Rakhi Sinha, founder of Chorlton Bazaar and the new head of the Northern branch of Eventbrite, writes for Northern Soul.

If you’ve ever bought tickets online then it’s likely that at least one of those transactions has been via Eventbrite. The global event ticketing company is less then a decade old but has offices across the world and processes millions of tickets each year. Now the firm has recognised that it needs a base in the North of England.

I’ve just been appointed to lead Eventbrite’s efforts in this part of the world, working closely with the team in London, which is the company’s third biggest city globally. In a nutshell, Eventbrite enables people to plan, promote, and sell out events of all kinds. From The Guardian to Tough Mudder to a small tea party, it’s a ticketing platform for a range of industries including art, sport, food and drink, charity, business, tech, film and media.

And where did Eventbrite choose to site its first Northern England office? In Manchester. Although I’ll be working all over the North, Manchester was chosen by Eventbrite as its Northern base because the city has a diverse culture and booming business community, as well as excellent links to the rest of the UK.

I like the fact that the company recognises the value of the personal touch. Eventbrite may have processed £600 million in gross ticket sales for attendees in 187 countries last year alone, but these were not all massive corporate events. Many of them were smaller more intimate experiences, or community activities that needed assistance in the promotion or ticketing so that the organisers could focus on the event itself.

It means that I’ll be working with event organisers of all types, which is really exciting. I have a background in event organisation myself: I set up my own grassroots event in Manchester two years ago. Chorlton Bazaar is a pop-up market which serves as a platform for local designers, second-hand and vintage vendors, street food stalls and DJs.

We’ve welcomed some incredible talent to Chorlton Bazaar and I’m thrilled to see it going from strength to strength. I’ve found that I really enjoyed the organisation and logistics that go into putting on an event, and especially enjoyed bringing people together.

I’m now going to be focusing on many, many more events across different markets. I’ve left a wonderful content role at a leading marketing agency to build Eventbrite here in the North. My new job brings together my marketing and events experience, as well as offering the chance to show the diversity of talent in Manchester and other Northern cities.

There’s so much to inspire me, with a huge mix of brilliant, creative people. One thing that motivated me to start Chorlton Bazaar was providing the opportunity to highlight how great our local talent is and how many fun events we have here – the North can easily compete with the capital and people needn’t be tempted to move there in droves.

In the last week alone the variety has been incredible. I’ve hosted a panel discussing music culture in the region, met with a running event launching here in the North, a PA group who will be setting up an event soon, a charity, a comedy night and a tech mixer.

It’s great to be the face of such a huge company. I have the benefit of leading technologies and new insights, while helping to facilitate a great number of events on the front line and ensuring they run smoothly. Our site aims to be a tool to help organisers promote their activities and I’m looking forward to fuelling a proactive spirit with a company that mirrors that mentality and empowers people to come together through live experiences.

By Rakhi Sinha