Eventbrite founder Julia Hartz has said that a potential acquisition’s existing talent is the most important factor when choosing whether to seal a deal.
The company has been at the forefront of an M&A explosion on the events and ticketing sectors in the last couple of years. Last year it bought Ticketscript, a European ticketing platform, before adding Spanish company Ticketea in April.
It’s biggest takeover deal was the $200m (€167.1m/£147.2m) purchase of Ticketfly from Pandora last June, which Hertz said at the time would create an “unparalleled solution”.
Ticketfly chief executive Andrew Dreskin was appointed to lead Eventbrite’s music efforts after the dal, while Javier Andres, Ticketea co-founder and chief executive, is to join Eventbrite as director for Spain and Portugal.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Hartz explained that she is proud that Eventbrite has kept almost all the founders from its deals.
“[Founders] like to make an impact, they like autonomy, and they like to solve big hairy problems,” she said.
Hartz added that “70 per cent of her concerns [when acquiring a business] are about talent — it has to feel like a cultural fit”’. Hartz also told the newspaper that another 20 per cent is about “strategic fit”, and “whether it will accelerate Eventbrite’s progress in a particular type of event, region of the world or new area of business”.
Finally, Hartz told the FT that the last 10 per cent is about finances, with management eager to keep Eventbrite lean.
IMAGE: JD Lasica (Flickr)
Share this