“We’re in a golden age of data right now — a lot of industries are just starting to realize how much data they’re sitting on, and how valuable that data actually is.”

On Marketing Technology

MTS: Tell us about your role and how you got here? What inspired you to enter the event technology field?
Whenever I’m looking for new opportunities, my ideal is to find a large but fragmented market. I want a lot of competition, but I also want to be in an industry that is desperately in need of innovation. And when I first started thinking about the events industry, I saw Eventbrite as a company that was coming in and — pardon the buzzword — disrupting the field. Eventbrite’s innovation was, and is, unparalleled.

As for my role: as CRO, my job is to make sure that event creators on our platform have a delightful experience, and we’re able to satisfy their needs. That also means I’m responsible for all touch points in the customer journey, including marketing, sales, and customer service.

MTS: How does Eventbrite enable users to manage and analyze events from anywhere?
We’re in a golden age of data right now — a lot of industries are just starting to realize how much data they’re sitting on, and how valuable that data actually is. Events are at a unique advantage here. Lots of brands know what people buy — the event industry knows what people care about, what they actually want to do. Eventbrite is the only platform that is built specifically to help event creators leverage their insanely valuable data, and to analyze that data while it’s still fresh enough to be useful.

The other big consideration here is that people in the events industry don’t have unlimited time to make decisions or understand their data — if they’re underselling tickets, for example, they need to know yesterday so that they can redirect their marketing spend. That applies whether you’re hosting a conference, ticketing a festival, or running a class. That’s why we’ve streamlined our technology around 24/7 access, mobile optimization, and real-time reporting.

MTS: How do Eventbrite’s solutions enable users to maximize revenue?
The events industry is made up of incredibly passionate people who care deeply about their communities — but at the end of the day, events need to turn a profit. When we partner with an event, we’re invested in their financial success. Specifically, we’ve built a platform that allows attendees to discover new events on their favorite sites and apps — like Facebook and Spotify — and then buy tickets or register directly. We’ve also created a 100% mobile-optimized purchase flow, because we know attendees want to buy on mobile, and we’ve also built for rapid ticket scanning from any device, so that the entire process — from discovery to entry — can be done on your phone. This makes event-goers happy, which in turn makes event creators happy…and makes them more money.

MTS: How does the Eventbrite Organizer app empower event creators to do more?
People who run events deal with an incredible amount of stress — we like to quote a Forbes study that named “event coordinator” the 5th most stressful job, on the list with jobs like military personnel and firefighters. The Eventbrite Organizer app was created to combat some of that stress by putting all of the power and visibility you need to run an event in a single app. It gives event professionals 24/7 access to all of their sales and live attendance data, and it also becomes their secret weapon at the door — it handles check-in and at-the-door sales, and you can train staff to use it in minutes.

MTS: What technologies would suggest an event marketer should have in their tech stack?
It all comes down to communication with your attendees. Every event marketer should have an email automation system, so that they can share promotions and information with event-goers; an attendee survey tool so they can get individual feedback on their event; and social media tools so that they can communicate authentically with their base — and reach new attendees.

This is How I Work

MTS: One word that best describes how you work.
Passionately

MTS: What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?
Professionally, I cannot live without our CRM tool. Personally, I am always on Instagram, ridesharing service apps, and because I travel a fair amount, the United Airlines app.

MTS: What’s your smartest work related shortcut or productivity hack?
Focus on your top 3 priorities relentlessly. Push all else aside.

MTS: What are you currently reading? (What do you read, and how do you consume information?)
I often read multiple fiction and nonfiction books at once. Right now I am reading The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and The Beautiful Struggle.

I also consume information through newsletters — both daily newsletters and ticketing newsletters — and podcasts. And like any good CRO, I’m an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal.

MTS: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Grind. You’ll never be the best at everything — but there is something about being tenacious that sets people apart.

MTS: Thank you Matt! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.