Meet new people over coffee, matched by what you enjoy talking about
A mobile app and admin portal for Local Minds, a startup that brings strangers together at curated coffee, brunch and dinner meetups in Dubai, designed and prototyped end to end in Figma Make.
- Client
- Local Minds
- Year
- 2026
- Market
- Dubai, UAE
- Platform
- Mobile app and admin web portal
- Tool
- Figma Make
- Scope
- Product, UX, UI and working prototype
A new city is full of people. Meeting the right ones is the hard part.
Local Minds brings strangers together in small groups at curated cafés and restaurants in Dubai. The experience only works if people trust the match, book without friction and actually show up.
We designed both sides of the product, the member app and the admin portal, and built them as a working prototype in Figma Make that founders can put in front of users and investors.
- Newcomers and expatsMake friends in a new city without awkward apps
- ProfessionalsMeet interesting people outside work
- The Local Minds teamRun events, venues and payments with a small team
From brief to final design
- 01
Shape the concept
Defined the meetup model with the founders: small groups, curated venues, details revealed close to the day.
- 02
Design the matching
A short questionnaire about conversation style and free time that groups people who will get along.
- 03
Design both sides
The member app for booking and meeting, and an admin portal to run events, venues, users and payments.
- 04
Prototype it for real
Built as a working, clickable prototype in Figma Make, ready to test with users and investors.
Role and responsibilities
- Product design
- Matching questionnaire
- Booking and payment flows
- Admin portal
- Working prototype in Figma Make
Matched on how you like to talk
Members answer seven quick questions, like whether they prefer deep or light conversations and how they spend a free evening. The answers are used to group people who will get along.
Book a seat in under a minute
Pick an upcoming coffee, brunch or dinner, choose the area, confirm budget and language preferences, preview the event and pay. Venue and group details are revealed closer to the day, which keeps the surprise and reduces no-shows.
- Area, preferences and preview before paying
- Venue revealed close to the day
- Social links shared after the meetup
Keep the connection going
After each meetup, members rate the experience and the venue, and the people they met appear in Connections with their social links. A subscription unlocks unlimited meetups.
An admin portal to run the city
The team sees the platform at a glance: events, active users, retention and ratings. They create events, manage partner venues and users, track revenue and even edit the matching questionnaire without a developer.
Events, venues and members, managed
Every list can be searched, filtered and exported, and new events and venues are added in a single form.
What we designed
- 01
Matching questionnaire
Seven quick questions. Better-matched groups.
- 02
Booking and payment
Area, preferences, preview and pay. Paid seats with no back-and-forth.
- 03
Admin portal
Events, venues, users and financials. A small team can run the whole city.
Outcome
A working, end-to-end prototype of Local Minds, from the first question to the admin dashboard, ready for user testing and investor demos.
What we delivered
- Concept and service design
- Matching questionnaire
- Booking, payment and feedback flows
- Admin portal
- Working prototype in Figma Make
Related case studies
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