Three friends, one founding volume

We started Doubles because we wanted to go to it.

Doubles is run by three post-exit founders in San Francisco. We host the kind of evening we'd want to be invited to — by people we'd want to be invited by.

The origin · 2026

A few years ago, we sold our companies and looked around. The friends we wanted to spend more time with were scattered across calendars. The dating apps had gotten worse, somehow, even as we'd gotten better at knowing what we wanted. San Francisco was full of interesting people and almost none of them seemed to be meeting each other.

We didn't want to build another app. We wanted to throw a great party — and have it work.

The doubles format showed up as an answer to a smaller problem first: how do you make a room of thirty strangers stop performing? You hand each person a wingperson on the way in. They walk through the door with an ally, not as a candidate. The whole social temperature drops by ten degrees in the first five minutes.

Once we tried it, we couldn't unsee it. Doubles is the format we kept wanting and couldn't find. So we're hosting it ourselves, four times a year, in beautiful San Francisco homes, with food we're proud of and people we'd vouch for.

We are deliberately small. Thirty people a night, four nights a year. That cap is the product. If Doubles ever gets bigger, it stops working.

The founding team

The three of us.

We've all built companies and we've all been single in San Francisco. Doubles is the side of our lives we want to spend more time on.

C Co-founder · 01
Throws the party
Chris Beaman

Post-exit founder, based in San Francisco. Runs production on the night — venues, catering, the music. Chris is the reason the room ends up looking the way it does at 6:00 sharp.

I wanted a dating night I'd actually invite my friends to. Doubles is that night.
A Co-founder · 02
Picks the room
Adora Li

Post-exit founder, based in San Francisco. Reads every application and decides who's in the room. Adora has the strongest taste of any of us — it's why Doubles feels the way it feels when you walk in.

Apps reward the wrong things. I wanted a room curated by humans, for humans.
D Co-founder · 03
Sets the table
Di Yu

Post-exit founder, based in San Francisco. Runs hospitality and the Volley. Di knows everyone worth knowing in this city, and she's the reason the speaker on Saturday night is somebody you'll be telling friends about on Sunday morning.

Chemistry needs a room — not an algorithm. We're building the room.
What we believe

Five opinions.

Not values bullet points. Actual things we believe about how good rooms get made — and what dating in 2026 should feel like.

  1. Apps reward the wrong things.
    Optimization for the swipe is optimization away from chemistry. We're not building another app, and we're not interested in being one.
  2. Friends are the best filter.
    Always have been. The person your best friend would set you up with is, statistically, much closer to the right person than the person an algorithm picks. The doubles format makes that filter the centerpiece.
  3. Chemistry needs a room.
    Not a profile. Not a video call. A room — warm, beautifully set, shared with thirty interesting humans. The room does most of the work. Our job is to set it well.
  4. A great night beats a perfect match.
    We are not promising you a partner. We're promising you the best Saturday night of your spring. If a partner happens, that's the bonus round. Either way, you'll leave inspired.
  5. Showing up matters.
    On time, dressed for the room, present at dinner. The smallest things — eye contact, a second question, remembering a name — separate a great night from a forgettable one. We host accordingly.
What we're building toward

One year, four volumes.

Doubles is deliberately seasonal. One night each quarter, no more. Here's what 2026 looks like, in the order it happens.

  1. Jun 2026 Vol. 01 — Founding Launch Twin Peaks · 30 hand-picked founders & investors
  2. Sep 2026 Vol. 02 — Summer Open Pacific Heights · A few "singles seats" added for solo applicants
  3. Nov 2026 Vol. 03 — Mixed Doubles Russian Hill · Our first queer-friendly volume
  4. Feb 2027 Vol. 04 — Winter Finals Half Moon Bay weekender · Founding cohort first
The room

Where we host.

Every volume in a different SF home. We curate venues like we curate guests — slowly, carefully, and with an eye for what makes a great evening.

Vol. 01 · Twin Peaks

A bay-view living room, twelve-foot ceilings, the Golden Gate in every window.

Catering · Local kitchens

Seasonal buffets from SF's favorite chefs — built for grazing, not seating.

Future volumes · Russian Hill

Glass walls, golden hour, thirty of the most interesting people in the city.

Come meet us in person

The room opens
June 21.

You've read the words. Now come for the night. Vol. 01 applications are open and we read every one personally.

Apply for Vol. 01 → Reviewed in 48 hours