DoorList

High-Level Overview

DoorList is a mobile app that simplifies social event planning and management for college students, replacing outdated methods like wristbands and guest lists with dynamic QR codes for fast, secure entry.[1][2][6] It serves student organizations and individuals hosting ticketed or free events on campuses, solving pain points in invites, check-ins, ticketing, and security while saving costs and reducing waste.[2][6] Founded in 2023 and headquartered in New York, NY, the company has raised $3.15M, employs 5-10 people, and achieved early traction with over 5,000 users across 50+ organizations at the University of Virginia (UVA), expanding as a social platform starting with college events.[1][2][6]

Origin Story

DoorList was founded in 2023 by David Roselle and Peter Layne, students at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce.[1][2] The idea emerged from their weekly frustrations with event entry at UVA: wristbands were costly and required in-person distribution, while guest lists were slow and easily bypassed with fake names.[2] They launched to create a faster, more convenient solution using dynamic QR codes, winning the UVA Entrepreneurship Cup Discovery Phase in Spring 2022—one of five startups awarded $5,000 and resources—which fueled rapid adoption with over 5,000 users and 50+ organizations at UVA.[2] This early validation propelled the startup from campus experiment to a funded company building a broader social platform around shared activities.[1][2]

Core Differentiators

• Dynamic QR Code Entry: Replaces wristbands and guest lists with scannable, secure codes for instant door access, eliminating fakes, slowdowns, and physical distribution.[2][6]
• Seamless Invites: Allows hosts to invite friends, groups, or past guest lists via iMessage, GroupMe, and Snapchat, streamlining planning over spreadsheets.[6]
• Zero-Fee Ticketing: Hosts paid events and keep 100% of ticket sales—no platform cut—making it cost-effective for student groups.[1][6]
• Event Calendar and Tracking: Users manage all events in one app, from pregames to mixers, with metrics like 1M+ invites, 4,950 groups, and 10k+ events showing proven scale.[6]
• Sustainability and Savings: Cuts paper waste and expenses, improving environmental impact and host budgets.[2]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

DoorList rides the wave of campus social tech, capitalizing on Gen Z's shift to mobile-first event discovery amid rising demand for safe, efficient socializing post-pandemic.[2][6] Timing aligns with college event booms—fraternity/sorority mixers, club meetings—where outdated tools lag behind apps like Eventbrite but lack peer-to-peer simplicity.[2] Favorable market forces include low barriers for viral campus adoption and investor interest in social infrastructure (evidenced by $3.15M raised), positioning it to fragment larger platforms by focusing on niche, high-frequency student events.[1] It influences the ecosystem by normalizing QR-based entry, potentially expanding to off-campus or professional networking, and fostering data-rich social graphs from event attendance.[1][6]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

DoorList's campus dominance sets it up for multi-school expansion, leveraging network effects to dominate ticketed social events before rivals solidify.[1][2][6] Trends like AI-driven matching for events and Web3 ticketing could enhance its platform, while monetization via premium features (beyond zero-fee basics) fuels growth. Its influence may evolve from UVA disruptor to category leader in student social tech, humanizing nightlife logistics and scaling the "things you do with people" vision nationwide. This QR revolution at the door unlocks broader social connectivity.