Partiful threw its own party, complete with free cigs, a Tamagotchi necklace, and a bong packed with Smarties

Partiful likes to throw a party. It's in the name.

The events app, which has become the way Gen Z plans just about everything, threw a party during the New York Tech Week conference this week.

"You might be wondering, 'Why is Partiful throwing a party?'" Shreya Murthy, Partiful's CEO, told the crowded room of Tech Week-goers.

In part, it was to celebrate the startup's first major leap toward actually making money as a social app: ticketing.

Partiful recently rolled out paid tickets for events. The startup will now generate revenue from service fees added to ticket sales. Hosts earn the bulk of the sale, and Partiful charges a fee that varies by event. For instance, as an example listed on its website, Partiful would add a $7 fee to a $50 ticket — about 14% of the original ticket price. Other ticketed events could typically see fees of around 10% to 15%, but it isn't standardized.

Before the party, Murthy spoke at a fireside chat with Andreessen Horowitz partner Olivia Moore about the startup's business and push into ticketing. A16z, one of Partiful's investors — the startup has raised more than $27 million since launching in 2020 — has taken over NYTW and now requires all events on its calendar to use Partiful.

While panels make up a huge chunk of the NYTW agenda, at the end of the day, vibe coders still need to detach from their half-open laptops running Claude.

Take a smarter break in your day - and see how far you get.

"What people really want at Tech Week is to meet people," Partiful's Ella Edwards, who helps the startup's community and editorial efforts, told me.

One attendee, startup founder Helen Wu, told me she's learned to approach Tech Week by simply being "present" at events, instead of getting lost in the networking, FOMO, or "tech bro" culture. Partiful's shindig, she said, was somewhere she could more casually chat with other founders, including Murthy.

The party, which took place at a Downtown listening room with an open bar, felt a bit more like a New York house party than a New York Tech Week mixer.

On one coffee table, there was a platter of skinny cigarettes for the taking. Partiful merch was splayed all over the venue. There was a competition to guess how many Smarties candies were packed into a bong (the winner got the bong). Projected on one wall was the first game in the NBA finals showdown between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. Throughout the party, camera flashes went off from the point-and-shoot film cameras some Partiful employees carried.

Partiful isn't the only social tech company into the idea of throwing house parties to bring together users and industry insiders. Last week, Substack also threw a house party after its all-day summit.

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