YOUR EXPERIENCE
SHAPES WHAT
GETS BUILT
Thyrsty is a platform being built for NYC's nightlife and cultural communities — from the ground up, with the people it's designed to serve. Before we write a single line of product code, we're doing the work of actually listening.
WHY WE'RE
DOING THIS
We've done a lot of secondary research — market maps, trust frameworks, compliance analysis, competitive landscapes. All of it informs what we build. But the most important input is what you actually experience.
This survey is part of an 8-week research sprint run by researchers from Cornell and Columbia. It's anonymous — 12 to 22 minutes depending on your role — and every answer directly shapes what Thyrsty builds, what it defers, and what it refuses to do.
We're not fishing for validation. We're after the honest, complicated, specific truth of what NYC nightlife and cultural spaces actually feel like — especially for the communities who've been underserved by every platform that came before.
One incentive per person. Delivered via Amazon gift card, Venmo, or CashApp — confirmed with you before sending.
WE WANT TO HEAR
FROM YOU IF—
You're involved in NYC's nightlife, queer, cultural, or underground event ecosystem in any capacity. All perspectives matter. You don't need to be a regular — even occasional attendance counts.
You go to queer events, nightlife parties, cultural gatherings, underground shows, or community spaces in NYC. You've navigated finding events, figuring out who to trust, and managing your privacy in those spaces.
You host, promote, or organize events in NYC — from intimate gatherings to large productions. You know the friction of managing guestlists, promotion, door operations, and getting paid.
You work at or with venues, work the door, do harm reduction, provide security, or support the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that makes events run. You see what attendees and creators don't.
THE QUESTIONS
THAT MATTER
The survey covers five areas. You'll only see questions that are relevant to you based on how you participate in the community.
The discovery process — what works, what's broken, what makes you feel confident or anxious before you even show up.
What information you'd never share with a platform. What 'privacy-first' means in real behavior, not marketing language.
What makes an event listing feel legitimate and safe. What makes it feel sketchy. How you verify before you go.
What happens before, during, and after an event. The friction points, the moments that work, and the gaps no platform has filled.
What a platform would need to do — and stop doing — to earn your trust and become part of how you engage with your community.
WHAT IS
THYRSTY
Thyrsty is a social experience orchestration platform being built for nightlife, culture, and the communities that create those moments. The question driving it: what would nightlife infrastructure look like if it actually worked for hosts, creators, and attendees?
It's designed from the ground up around NYC's queer nightlife ecosystem — a community that has built extraordinary cultural value with tools never designed for them. Consent-first, privacy-preserving, community-governed. Not another app that extracts attention and calls it connection.
Your survey responses directly inform what gets built in the MVP. This isn't feedback after the fact — it's input before the first version exists.
Anonymous, 12–22 min depending on your role. Skip any question.
Cornell and Columbia researchers analyze responses across attendees, creators, and venue staff.
What to build, what to defer, what we refuse to do — shaped by what you told us.
Research findings go public. You can see how your input shaped the platform.
WANT TO DO
AN INTERVIEW?
In addition to the survey, we're conducting 45-minute depth interviews with attendees, creators, operators, and venue/safety staff. Interviews go deeper — we'll walk through your actual workflow or experience, not just checkboxes.
Participants receive a larger compensation for their time. Interviews are conducted by our research team, fully anonymized, and you can review or withdraw any quotes before anything is published.
Paid after the completed, anonymized summary is saved. Delivered via Amazon gift card, Venmo, or CashApp — confirmed with you before sending.
For anything related to the survey, interviews, data use, or research process — reach out directly.
research@ctrlaltx.studioPRODUCT BRIEF
12–22 minutes depending on your role. Fully anonymous. Compensation available. 45-min interviews also available for $40–$60. Closes April 2026.
Research conducted under CtrlAltX Studios' consent-first, privacy-preserving principles · No data sold · No advertising