Please note: Since publication this crowdfund has closed. £988,776 was raised in 28 days with Yuup reaching 131% of its desired fundraising target.
Yuup, the Bristol-based online local experiences marketplace, has been offering the city’s creative community a platform to generate income through hosting experiences since it was founded in September 2020.
In just a year company has grown from supporting just under 40 experience hosts to now being a community with over 270 people and small businesses and 500+ experiences to enjoy throughout Bristol city.
On Yuup’s platform you will find anything from unicycle lessons to rum tasting, wild winter swimming to hot air balloon rides, and pottery making to fresh pasta making masterclasses. Each one of these unique experiences is hosted by a local person that can’t wait to share their skills and passion with new people.
The platform has seen side-hustlers and hobbyists turn their favourite thing to do into a business and their main source of income. In the past year, Yuup has generated over £450k of income for local people and small independent creative businesses in the Bristol and Bath region.
Maria Fernandez, from Healing Weeds, hosts foraging workshops in Bristol. Her experiences teach guests how to identify seasonal wild produce and how to make balms, medicines, cordials, and elixirs from the foraged harvest. Using Yuup, Maria was able to change her career in order to properly pursue the thing she loves. She said:
“Yuup helped me turn my hobby into a business and Healing Weeds is now my main source of income.”
Since launching in the middle of a pandemic, Yuup has been used by Bristol creatives to help their income streams and businesses bounce back from lockdown and the effects of the pandemic.
The drop in economic activity within the UK in response to the pandemic impacted SMEs and the self-employed significantly in comparison to their larger business counterparts.
Local businesses were forced to adapt in order to survive. For indie businesses that could facilitate experiences, Yuup provided a platform that allowed alternative revenue streams to the local businesses that were struggling to achieve their pre-pandemic footfall.
Alice from Trylla shop on North Street joined Yuup early on in order to use the platform as a kickstart to her business’ post-pandemic recovery. Her pottery making experiences have been so popular that Alice has since hired new staff to help support the demand for her pottery classes on Yuup.
Yuup’s positive social impact extends to platform support, marketing, and a ticketing system for charity events and fundraisers. Yuup’s recent collaboration with Belly Laughs comedy festival 2022 raised over 22k for charity and generated over 10k of revenue for local restaurants and bars. The company have also recently supported grassroots charities such as MAZI Project and KASK’s Ukraine Fundraiser.
At the start of February 2022, Yuup announced that the business will be opening up investment to the public to allow for the company’s scaling up operations this year. There are a number of ways that you can join the Yuup community. As an investor, as a Yuup host, by introducing a Yuup host, or as a customer.
How to join the Yuup community as an investor: Yuup’s crowdfund is open until March 31st, and the funds raised will go towards reaching hundreds more potential experience hosts in Bristol and Bath, generating income and jobs for locals and the communities that need it most.
Yuup will also be launching in its second city this summer, connecting creatives, makers and dreamers from another UK city to the Yuup community.
You can join the crowdfund from as little as £20. You will own a part of Yuup and participate in the financial rewards of share ownership. Your investment will support local independent businesses whilst helping even more people to discover incredible things to do in their local area. Visit the Yuup crowdfund webpage to watch the investment film and find out more here: https://invest.yuup.co/
How to join Yuup as an experience host: If you are a creative or passionate local person, you could turn that love of something into an experience for others to enjoy. Yuup helps people create, promote, and host experiences.
It’s free to join the platform, and you get simple tools, a host portal, and marketing support and investment. A small commission is taken from each sold experience, so Yuup only makes money when you make money.
The scope for experiences is almost boundless. From food and drink tours to cooking classes, craft workshops to cinema nights, outdoor adventures to indoor wellbeing sessions. If you love it, why not share the experience? Get in touch with the Yuup team about your future experience here: https://www.yuup.co/pages/join
How to introduce an experience host: Do you know a wicked weaver? A crowd-pleasing cook? A passionate painter? A cool climber? Refer your friend to the Yuup team and help them turn their passion into a business. Refer an experience host here: https://www.yuup.co/host_referrals/new
How to join the Yuup community as a customer: Just browse yuup.co and pick something that you would love to do! Alternatively, you can also buy experiences as gifts, purchase gift cards, or use Yuup’s experiences in your employee rewards scheme.
