Eventbrite Business Model | How Does Eventbrite Make Money?

Eventbrite is a global live experiencing online marketplace that allows its customers to search, find and create events. 

Annual events are held by concerts, marathons, presentations, hackathons, air guitar contests, seminars, political rallies, and gaming competitions. 

Event organizers can advertise events, plan events, and sell tickets with the social e-commerce platform. It also allows participants to search for these experiences and buy tickets.

Eventbrite is a platform for tickets and event management that mostly makes money from ticket fees. 

They are earned by selling purchased tickets on the platform. Service fees are calculated by three levels of service: (Essentials – 2% + 79 cents, Professional – 3,5% plus $1,59, and Premium). These are computed according to three levels of service. Ticket fees per ticket are set at $9.95.

Eventbrite is a website for event management and ticketing. The service enables users to create, navigate and promote local events.

The service charges an event organizers’ fee unless the event is free in exchange for online ticketing services.

It is a web-based event management program designed to facilitate the registration and ticketing of any form of event.

The platform can be used by individuals, organizations, enterprises, and nearly anyone.

Eventbrite is free for organizers only if you don’t charge tickets! There are no monthly fees, registration fees, or set-up fees.

What is Eventbrite?

Eventbrite is a digital event and ticketing platform that allows virtually anybody to organize, promote and host events. Many of these events occur on-site or online, including concerts, festivals, yoga workshops, etc.

The Eventbrite business model is based on transaction charges (paid by either consumers or organizers) per ticket sold. In addition, the company gets money through leasing equipment (e.g., scanning machines) to event hosts.

Eventbrite Business Model

Eventbrite is a world leader in online ticketing and is based in San Francisco. 

The company was released in 2018. In 2019, approximately 4.7 million events took place in 180 countries around the world.

The Eventbrite business model’s heart is the digital platform, where event organizers and participants gather, facilitate their interactions, and financial exchange payments via its marketplace.

Eventbrite also offers additional goods to both event organizers and participants that promote the use of the matchmaker platform. 

Event planners can receive statistical data, and customer support teams can view event advertisements and deal with Eventbrite monitoring software.

Company NameEventbrite
Company TypePublic
FoundersKevin Hartz, Renaud Visage, Julia Hartz
ProductTicketing and Event Management Website
Founded Date2006
HeadquarterSan Francisco, CA
WebsiteVisit Website

How Does Eventbrite Work?

Eventbrite is an internet platform for event organizing and ticketing. It enables users to discover, develop and promote online or offline events.

Users can participate in music, charity, training, sports, or snacks and drinks categories. Non-commercial meetings like family functions or high school meetings can also take place.

On the organizer side, a range of tools is provided to simplify event creation and management. 

These include page templates for events, dashboard reporting (e.g., tracking records and sales), or a special support team.

Eventbrite has also developed an app (known as the Eventbrite Coordinator App) that supports organizers to check-in event participants, track their live attendance or even sell goods on-site.

Eventbrite also takes care of the money processing and advertising of its events as a quasi-marketplace. 

Users can use the platform either through their website or through mobile applications on Android and iOS provided through their firm.

Eventbrite Business Model

The major source of money for Eventbrite is a percentage decrease from every ticket sold for an event. “We expand alongside the creators as they schedule, advertise, produce and attend more events,” the business said in its S-1 filing. 

Its web platform provides creators with three basic, professional, and premium packages, with various features and costs. 

There is no cost for event creators on the Essential and Professional platforms, but Eventbrite’s cut varies based on the level.

The firm takes 2 percent + $0.79 from every ticket sold by 2021 for the Essential package. Every Professional ticket sold in that year yields the corporation 3.5 percent plus $1.59. 

There is an additional 2.5% payment processing fee. 5 Customer features such as customized inspection forms and thorough sales data are provided in the Professional package. 

Premium package charges are customary and are based on the minimum threshold in ticket prices. 

Customers also receive branded and personalized forms and information. 6 Offline, Eventbrite also offers box office and entry rental equipment.

The preceding services also allow Eventbrite to acquire client information such as payment card information and personal information. The data are shared or internally used for business purposes, such as consumer segmentation.

The Eventbrite app is restricted to selling tickets; it offers several services that assist organizers with check-in. 

The Entry Manager app is an enrolment application that validates ticket barcodes for those attending. 

The At The Door app is designed for ultimate sales, enabling event participants to buy tickets with their credit cards at the door.

