the future.” (Julia Hartz, 02:45)

The Strategic Power of Live Events

• [03:35–05:46]
  • Julia highlights the rising value of in-person events for both Gen Z and brands, sharing research that shows 98% of Gen Z wants to extend product relationships into real life.
  • She notes live events, including podcast tapings, are up 65% on Eventbrite, attributing this to a growing desire for authentic community and connection.
    • “It's not about the technology or the online space. It's actually about the nucleus of that community and the strength of that.” (Julia Hartz, 03:58)
    • “Live podcasting shows are up over 65% on the Eventbrite platform this year, and that’s really driven in part by what you’ve built.” (Julia Hartz, 05:12)

Caller 1: Maya Miller, Pottery to the People (YouTube pottery channel & online shop)

[06:18–17:22]

Issue

Maya juggles two business streams: educational pottery videos on YouTube (ad revenue) and selling pottery tools online. The audiences overlap only slightly, making her feel pulled in “two different directions.”

Advice Highlights

• Julia reframes the situation as running two valuable businesses, urging Maya to identify the unique value each brings rather than agonizing over whether to cut one.
  • “It’s not, ‘Should I run two businesses?’ but really, ‘What job does each part of this ecosystem actually do for me?’” (Julia Hartz, 10:14)
• Guy recommends more active cross-promotion: always use YouTube content as marketing for the shop. Reference successful examples like Mark Rober promoting his science kits. The long-term goal should be driving more revenue from the shop (an owned channel), as Maya controls it—not YouTube’s algorithms.
  • “What you’re doing is… your content marketing. … You are a trusted voice teaching people and showing people how you make pottery… but you’ve always got to feed it back to the shop, even if it’s short.” (Guy Raz, 12:15)
• Julia and Guy encourage subtle but consistent mentions of the shop in every video, leveraging the trust and “parasocial” relationship Maya has with her large YouTube audience.
  • “There is this parasocial trust that translates into real product sales… It doesn’t need to be blatant and a total promo video. It needs to be sort of always there and something that people get used to seeing.” (Julia Hartz, 14:00)
• Leverage existing library: Consider repackaging or remixing evergreen content, reducing the need to constantly create new material while still marketing the shop.
  • “You have this incredible library of content that maybe is… under-leveraged to drive the product sales that you’re looking for.” (Julia Hartz, 14:59)
• Guy frames YouTube as an “advertising billboard” and the engine driving business.
  • “Your YouTube channel is a billboard… you are advertising your business, which is going to be able to pay you and your employees to build it out and do more stuff.” (Guy Raz, 15:33)

Caller 2: Jen Swetsoff, Anyway Magazine (Print magazine for tweens & teens)

[18:57–31:58]

Issue

Jen co-founded a screen-free print magazine for kids, aiming to help them navigate adolescence. With only 2,500 subscribers, limited funding, and both co-founders working other full-time jobs, she seeks ways to scale brand awareness.

Advice Highlights

• Julia emphasizes nostalgia for physical magazines among parents and suggests leaning into parent-focused marketing, leveraging the emotional draw of print magazines from their youth (Tiger Beat, YM, etc.).
  • “You have something that most brands would kill for, which is a whole generation of parents who have like deep, almost Pavlovian nostalgia for real magazines… you’re bringing something back that they have these really fond memories about.” (Julia Hartz, 23:28)
• Understand how kids interact with the magazine: focus groups reveal that personality quizzes and activity sections are most popular.
• Guy, drawing from his own kids podcast media business, encourages launching a podcast to extend the brand’s ecosystem, allowing engagement with both parents and kids and amplifying the magazine’s voice at low cost.
  • “You have the magazine as a center. You may want to think about… launching an Anyway podcast and have [teens] talk about some of the themes that you guys touch on in the magazine to amplify.” (Guy Raz, 25:31)
• Julia breaks down a 3-layered marketing approach:
  1. Digital windows: Use short, emotionally resonant clips on Instagram/Facebook showing the magazine sparking parent–child connection.
  2. Community activation: Partner with girl-centric clubs, indie bookstores, craft fairs—get the magazine into influential hands and real communities.
  3. Influencers: Target not typical “ring light” influencers, but reading/kid creators who drive peer engagement and parental interest.
  • “You just need to get into the hands of the right audiences and that will, that will grow. Ironically, it will be fueled by online advertising.” (Julia Hartz, 28:47)
• Guy suggests partnering with YA authors to run excerpts, and direct donation of magazines to schools, though Jen notes that public schools can be tricky due to content scrutiny. Private schools and direct teachers might be more receptive, echoing how Supergoop scaled.
• Jen confirms that most readers are female, but the mission remains inclusivity for all kids, resisting pressure to “niche down” only to girls.
• Encourage consistent giveaways and school outreach—focusing on word-of-mouth and influential “first adopters.”

