How to run a matchmaking event without an app download

Most people at an event will not install an app they will use for one evening. A matchmaking event without an app download puts everything behind a link: the organizer shares one URL and a QR code, people open it in their phone's browser, fill in a short profile and start finding each other. This run-sheet shows how to set that up, step by step, with any browser-based tool.

Why do attendees skip event apps?

Attendees skip event apps because installing one is a task that comes before the part they care about. They have to find the app, wait for the download, create an account and allow notifications, all before they have met anyone. Each step loses some of the room.

We will not put a percentage on it: there is no number we can stand behind, and you do not need one. Ask what you would do yourself: at a 90-minute evening, how likely are you to install something new on the doorstep?

A link in an email, or a QR code on a poster, removes that step. The phone's browser is already there. That is the whole idea behind running networking in the browser, and it is how Kohtaa works: there is nothing to install, and attendees open it from the link you share.

The trade-off is honest to state. A browser tool needs a connection while people use it, and Kohtaa does not work offline. Check the wifi and mobile signal in the room before the day, particularly in basements and old buildings.

What has to happen before the doors open?

Three things have to happen before the event: the link goes out, the QR code is ready to print, and you decide what you will ask attendees to fill in. All three take less time than people expect, and all three are easier a week ahead than on the day.

1. Put the link where people already look. Add the join link to your registration confirmation email and to the reminder you send a day or two before. People read those emails; they will not go looking for a separate invitation.

2. Print the QR code. Put it at the door, at registration and on the screen behind the speakers. Anyone who did not read the email can still join in ten seconds, standing in the queue.

3. Decide what to ask for. Think about the labels people will see and filter by. If your event has natural roles, such as founders and investors, or students and employers, set them up as choices so people can find each other by role. Keep required fields to the minimum. Every required field is a place where someone gives up.

If you collect registrations in a registration system, you have two routes: share the join link in the confirmation email, or upload your registration export so each person gets a one-tap link. Both are covered in Registration data, Lyyti and your networking tool.

What should the first minute on a phone look like?

The first minute should take a person from opening the link to being in the room with a usable profile. It should ask for a name, a role, and what they are looking for, and nothing more. Everything else can wait until they have already found someone interesting.

On Kohtaa, a name is the only thing required to join. Role, company, photo and links are optional, and the organizer can choose to make a few extra fields required for the event, such as what the person is looking for. People who want to add a bio or more detail can do it later, after they have joined.

Apply the same test to any form you build: will this field help someone decide whether to talk to this person? If not, leave it out of the first minute.

Two small details matter at the door. Tell people that the link opens in the browser and there is nothing to install, so they do not wait for a download. And tell them roughly how long it takes, so a quick profile feels like a quick profile.

Booked meetings or open networking?

Before the event you choose one of two formats. Booked meetings suit events where people want a time and a table. Open networking suits events where people mingle and confirm who they met afterwards. The decision shapes everything the attendee sees, so make it early.

In booked mode, attendees request a meeting, the other person accepts, and the meeting gets a time and, where the organizer uses a slot grid, a table. In open mode there are no slots. Instead, an attendee sends a "Get in touch" request with a short note, and if the other person accepts, the two can see each other's contact details. Contact details are not shown before acceptance.

You pick one mode per event when you set it up. A small evening with 60 people and no agenda usually works best as open networking. A day with investor meetings in 20-minute blocks is a structured, booked event. We go through the choice in detail in Open networking vs booked meetings.

For startup evenings specifically, the page on networking at startup events walks through what a typical evening looks like.

How do people find each other in the room?

People find each other by browsing the list of who is at the event and filtering it. They can look at roles, read what someone is looking for and open a profile. Nobody is matched by an algorithm: Kohtaa has no matching engine and no relevance ranking. Attendees choose whom to approach.

That is deliberate: the attendee decides who is worth a conversation. It also means the organizer's job in the room is to give people a reason to open their phones, not to run a system behind the scenes.

Three habits help.

• Announce it from the stage. Ten seconds, twice: at the start, and after the main talk when people can roam.
• Show the QR code on screen during the break, not just at the door.
• Name a meeting place. Whatever the format, tell people where to find each other. In open mode this is a spot in the room; in booked mode the organizer can give meetings a table. A person who gets a "yes" and does not know where to go has not met anyone.

For private events, which is how every event is created today, the organizer sees aggregate numbers and per-attendee counts but not who met whom. Tell attendees that; it is a good reason for them to use the tool openly.

What happens after the event?

After the event, the useful thing is a record of who actually met, confirmed by both people. Kohtaa asks both sides, and a connection counts only when both agree: both pressed "We met", or one accepted the other's "Get in touch". That confirmation is recorded on both people's accounts with the event and the date.

For the organizer, this turns into numbers you can report: how many people connected, how many pairs, and how many meetings both people confirmed. The organizer sees counts, not names of pairs. We explain what to count, and what not to, in How to measure networking at an event.

For attendees, the connections stay on their account. Kohtaa also records progress across events, the 7 Points of Contact, so a person who meets the same contact at a second event sees that relationship move forward. Attendees who would rather leave no trace can choose to have their account and personal data erased automatically 7 days after their last event, or erase it on demand at any time. An anonymous record that two people connected survives, with no personal data on it.

Two notes for your follow-up. Confirmations can arrive after the event closes, so numbers keep moving for a few days. And a confirmed connection means two people agreed they met. It does not mean they exchanged contact details or had a long conversation, so write your report that way.

A short run-sheet

The whole thing on one screen:

If you want to try this format on your own event, you can set one up here. Create the event, choose the format, and share the link. If you would like to see how the features fit together first, the features page has the overview.