How Does Eventbrite Make Money?

Eventbrite earns money when an organizer sells a ticket by charging 2.5 percent of the ticket price + $0.99 per ticket, plus an additional 3.5 percent for credit card processing.

Statista projects that the Event Ticket market will generate $24.8 billion in sales by 2020. Meanwhile, the market for online events is expected to grow to $61.7 billion by 2027.

Eventbrite has risen to prominence as a global leader in this colossal industry. As with every other marketplace, the company derives revenue from various sources, including sales commissions, promotional activities, and supplier tools.

There are numerous features organized into distinct plans, each with its own set of tools and perks.

Eventbrite Business Model

You can choose from the Essentials Plan, the Professional Plan, and the Premium Plan.

Eventbrite gets money from each plan by charging for additional event services and commissions on ticket sales.

Eventbrite earns a charge of 2% of the cost of each ticket sold within the Eventbrite system under the Essentials Plan.

Eventbrite charges 3.5 percent for the Professional plan. If a credit card is used to pay, an extra 3.5 percent + $0.99 is added to the price.

The Premium plan includes customizable options, and the percentage you pay for each ticket sale varies depending on the ones you select. Package pricing for premium tickets is based on a minimum sales level.

Let’s give each one a closer look.

Transaction Fees

Eventbrite charges a service fee and a transaction fee for each ticket sold. No fees are charged if activities are hosted for free. Organizers have the option of passing on the fees to customers or paying them themselves.

The fees charged vary according to the country where the event is held and the organizer’s package. Eventbrite provides three distinct subscription packages.

Each package includes a unique set of features. For example, the Essential package includes complimentary advertising tools, mobile-optimized event sites, and event schedules with numerous days.

You can also use the Professional and Premium packages to create detailed reports by ticket type or across multiple events, sell tickets directly on event websites via Eventbrite widgets, and access Customer Support and Team Support with different permissions.

Payment processing fees remain constant at 2.5 percent. In the United States, the following fees are assessed based on the package selected.

The Essential Package comes with a 2 percent fee (of the ticket price) plus $0.79 per sold ticket. The professional package has a 3.5% fee plus $1.59 on each ticket sold. Packages with premium features are available upon request.

Eventbrite’s various packages enable it to cater to a diverse audience of organizers. These range in size from small classes to large-scale performances.

Eventbrite has recently begun to concentrate its efforts on increasing the sale of online events. The company reported a 2000% year-over-year growth in the number of online events held.

Eventbrite Organizer

Hosts have access to several tools through the Eventbrite Organizer application to enhance their event experience.

There are also advantages, such as selling tickets and goods on-site, tracking attendance, and QR scanning to access events.

Organizer is a free app. Eventbrite monetizes transaction fees when participants purchase tickets or goods. 

A 3% payment processing fee for each transaction plus a $1 service charge is levied regardless of region or volume.

Eventbrite also uses the app to cross-sell additional service kinds. For example, for the duration of the event, the organizers may rent scanning or box office equipment. A single event costs $99 per person.

Donation Tickets

Eventbrite organizers can also solicit money for their events in addition to selling tickets. The price of a ticket for a particular event can be customized rather than being set at a guaranteed price.

The fees Eventbrite charges for each donation sold via its platform are similar to those stated previously. This will vary depending on the country in which the event is held.

You will be charged 2% of each ticket sold in exchange for donations. The processing fee maybe 2.5 percent in some instances.

What is the Funding and Valuation of Eventbrite?

Crunchbase reports that Eventbrite has raised $557.3 million over 11 funds. 

Investors in the company include Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and Francisco Partners.

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Eventbrite raised an additional $230 million during their September 2018 initial public offering, valuing the company at $1.8 billion. 

Eventbrite’s value dropped by more than half due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The company had a market capitalization of $770 million at the time of writing.

Success Story of Eventbrite

Eventbrite was founded in 2006 by Julia Hartz (CEO), Renaud Visage, and Kevin Hartz, located in San Francisco.

Julia and Kevin became friends in 2003 after sitting together at a mutual friend’s wedding. They hit it off instantly, and two years later, they were engaged.

The next year, 2006, they began Eventbrite. And to make matters a little more confusing, they welcomed their first kid for two years while they booted their firm and tried to pay.

Let’s turn the tape back a little to grasp this lunacy. Julia and Kevin have both successfully managed their families and businesses before founding Eventbrite.