Caller 3: Angha Mishra, Auntie Misri (Bake-at-home dessert kits inspired by global flavors)

[33:07–42:38]

Issue

Angha’s kits require more time and steps than typical “just add water” cake mixes. She seeks advice on how to reframe this longer process as a feature (intentional, cultural experience) rather than a friction point for customers.

Advice Highlights

• Julia states the time investment should be a signature of the brand: make slowness and the experience a cornerstone, not a drawback.
  • “You shouldn't shy away from the fact that your kits take longer than a generic instant cake kit. That should be a cornerstone of your storytelling… this is a mechanism to slow down that you want.” (Julia Hartz, 37:04)
• Connect the baking process to emotions: nostalgia, awe, inspiration. Highlight mental wellness benefits from creative, hands-on time.
• Guy urges Angha to center herself in the story—emphasize the journey, and host live in-person baking events (using Eventbrite) to provide direct inspiration, build community, and convert attendees into brand ambassadors.
  • “You need to do an Eventbrite event. … You want to be telling the story. … Start doing events where you have a completed, finished cake, you know, hidden. But you make the cake. People pay… it’s two hours, and in the end, they can go home with their cake…” (Guy Raz, 38:23)
• Angha experimented with workshops, but ticket sales were slow. Julia notes that “granny core” and hands-on, slowing-down events (like silent book clubs, mahjong, knitting circles) are booming on Eventbrite, and that consistency and local advocacy are key.
  • “It's a fully interactive event… telling stories, making it culturally rich… building that bridge through flavor.” (Julia Hartz, 39:58)
• Build in repeat touches: special offers (e.g., QR code linking to future discounts in the kit), communicating holiday/seasonal themes for ongoing engagement.
• Julia urges creating community among customers—suggesting follow-on connections where bakers connect, share results, and build ritual.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I wish I would have allowed myself to have the dream of what our mission became because that would be really fun to say and to experience that levity of wow, what if it became a marketplace that connected millions of people to millions of events… My advice would be have that moment of dreaming.”
  —Julia Hartz on advice to her past self (44:11)

• “Your YouTube channel is a billboard… For better or worse. And so what are you advertising? You're advertising your business, which is going to be able to pay you and your employees to build it out and do more stuff and offer more cool videos.”
  —Guy Raz to Maya Miller (15:33)

• “You have something that most brands would kill for, which is a whole generation of parents who have like deep, almost Pavlovian nostalgia for real magazines.”
  —Julia Hartz to Jen Swetsoff (23:28)

• “This is an area where I feel really passionate because we are seeing these trends just absolutely explode on the platform… anything that's getting people outside of the Fast and the Furious and the Frenetic and into a slower, calmer, more focused pace.”
  —Julia Hartz on trends in live experiences (39:58)

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 00:45 — Julia Hartz reflects on Eventbrite’s acquisition and personal journey.
• 03:35 — Discussion on live events’ role in community and content.
• 06:18 — Maya Miller introduces dual business challenge.
• 10:14 — Julia reframes Maya’s business model.
• 12:15 — Guy lays out content marketing approach.
• 18:57 — Jen Swetsoff presents Anyway Magazine’s growth challenge.
• 23:28 — Julia on nostalgia leverage for parent buyers.
• 28:47 — Julia’s three-tiered marketing plan.
• 33:07 — Angha Mishra describes Auntie Misri’s value proposition.
• 37:04 — Julia on embracing the intentionality of time investment.
• 38:23 — Guy’s advice on hosting live, communal baking events.
• 44:11 — Julia’s final advice: “Allow yourself to dream.”

Tone and Style

The episode is warm, optimistic, and direct, with Julia Hartz providing generous, actionable advice rooted in her experience. Guy Raz builds on founder stories with humor and relatability, making complex business challenges approachable.

Closing Reflections

Julia Hartz closes with the advice she would have given herself 20 years ago—allowing room for dreaming big and imagining the company’s highest potential. Each caller leaves with specific strategies to refine their business focus, engage community, and lean into their core value propositions. This episode is a master-class in navigating growth—and in the art of building community, on and offline.