Humans of Humanitix: Pierce and the Power of Grace

Meet Pierce, our first US employee who has been instrumental in launching Humanitix in the biggest ticketing market and building the constantly growing team. In his words, his role is to:

"help make Humanitix an incredible place to work while maximizing impact for some of the most underserved communities around the world."

Pierce has been a Humani-human for 1,785 days (at the time of writing). He joined in December 2021, just as the world was emerging from lockdowns and Humanitix was back on track for the US expansion, having survived the pandemic that had decimated the events industry.

Joining for the mission

Pierce was at a crossroads when he found Humanitix. He wanted to try sales and was looking for a challenge that would inspire him, but he had one rule.

"I wanted to try selling but needed to feel like I gave a sh*t about what I was selling, and upon reading the mission of Humanitix, I was hooked."

He puts the rest down to a well-written LinkedIn job description, an eye-opening final interview, and meeting "real, curious people on the team who aim to be positively different while changing the world for good at the same time."

A second chance

Pierce has plenty of highlights from his time here, but the one that stands out happened right at the start.

"When I started, I was suffering in a real, personal way that was completely outside of the context of the role and the company," he says. "The pain I was in made it incredibly difficult to show up as I was needed, not only for the company but for the mission that was starting to snowball through everyone else's literal blood, sweat and tears."

He's open about the fact that things could have gone another way.

"Any sane organization would've let me go, but I was shown grace, unearned forgiveness and an opportunity to try again."

Four and a half years on, Pierce says his life has completely transformed, and Humanitix has been "a crucial part of my personal puzzle." That comes from the impact the team makes around the world, and also from "what's shared, seen, and felt within these same walls."

Since then there's been highlight after highlight: trail runs, company retreats, morning planks, karaoke, and "some of the most heartfelt conversations I've ever had."

Pierce at the Humanitix USA Retreat 2025 with other Humani-humans

Learning to show up

So it makes sense that the Humanitix value Pierce connects with most is 'Show up'.

"In my younger years, I struggled to really show up and didn't quite grasp why that was so important for my own self-esteem and sense of purpose," he says. "I'd overcommit and underdeliver."

What changed was practice.

"Doing what I say I'm going to do really helps build trust, not only in my interpersonal and professional relationships, but also with myself. Half the battle in my life is showing up. Most things work out from there."

He credits Humanitix with "lowering the barrier and creating the space" for him to practice, learn and grow into that value.

The moment it came full circle

When Pierce started in 2021, most US event hosts had never heard of Humanitix. The US market is 12-15x larger than Australia, and the team had to build brand awareness from scratch.

Then, in fall 2025, Pierce was chatting with a stranger at a local sauna club. They asked what he did.

"I said, 'I help run a ticketing platform for live events which, at the same time, functions as a charity.' And they said, 'Oh, Humanitix, I've bought tickets a number of times through you.'"

"I was hit with a wave of awe and tried to play it cool at the same time. What I wanted to say was, 'No, yeah, of course you've heard of us. We're a pretty big deal.' But the truth was the previous four years had come full circle in that moment. I felt grateful. In hindsight, maybe I should've gotten that person's signature."

His summary: "It's happening, and we are just getting started."

What's next

At work, Pierce has been testing new ways to build connections with event hosts across the US, with the aim of making his teams' lives easier. He's keeping the details quiet for now, but says "exciting things are coming and happening all of the time."

He's looking forward to two things:

1. Marrying his favorite person this fall, who also happens to be a Humani-human. A real Humani-love story! 😍
2. The day Humanitix reaches $100 million USD donated. "Having started just after we made our first $1 million donation, I'll be so STOKED to be able to say we've given away $100 million to high-impact charities around the globe."

The happy couple: Avery (left) and Pierce, with Jess in the middle

On culture, people and shoes

Pierce's favorite thing about Humanitix?

"Easy, the people. There's a saying that floats around our office that those who join Humanitix join for the mission but stay for the people, and the mission benefits as a result."

Describing the culture to an outsider, he says, is "like trying to explain what a family dinner is to someone who's only had business lunches." If he had to use three words: whimsical, inspiring and ever-changing.

What might surprise people?

"Shoes are optional, truly. I'm not wearing any right now."

From left: James, Pierce, David and Jenny

Lightning round

• Advice for anyone starting out: "You don't know if you don't ask."
• The skill he never expected to pick up: Using data to tell a story.
• Favorite place you've travelled? Chiang Mai, Thailand. Japan and Singapore are coming up soon, though, and might tip the scale.
• Go-to karaoke song? Any cheesy country song he can get down to.
• Pet peeve? People not refilling the Brita water jug in the kitchen. "Breaks my heart."
• Personal mantra? "This, too, shall pass." His favorite.