Kevin, a previous graduate of the University of Stanford and Oxford, spent his first several years inventing businesses during the dot-com era and investing in others as a VC. 

Xoom’s digital cash transfer service was founded in 2001, and he led angel investments in companies like PayPal, Pinterest, and Airbnb.

Julia worked on TV development for FX Networks in Los Angeles (Kevin was based in San Francisco). In the next two years, the pair had to determine long distances.

Eventbrite Business Model

Kevin and Julia moved together in 2005 to the Bay Area, where Julia grew up. The local cable network in San Francisco offered her a job as an executive, but she declined.

Julia showed Kevin an offer to express his views. And Kevin’s answer? He just stated she could work on someone else’s ambition or just start something together. Weeks later, the newly engaged couple worked on what would Eventbrite.

Eventbrite’s notion was not founded on any kind of eureka moment. Instead, Hartzes performed a comprehensive study on any category of consumers that would be ready for disruption. One of these industries was ticketing.

The facility was distinguished by excessive costs, poor customer experience, and lack of technological use. The majority of event organizers still track and sell tickets and orders via e-mails and Excel tablets. 

Other established players such as Ticketmaster just charged astronomical fees for maintaining a client ticket business and concentrated on larger events such as concerts and festivals.

The Renaud Visage couple, who previously directed technical teams and joined the organization as a CTO, subsequently introduced mutual friends. 

Kevin became the CEO of the corporation, while Julia held the president’s role.

The Eventbrite website became active in July 2007 following a year-long development period. The trio bootstrapped the company from the start and did not seek outside funding.

Kevin wanted to avoid any external noise greater than he did at Xoom (the company was significantly backed by investors). 

Another reason, expressed frankly, is capital market limitations. Many risk capital firms had to shut down due to the 2007 financial crisis that almost eliminated any opportunity of acquiring external funding.

Eventbrite did not take any out-of-home investment or recruit any full-time staff during its first three years. 

This prompted the team to listen to their consumers’ needs and aim to be profitable early. They spent only $250k in the first two years of the business.

Eventbrite used numerous techniques for expansion to establish a niche among other giants such as Ticketmaster. 

They uncovered a network of early adopters in technology bloggers hosting meetings. They aggressively took them onboard, leading to a unique client experience and offering them vital feedback and improved speech.

Often, the participants of their events became organizers themselves due to the quality of their product experience. 

Julie and Kevin have also continued to answer client e-mails and phone calls, which allows for a continuous feedback loop between product development and customer support.

In addition, they developed a horizontal platform instead of a single niche. It became a one-size-all solution that allowed anybody to design and host events. 

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This creates surprise new situations like yoga or cooking lessons that weren’t always profitable for the larger incumbents.

In addition, Eventbrite was among the first companies to take advantage of the growth of social media. 

The company at that time wanted to make sure the feed featured real-life events instead of game-themed content. Users of Eventbrite then saved and purchased Facebook events organized by them.

The company finally disclosed its first major round of fundraising in November 2009 and raised Sequoia Capital US$6.5 million. 

The influx of funding allowed Eventbrite to make a huge leap from 30 to more than 100 people in a few months.

Eventbrite sold more than 11 million tickets in 2010, totaling $207 million. At that time, the company had been engaged in more than 9,000 cities and 147 countries worldwide. 

In the following years, the corporation proceeded to expand its operations while increasing the amount of cash.

The company’s IPO valuation was 1,8 billion dollars, making the company worth nearly 2 billion dollars. The bell was a familiar but different face at the New York Stock Exchange.

Kevin left his position as CEO in 2016 to focus on investment and construction at Founders Fund. Julia was appointed CEO of the company as a result, and she still serves in this role today.

Over 4.7 million events were held in 180 countries throughout the world in 2019. The same period saw the sales of almost 309 million tickets. There are now over 949 thousand event organizers.

Key Takeaways Of Eventbrite Business Model

Eventbrite is an internet platform for event organizing and ticketing. It was developed in reaction to the costly and ineffective customer service events.

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Almost all of Eventbrite’s income comes from cutting a percentage from each ticket sold. The exact proportion depends on the strategy chosen by the event organizer. The event is free of charge, which is important.

Eventbrite also charges for enhanced capabilities through its application. Tickets or goods at the door and event equipment hire are two such sources of revenue.

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