DoorList
Event Management
I turned Doorlist from a host-facing utility into a social network that drove 6× growth, 3.4× retention lift, and thousands of peer-to-peer invites.
DURATION
1.6 years
Feb 2024-Present
ROLE
Lead UI/ UX Designer
TOOLS
Figma, Miro, Qualtrics
TEAM
Growth, Engineers, Interns, CEO
The Problem
DoorList started as a utility app for college event hosts designed to manage guest lists and track entry without wristbands. With 45,000+ downloads and 7-day retention at just 14%, there was no RSVP, no way to see who else was going, and no reason to return.
“If my friends didn’t send the link, I’d never even hear about the event — it’s not like I’d open the app on my own.” — Maya, 20, Student at USC
7-day retention
90%+
downloads came from hosts sharing event links
0%
Discoverability: No way to find events unless personally invited
RESEARCH & INSIGHTS
Talking to users revealed the core disconnect: people didn’t just want to be on the list, they wanted to decide which list to be on.
It didn’t need more features — it needed signals, context, and belonging.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Stakeholders believed users wanted privacy and that social features would hurt the product. I pushed back knowing we could design for safety without sacrificing connection. Constraints weren’t blockers; they were design opportunities.
Organic Growth
Turn users into the distribution engine by designing invite flows that spread naturally through friends and +1s.
Build Social Connection
Help users decide where to go by showing who else is going — making events feel social, not transactional.
Designing for Context & Consent
Introduce social context while keeping users in control — proving that safety and connection can coexist.
IDEATION & WIREFRAMING
I started with low-risk experiments to test whether users wanted social context, even in a utility-focused app.
RSVP Flow
Started simple — users could RSVP, but couldn’t see friends.
Explore Page
Initially buried, this page showed that users wanted to see friends' events even if they weren’t invited. |
Send +1s to Guests
Let admins send +1s to guests — helped bring new people in. |
Add +1s as a Guest
Made it possible to add guests, only if admin had sent you available ones before.
FINAL DESIGN
After proving demand, we fully integrated Friends into the Home Feed, RSVP flow, and invite UX.
Replaced Explore with a personalized feed of your and your friends’ events — making the app worth opening even when you weren’t invited.
RSVP with Social Context
Users could preview mutual friends before RSVPing — driving confidence without compromising privacy.
“I want to know who I’ll know there.”
Let guests request +1s for specific people up front — cutting out the back-and-forth.
Suggested friends to invite based on past behavior and mutuals — making invites feel effortless and personal.
TESTING & ITERATION
Users with 5+ friends were 4× more likely to return — so I doubled down on the Friends feature.
Moved the +1 button into a primary CTA — which led to a 3× increase in guest requests.
“I wanted to bring someone but couldn’t figure out how.”
Added social signals to the feed — users checked it daily to see where their friends were going.
“I check to see where my friends are going — it helps me decide.”
Added in-context friend prompts to show the value of connecting — right when it mattered.
“I didn’t realize I’d see more events if I added friends.”
When I improved suggestion logic, users saw more familiar faces — and invite rates climbed.
OUTCOMES & IMPACT
By designing for connection, not just access, Doorlist became more than a guest list — it became the reason people made plans in the first place.
3.4x
Lift in 7-day retention by adding friend visibility and a personalized feed users actually cared about.
6x
User growth by turning invite flows into a peer-to-peer growth machine
4x
Higher retention for users with 3+ friends, proving social connection drove stickiness.
40%
More successful invites; smart suggestions removed the need to search or type.
REFLECTIONS
I pushed for the balance between privacy and connection, but let user behavior guide when to go further. Even though I had the insight early, I doubled down only once the data proved it worked.
REACH OUT!
If you're building for education, care, or real-life complexity, reach out: naoboru@sas.upenn.edu — I’d love to collaborate.