A Bristol tech company developed during the first lockdown in 2020 is now helping hundreds of small creative businesses and entrepreneurs offering experiences in the city.
Yuup collates different activities on offer in Bristol - from ceramics in Southville to Thai cookery lessons in Totterdown - on its online platform.
Co-founder Dominic Mills, who has a background working for digital agencies, said he came up with the idea after trying to buy an experience gift in Bristol and struggling to find the right thing.
He launched Yuup in late September last year with five former colleagues - and it already has 200 businesses (known as hosts) signed up, and hundreds of people in the city doing experiences each week.
The fast-growing business has seen month-on-month growth since its launch.
In April, sales were up 240% on March and in May the company saw an increase of more than 100% on April, with the same for June and July.
Yuup currently has five full-time staff and four part-time curators, who spend their time in different communities identifying new activities.
“I have been blown away by how everyone has responded to the platform," said Mr Mills.
“We have everything from food to crafting to sports to theatre, with the hosts using Yuup to grow revenue but also as a way to reinvent themselves, with people developing a side income, especially off the back of the last year.”
Yuup, which makes its tech available for free to businesses but takes a percentage of any sales, also helps the firms with marketing and promotion.
The platform is self-funded, according to Mr Mills. The founders also carried out a “small” angel raise in January - although he does not disclose how much.
He said one of the biggest challenges since launching has been prioritising the direction of the business.
“What I have realised is the scale of possibility with the number of businesses we could help is really significant,” he said.
“It’s about choosing a few communities and growing them really well. I am proud of the fact this business was started in Bristol, and it will always be driven from here, but over time we will look at taking what we have created into other cities.
“Yuup has huge potential for cities outside of Bristol too.”
Alice Astbury, owner of Bristol-based ceramics studio Trylla, was one of the first hosts to join Yuup in September.
Her business, which also includes a shop selling crafting supplies, recently reopened after more than 18 months of mostly being closed.
“Classes are the main bulk of my business and not being able to do that has had a huge impact,” she told BusinessLive.
“It’s hugely benefited the business since joining the platform. Having Yuup handle the admin has simplified everything for me. Lots of people are now finding me through the platform.”
Ms Astbury’s classes are now booked up until November.
“It’s really nice to have people coming back. The classes are still at reduced numbers but what I have found is that as soon as we had people back we were selling tickets.
"People seem really comfortable and Yupp is very clear with the Covid guidelines so everyone has an idea of what will be expected of them beforehand.”
Looking towards the rest of the year, the focus for Yuup is growth, according to Mr Mills.
“Between now and the end of the year we are continuing to scale and onboard as many hosts as we can,” he added.
“Bristol is an amazing city in every respect, in terms of culture, community and diversity. I think as a place to start a business there is huge potential and a lot of support, particularly for start-ups.”
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