Eventbrite: Market Sizing, Competitive Analysis, and Fundraising

By Jonathan Levav, Joshua Rauh, Jason Luther
2014 | Case No. E510 | Length 23 pgs.
“Raise money when times are good.” Kevin Hartz mulled over this expression as he examined the term sheet before him. The CEO had become somewhat of a masterful fundraiser. Since founding the online event and ticketing service Eventbrite in 2006, Kevin, his wife Julia, and co-founder Renaud Visage had raised $80 million over six rounds of financing. Now, the Hartzes and Visage had before them an offer from Tiger Global Management and T. Rowe Price to invest $60 million in Eventbrite at a $650 million valuation. Before accepting this financing, however, the founders needed to assess whether such a large raise was necessary and, if it was, how it would affect Eventbrite’s development and influence the firm’s future exit strategy. Unfortunately, the team knew that Eventbrite’s market dynamics would make this analysis difficult.

Learning Objective

This case is intended for use in a course on market sizing, competitive analysis, and fundraising. The case evaluates various methods to calculate total addressable market (TAM) and the implications of competitive set selection on a company’s valuation multiples. Moreover, it analyzes the effects a capital raise has on founder interests and the company’s future fundraising and exit strategies.
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