World Cup Demand Highlights Georgia Tech Startup’s Ticketing Solution
As fans around the world search for tickets to FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, a team of Georgia Tech students is working to make buying tickets to major events less stressful and more transparent.
DoorTix, a startup ticket-buying concierge founded by computer science major Arayna Saxena, industrial engineering major Shinhai Chen, and mechanical engineering major Dhruv Narang, helps users navigate the increasingly complex world of event ticketing. Earlier this year, the startup earned the People’s Choice Award at Georgia Tech’s InVenture Prize competition for its approach to combating dynamic pricing and improving access to live events.
The Problem
Whether fans are trying to attend a sporting event or a concert, the team says that securing tickets often means navigating fluctuating prices, limited inventory, hidden fees, and the risk of scams.
“Buying tickets today can feel like entering a maze with a timer running,” Saxena said.
“Prices change, listings disappear, fees show up late, and fans often feel like they need to be experts just to get into the event they care about.”
How DoorTix Works
DoorTix was built from that frustration. Instead of requiring users to constantly monitor multiple ticket marketplaces, the platform tracks listings across sites and automatically purchases tickets when they meet a user’s target price.
The system is designed to respond to dynamic pricing and automated purchasing bots that can cause ticket costs to shift rapidly across platforms.
“That gives fans fair and predictable access without the guesswork,” Saxena said.
“We wanted to build something that brings the human side back into ticketing, something that feels less like fighting an algorithm and more like having someone in your corner.”
The World Cup: A Global Test Case
The World Cup tournament is a high-profile example of the problem DoorTix is designed to solve. With global demand and limited availability, the tournament reflects the same challenges seen across major live events.
“When fans are trying to attend something as massive as the World Cup, the stakes are higher. The excitement is higher. The confusion is also higher,” Saxena said.
“That is exactly where DoorTix can be useful. The World Cup gives us a real, high-pressure use case for what we are building.”
From Idea to Startup
The idea for DoorTix began with a simple observation: buying tickets often creates more stress than excitement.
As a computer science student, Saxena has helped translate that idea into a working product, balancing technical development with user experience design.
“A lot of the work is not just ‘write code and ship it.’ It’s asking what the user needs, where they’re confused, and how we can make a complex process feel simple.”
Through Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch program, the team has tested assumptions, gathered customer feedback, and refined its business model as it develops the product.
They’ve already seen real customer demand, and now the focus is on improving the experience and making it more scalable. Long-term, the founders envision DoorTix continuing to be a trusted ticket-buying concierge for high-demand events.
“We’re not just helping someone buy a seat. We’re helping them get to a once-in-a-lifetime memory.”
