Kevin Hartz is the co-founder of Eventbrite, co-founder of Xoom, and General Partner at A* Capital. Over the past two decades, he’s taken two companies from idea to IPO, pioneered digital remittances, transformed the live events industry, and invested early in Airbnb, Pinterest, and Uber.
His career began in the early PayPal era, followed by founding Xoom and leading it to a public offering before its acquisition by PayPal, and later co-founding Eventbrite and scaling it into a global platform. In this episode, Kevin reflects on growing up between Miami and the Bay Area, how early political contrasts shaped his contrarian streak, and his time at Stanford — where he built an early social networking platform and connected with future PayPal leaders. He shares lessons from mentors like Pierre Lamond and Peter Thiel, the personal crisis that redirected his career, and what it was like to start Eventbrite with his wife.
We also explore his investment philosophy at A*, what he looks for in founders, and the industries he believes will define the next decade.
