A few years ago, Santiago Pozuelo was just another Georgia Tech student promoting parties and house events in Atlanta. His tools? A mishmash of Facebook invites, WhatsApp group chats, and Excel sheets. The logistics were messy, and the tools weren’t built for the job. But the energy around creating experiences… that stuck with him.
Now, Pozuelo is channeling that same energy into something far bigger: Bubbl, a Miami-based startup he co-founded with Gabriel Lobl, aimed at fixing the broken systems behind events and ticketing.
“From high school through college, I was always doing events. But I saw all the gaps,” Pozuelo, Bubbl’s CEO, told Refresh Miami. “There just wasn’t a tool that made it easy to organize, promote, and attend events in a way that felt social and modern.”
Bubbl began in 2021 as a social app to help users find and plan events with friends. Think Tinder-meets-Snapchat-meets-event-calendar. But like many young startups, it didn’t stay in one lane for long. The founders saw an opening to expand beyond discovery into the operational backbone of events, introducing ticketing in mid-2023. That changed everything.
Since that pivot, Bubbl has processed more than $4 million across over 1,000 events. The platform is now used by a growing roster of exclusive nightlife venues and event brands from Mexico to Boston to Ecuador. The founders describe Bubbl as an end-to-end platform that helps both organizers and attendees – from event discovery to ticketing, to analytics and operations.
What sets them apart? Pozuelo points to Bubbl’s focus on experience and its hands-on approach.
“Legacy players have dominated this space for years. Their products are outdated and they’re not innovating,” said Pozuelo [pictured above]. “Beyond ticketing, we’re giving organizers the tools to build a business. Sometimes that means helping them find a venue, or connecting them with sponsors or other promoters. It’s about being a true partner.”
And it’s working. Bubbl has carved out a niche supporting curated, high-end events with 200 to 1,000 guests where the vibe and community matter just as much as the music or drinks. The platform leans into that with social features and a sleek mobile-first interface that resonates with Gen Z and millennial audiences.
Bubbl currently has a team of eight full-time employees. Miami plays a key role in that strategy. Pozuelo, who is from Costa Rica, said the city is the perfect launchpad.
“It’s not just the weather, though that helps,” he joked. “It’s a global city, it’s Latin, it’s connected. We do a lot of events in Latin America, and it’s easier to meet someone from Colombia or Ecuador in Miami than to fly out to each country. Plus, it’s become a real tech hub. The network here is strong.”
So what’s next? Pozuelo isn’t shy: he wants Bubbl to be the go-to platform for premium events worldwide. But more than anything, he’s driven by the people behind the scenes.
“I’m obsessed with supporting great event creators,” he said. “These are entrepreneurs with wild ideas who turn them into unforgettable experiences. We want to be their partner, helping them scale, grow, and bring those ideas to life.”
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