Eventbrite hits major milestone: $1B in tickets sold

The do-it-yourself event organization platform hits $1B 3 months after releasing iPad app

Four months after announcing the sale of its 50 millionth ticket, event organization platform Eventbrite announced Monday that it has surpassed $1 billion in ticket sales for its users since its launch in 2006. 

All told, the company has sold some 62.6 million tickets over the last six years.  Eventbrite generates revenue by charging 2.5% plus $1 per ticket sold.  Additionally, the company says, when an event attendee shares an event on Facebook, it generates on average another $2.52 in ticket sales for the organizer.

“When you look at gross ticket sales on Eventbrite, you see very exciting exponential growth,” said CEO and co-founder Kevin Hartz, in a statement.

Eventbrite has been on a steep growth trajectory, passing $100 million in sales in January 2009 and reaching $400 million in December 2010.  In 2010 alone, the company generated $206.8 million in ticket sales and sold over 11 million tickets.  If my back-of-the-envelope math is correct, that translates to roughly $16 million in revenue for 2010.

The company says its top markets for ticket sales are the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, while the types of events that represent the bulk of all ticket sales include conferences, classes, fundraisers, conferences, and social events.  In 2011, Eventbrite events were created in over 170 countries.

Eventbrite has been pretty busy this year.  Last month, the company welcomed Path CEO Dave Morin to its board of directors.  And back in March, Eventbrite launched its “At the Door” iPad app to allow last-minute attendees pay on the spot with their card using a card swiper that can be plugged into the iPad.  The app should provide a big new boost in numbers for Eventbrite, which hitherto was an online-only ticket sales platform.

Over the last six years, the company has expanded to some 200 employees from a team of just three people.  It has also raised $78.1 million from Sequoia Capital, Tenaya Capital, Tiger Global Management, DAG Ventures, and European Founders Fund.  

And, in equally important news, CEO Kevin Hartz was recently featured in VatorNews's Hot Dads of Silicon Valley article.