What Hobnob (event management) does

Hobnob is a mobile-first event invitation and community management platform that enables individual hosts and small organizations to create, send, and track invitations, manage RSVPs, collect ticket payments, run polls and sign-up lists, and maintain ongoing community Spaces. Founded in 2014 (some sources cite 2015) and headquartered in Haiku, United States, the product is positioned as a lightweight alternative to full-stack event platforms, emphasizing speed of invite creation and visual customization over enterprise event management.

The platform's core product surface comprises six modules: Invitations (with delivery, RSVP, and open-tracking), Time Polls (date voting), Sign Up Lists (item/task coordination), Ticketing (paid events), Spaces (persistent community pages), and Announcements (broadcast updates to a community). Architecture is mobile-first with iOS as the primary surface (App Store editorial recognition as "App of the Day" and "App We Love") and a freemium go-to-market. Notable partnerships include an integration with Zazzle for custom event merchandise. Reported scale is 20M invitations sent, 35K events created per month, 650K community Spaces, and 90K+ five-star reviews, with earned media in TechCrunch, NYT, Business Insider, Product Hunt, TechRepublic, and NY Magazine.

The business model is freemium with optional ticketing transaction fees. The company is bootstrapped (no disclosed funding rounds) and operates with 1-10 employees. Customer segments targeted are non-profits, activity groups, alumni/university clubs, and faith groups, indicating a deliberate focus on under-served, mission-driven community organizers rather than enterprise or large-venue event producers. GTM is product-led via app store distribution and viral invitation mechanics.

Name

Hobnob (event management)

Website

https://hobnob.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hobnob is a mobile-first event invitation and community management platform serving non-profits, activity groups, alumni clubs, and faith groups with invitations, RSVPs, ticketing, polls, and community Spaces via a freemium model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Haiku

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event Management Platform: Core platform offering event creation, invitation sending, RSVP management, and community spaces. Basic functionality appears to be free with premium features available through app download.
2. Ticketing: Integrated ticketing feature allowing hosts to sell tickets to events directly through the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hobnob is a mobile-first event management platform that enables individual hosts and community organizers to design custom video and photo digital invitations, deliver them via SMS or email, track RSVPs in real time, sell tickets, and coordinate ongoing groups through persistent Community Spaces. The platform combines invitation design, multi-channel invite delivery, ticketing, instant announcements, and community group chat into a single consumer-focused application distributed through the iOS App Store and Google Play.

Product overview

Hobnob is a unified event management platform that provides multiple integrated tools for organizing events and managing groups. The core product portfolio consists of six main features: Time Polls (for scheduling), Sign Up Lists (for coordination), Events (with custom video/photo invites and free event sites), Ticketing (for ticket sales), Announcements (for instant updates), and Spaces (for ongoing community management with chat, media sharing, and recurring event planning). The platform also offers Custom Video & Photo Invites as an add-on to enhance event personalization. The modules work together to cover the full event lifecycle from invitation through follow-up coordination, with an emphasis on mobile-first communication via text messaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Time Polls A polling tool that lets event organizers find the best time for gatherings by collecting availability preferences from invitees; targeted at individual hosts and group organizers scheduling social or community events.
• Sign Up Lists A coordination tool for organizing sign-ups for events, potlucks, volunteer activities, and group coordination using customizable templates; aimed at community organizers, non-profits, and activity groups.
• Events An event invitation and management product featuring custom video and photo invites, free event sites, flyers, and RSVP tracking; targeted at individual hosts, community organizers, and small-group planners.
• Ticketing Event ticketing functionality that allows hosts to sell tickets to events directly through the Hobnob platform; for individual hosts, community organizers, and small groups monetizing events.
• Announcements An instant notification system for sending real-time updates and reminders to event guests; targeted at event hosts needing to communicate last-minute changes or alerts.
• Spaces (Community Spaces) A persistent community management feature enabling group chat, content/media sharing, recurring event planning, and notification controls for ongoing community groups such as non-profits, alumni clubs, activity groups, and faith communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 17% higher response rate for text-based invites vs. other invite methods

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ZazzlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHobnob has partnered with Zazzle for a collaboration titled 'Hobnob + Zazzle: A New Chapter in Celebrating Together!' This partnership appears to involve customizable event merchandise and invitations through the Zazzle platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Meetup: Meetup is a community-group event platform focused on recurring local group gatherings, directly comparable to Hobnob's Spaces and recurring event planning features. Both serve hobbyist and activity-based community organizers managing ongoing groups.
• Paperless Post: Paperless Post offers premium digital invitations with design-forward templates, overlapping directly with Hobnob's custom video and photo invite functionality. Both serve style-conscious hosts planning personal and social events with RSVP tracking.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is the largest self-service event management and ticketing platform, directly comparable to Hobnob's event creation, RSVP, and ticketing features. Both target organizers creating events end-to-end, though Eventbrite skews more toward paid public ticketing events while Hobnob spans free community gatherings.
• Punchbowl: Punchbowl provides digital invitations, RSVP management, and card-giving tools aimed at families and social hosts. It overlaps with Hobnob's invitation, RSVP, and announcement features for personal and community events.
• Evite: Evite is a digital invitation and RSVP platform that competes most directly with Hobnob on consumer event invitations. Both offer designable invites, RSVP tracking, and announcements, with similar target audiences of social hosts and small group organizers.

Emerging players

• Calendly: Calendly is a scheduling and time-poll tool widely used for booking meetings and group availability. Its Time Polls feature directly competes with Hobnob's Time Polls product for finding common availability among invitees.
• Splash: Splash is an event marketing platform targeting branded and corporate events with registration, ticketing, and event websites. It overlaps with Hobnob's Events and Ticketing modules but operates further upmarket toward enterprise event organizers.
• Bizzabo: Bizzabo is an enterprise event management platform offering registration, ticketing, and attendee engagement for large corporate events. It overlaps with Hobnob's ticketing and RSVP capabilities but at a substantially higher price point and customer profile.
• Partiful: Partiful is a newer consumer event invitation app with a strong social-design orientation, overlapping with Hobnob's free event pages and stylish invites for personal parties and gatherings among younger demographics.

Broad incumbents

• Facebook Events: Facebook Events is a free event creation and RSVP feature embedded in Meta's social platform, reaching billions of users. It competes indirectly with Hobnob's free invitation and RSVP flow, particularly for social events where hosts already have networks on Facebook.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hobnobinvitations
• Instagraminstagram.com/hobnobinvites
• TikToktiktok.com/@hobnobdigitalinvites
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hobnob-invites

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hobnob (event management)