katyahott@gmail.com
Some of my work
Fixing ticket fulfillment
Sr. Design Manager
SeatGeek struggled to get resale tickets into fans’ hands due to confusing fulfillment rules and UX. I kickstarted a fix by designing new flows as a hackathon project which led to fulfillment improvements being adopted as a 2025 company priority. I managed product and content design, leading messaging redesigns across the funnel. This led to 66% fewer fulfillment-related support contacts for resale tickets.
Fan seller flow
Sr. Design Manager
From 2023–24, I led a team of 3 designers and 2 researchers to redesign SeatGeek’s fan ticket-selling experience end to end. Informed by a large-scale seller study, we improved ticket ingestion, implemented AI pricing, and streamlined listing tracking. In 2024, the new UX onboarded 581K sellers (+70% YoY) and enabled $1B in fan-to-fan listing value.
Marketplace vision
Sr. Design Manager
I guided 5 product designers and 2 UX researchers on SeatGeek’s new Marketplace to create a research-informed 2 year "future vision" for buying and selling tickets on SeatGeek. This vision inspired multiple roadmap initiatives for 2024: better event onsale preparation, adding performer and event rich media, and giving better pricing data to sellers.
Event setup efficiency
Sr. UX Research Manager
SeatGeek was using extensive internal resources to set up client events that should’ve been self-serve. As lead UX researcher, I interviewed major clients and shadowed support teams, uncovering redundant workflows and a client preference for human setup. The insights drove a support reorg and a new event setup UX that product squads prioritized in 2023.
Family product launch
UX Manager
During COVID, BrainPOP expanded from classroom use to support at-home learning. I led three UX/market researchers to define parent needs, product requirements, and pricing appetite, which shaped the strategy for the family bundle. In 2020, over 1M families and teachers used these products, which have since grown into a broader at-home learning suite.
Some things I'm proud of
Starting UX research functions from scratch at three companies.
Coaching ICs into first-time managers and supported them through early hiring.
Leading within SeatGeek’s Women’s Resource Group as a mentor (see my Power To Fly interview on mentorship philosophy).
Speaking and writing about UX design and research at PWDR Conference, dscout’s Expert Panel, UX + Data NYC, and on Medium.