Shreya Murthy built one of the rare social apps people want to open—and then immediately close. It’s all going according to plan.
Her company, Partiful, has quietly become the go-to way Gen Z and millennials plan parties, birthdays, dinners—and even weddings. But what’s more interesting is how it won: by rejecting everything Big Tech historically has optimized for.
In this episode, Shreya sits down with Sammi to break down why she turned down the metaverse narrative, refused to pivot to virtual events during the pandemic, and built a product designed to get people off their phones… not glued to them.
They also get into what happened when Apple launched a nearly identical invite app, why Partiful draws a hard line on user privacy, and how tiny features like “boops” and “crushes” are actually the secret to product-market fit. Plus: the real monetization plan, why Gen Z hates “cringe” design, and how one party invite helped spark a viral cultural moment.
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Here’s what Sammi covers with Shreya:
00:00 Shreya Murthy’s Social Currency
00:50 The Problem With Social Media
02:22 From Palantir to Consumer Tech
08:22 The Idea That Sparked Partiful
10:04 Turning Parties Into a Product
11:05 Launching During the Pandemic
13:56 Resisting the Metaverse Pivot
15:40 Building for IRL Connection
16:00 Why Gen Z Loves Partiful
18:27 The “Least Cringe” Product Strategy
20:20 Consumer vs Corporate Use Cases
22:05 Why Partiful Protects User Data
24:57 Monetization Without Selling Data
29:27 How Partiful Makes Money Today
31:23 The Philosophy: Get Off Your Phone
32:00 Discovering Events IRL
33:17 Brick and Mortar?
34:38 Features Like Boops and Crushes
38:00 Apple’s Copycat Moment
41:00 Growth Despite Competition
42:00 The Viral Timothée Chalamet Event
47:00 What Winning Looks Like
50:16 Social Currency Corner and Touching Grass
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