After building one of the fastest-growing social discovery platforms in the Middle East, Portl founder Michael Coyle is preparing for the company’s next phase: expansion into Marbella, London, Manchester, Barcelona and beyond.
Following rapid growth in Dubai, the company is taking a model developed around the city’s venues, communities and social habits into several of Europe’s most active hospitality markets. Emirates Entrepreneur sat down with Coyle to discuss what comes next, why traditional social media is failing at real-time discovery, and how Portl plans to own the demand layer for social experiences.
Portl has grown rapidly in Dubai. Why expand now?
Michael Coyle: We’ve reached the point where the opportunity is much bigger than a single city.
Dubai was our proving ground. We learned how people discover places, events, restaurants, beach clubs, nightlife and experiences. We learned what drives people to go out, who they trust, and what influences where they spend their time.
Now we’re taking those lessons into some of the world’s most social cities. Marbella, London, Manchester and Barcelona are just the beginning.
Our vision has never been to build another events app. We’re building the operating system for real-world social discovery.
What exactly does that mean?
Michael Coyle: The internet solved discovering content. Nobody has solved discovering people.
You can open Instagram and see where somebody was last week. You can open TikTok and watch where somebody went yesterday. But neither platform tells you what’s happening right now.
We’re building the layer that sits between social media and the real world.
Imagine opening an app and instantly seeing where your crowd is going tonight. Which venues are trending. Which events your friends are attending. Which communities are gathering nearby.
That creates a completely different experience from endlessly scrolling a feed.
You’ve spoken before about “owning the demand layer.” What does that mean?
Michael Coyle: Most hospitality technology focuses on supply.
Reservation systems, ticketing systems, guest management systems, venue software. Everyone is trying to help venues manage demand.
We’re focused on creating demand.
If you own where people discover where to go, who to meet and what experiences to attend, you become the demand layer for the entire social economy.
The venue becomes one part of the equation. The real value is helping people answer one simple question: “What should I do tonight, and who is going?”
That’s where we believe the biggest opportunity exists.
What are users asking for that existing platforms don’t provide?
Michael Coyle: Context.
People don’t just want a list of events. They want to know:
- Who’s attending
- Which of their friends are interested
- Which communities are gathering
- Where the energy is moving
- What the best options are in real time
The future isn’t content-first. It’s people-first.
The strongest signal for where somebody goes isn’t an advertisement. It’s seeing their crowd already there.
Why Marbella as one of the first expansion markets?
Michael Coyle: Marbella is one of the most interesting social ecosystems in Europe.
You have entrepreneurs, creators, athletes, investors, hospitality brands and international visitors all concentrated in one place. The city punches far above its weight globally.
It’s also a market where reputation, community and social discovery matter enormously.
When we looked at where Portl could create value immediately, Marbella stood out.
What about London and Manchester?
Michael Coyle: The UK remains one of the most exciting social markets in the world.
London is a global hub. Manchester has one of the strongest nightlife and community cultures anywhere in Europe.
Both cities already have fragmented social ecosystems: incredible venues, incredible communities and incredible events. What doesn’t exist is a platform connecting them all through people.
That’s where we believe Portl can win.
Where is the product heading next?
Michael Coyle: We’re moving beyond guestlists and event discovery.
The next generation of Portl is focused on social visibility and connection: being able to see where your network is, discover communities, connect with people before arriving somewhere, and understand where momentum is building in a city.
The long-term vision is creating a real-time map of social activity.
Not a map of places. A map of people.
What does success look like over the next 12 months?
Michael Coyle: Expansion is obviously important. But the bigger goal is category creation.
The companies that create the most value don’t compete inside existing categories. They create new ones.
We’re not trying to become another events platform. We’re building the social infrastructure layer that sits between people and experiences.
If somebody moves to a new city, lands in a new country, or simply wants to know where their crowd is going tonight, Portl should be the first app they open.
That’s the future we’re building toward.