Shreya Murthy (Partiful) on Winning Over Gen Z, Beating Copycats and Engineering Fun

About this episode

Shreya Murthy discusses how Partiful became a popular social app for Gen Z by focusing on real-life connections and user privacy.

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. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter Follow Partiful and find your next party Here’s what Sammi covers with Shreya: 00:00 Shreya Murthy’s Social Currency 00:50 The Problem With Social Media…

People in this episode

Host: Sammi Cohen

Guest: Shreya Murthy

Topics covered

• Gen Z
• social apps
• user privacy
• product-market fit
• monetization
• party planning

Keywords

• Partiful
• Gen Z
• social media
• user privacy
• monetization
• party planning
• Big Tech
• cringe design

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Partiful, Apple, Big Tech

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