Marketplaces

The Eventbrite Story | Julia & Kevin Hartz

Jul 5, 2026 · 49:55

Julia and Kevin Hartz, the husband-wife co-founders of Eventbrite, recount building the world's second-largest events marketplace from a windowless phone closet with dog beds for naps, bootstrapping until product market fit emerged from tech meetups and spread organically across categories. They describe Kevin handing the CEO reins to Julia in 2016 after 10 years, the challenging integration of Tickerfly after its acquisition, and the COVID moment when revenue went negative within 14 days, prompting rapid refunds and credits that saved the company. The Hartzes also explain the sale to Bending Spoons for long-term stewardship, Kevin's $450M third fund at A* Star capital, and their joint venture Sauron, a home security business with Atomic.

The Brutal $1.2B Unicorn Reality

Feb 22, 2026 · 47:43

Kirill Bigai, founder of Preply, argues that the company's $1.2 billion unicorn valuation is a discipline story, not a success story, built on lean operations and unit economics. He recounts launching with a concierge MVP—a single landing page and manual tutor matching on Skype—while living with five co-founders in one house without salaries. To scale, Preply focused on SEO and SEM to acquire both learners and tutors, achieving ROI-positive results. During the war in Ukraine, the company took responsibility for evacuating 150 employees from Kyiv, fostering unity and resilience. Bigai envisions a 'human-first, AI-enabled' future where AI acts as a co-pilot for tutors, automating homework and improving learner-tutor matching.

The Unicorn Nobody Saw Coming | Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir

Dec 7, 2025 · 56:43

Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir, the accidental founder of Airalo, built the world's largest eSIM marketplace by pivoting from a ship-supply business after Apple's eSIM announcement in 2018. He started SIM4CREW for 1.7M seafarers, then killed it to launch Airalo, relying on luck and timing. First customers came from unscalable hacks—wearing Airalo shirts, fake elevator calls, and Twitter bots—until a $5,000 influencer investment cracked growth. COVID hit after raising a $5.4M Series A, but overspending forced an early raise that left enough cash to survive zero revenue, panic attacks, and a war on waste. Airalo's culture centers on empathy and individual stories, rejecting 'greater good' logic—every gigabyte used globally is the long-term goal, via a connectivity layer powering devices directly or through partners.

The Youngest Female BILLIONAIRE Told Us THIS

Sep 7, 2025 · 49:02

Lucy Guo, co-founder of Scale AI and founder of Passes, shares her journey from high-school entrepreneur to youngest self-made female billionaire and her vision for the creator economy. She explains why she pivoted from food delivery and healthcare apps to Scale AI, emphasizing the importance of early co-founder communication to avoid conflict. At Passes, she outlines a 0% take rate on marketplace products and a 10% blended fee, arguing creators must own their audiences for sustainable businesses. She identifies AI's potential for digital twins and script generation but fears deepfake misuse. Guo also predicts self-driving cars will enable suburban living and advises founders to invest in top engineers, citing her early bet on Ramp.