Every January the digital marketing industry is ablaze with talk of new trends that will shake up how we do PPC. 2022 is no different.
And the pace of change is, almost unbelievably, accelerating. 2022 is set to be a big year for PPC – keeping up with Google’s new-and-improved policies, like the removal of expanded text ads (ETAs), and the world domination of TikTok can seem near impossible.
So, to help 2022 feel a little less daunting, we’ve picked the top 5 trends you need to focus on this year and how to integrate these into your PPC campaigns.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest analytics tool from Google, and it’s better equipped for the future than the previous model, Universal Analytics.
This is because GA4 has more advanced tools and reporting such as predictive insights, cross-device measurement capabilities, deeper integration with Google Ads, and more granular data controls.
Google’s plans to phase out third-party cookies by 2023 shouldn’t be news to you. In a cookieless world, it will be even harder to track consumer activity. So, in response to this, Google is offering “Enhanced Conversions“, which will improve your conversion tracking.
If you haven’t been focusing on offline conversion tracking, now is the time to do so. Most brands today run both on and offline, and some businesses forget that customers still make purchases offline.
If you just use traditional conversion tracking methods, then these offline purchases would not be linked to your online ad campaigns. Without this knowledge, you won’t be able to accurately measure the success of your campaigns.
In 2022, Google will continue to create and promote AI, so it’s vital you keep up with these changes. One of the big changes we will be touching upon in a moment is the changes to expanded text ads.
AI and automation are still quite new to the digital marketing world, but they will be at the forefront of PPC over the next few years. They are particularly useful for those of you looking to automate certain menial tasks to free up your time.
AI combined with automation can help you create impactful advertising campaigns while also improving your conversion rates. These concepts can dynamically create your ads based on user intent and website content, automating the bidding process, and automating ad success reports.
The world of PPC will experience a big change in June 2022. When June arrives, you will not be able to create or edit ETAs in the Google Ads Interface.
Google’s solution to this change is responsive search ads (RSAs) and dynamic search ads (DSAs). These will become Google’s default search ad type.
The role of machine learning in automation is the cause of this change. And this is where Google’s RSAs and DSAs come into play. As you would expect, both these ad types rely on automation.
Google will take the reins and determine the most effective headlines and assets supplied by you. These choices will be based on an extensive amount of data collected by Google from advertisers.
June is not that far away, so you need to learn how to use RSAs and DSAs now. Once you allow automation and AI can take control, you’ll have more time to craft new ad campaigns.
When you use RSAs you are handing over a great deal of control to Google, and this can feel scary… especially if you haven’t trailed this type of ad before. So, test what works for your brand now while you still have time.
You need to provide Google with accurate information to choose the best ads for your campaign. And to do this, test and discover the data you need to run an effective ad campaign.
We’ve touched upon this lightly already, but it needs to be explored properly. One of the biggest trends for the whole of the digital marketing industry is the departure of third-party cookies.
Google is planning to ban all third-party cookies by 2023, and this is going to dramatically impact the digital advertising landscape…
Up until now, marketers have been complacent with how they collect their data, seeing as third-party cookies made the process of collecting data so easy.
The thought of advertising without third-party cookies is daunting. But you need to think of this as a great opportunity. It’s one that offers great rewards for those of you who have already been prioritizing privacy throughout your customer service strategy.
Today, first-party data has never been so valuable, and the success of your digital advertising will rest on how you obtain your own first-party data.
And you can start using first-party data as an integral part of new algorithms for Google, Facebook, and other large eCommerce platforms.
Right now, TikTok is the fastest growing social media network with more than 1 billion active users per month. And its reach will only continue to grow in 2022 and beyond.
Advertisers can’t rely on one form of advertising anymore; they need to diversify their ads. And TikTok is the perfect platform to experiment with.
The world of advertising is always changing, and you need to move with the times and adapt your strategy if you want results. In 2022, you need to look beyond paid ads and explore other avenues.
Today, influencer marketing is one of the hottest trends in marketing, and TikTok is the leading platform bringing influencers and brands together.
Organic content posted by influencers tends to be successful. For users today, videos are more engaging, and they are more likely to trust an influencer’s opinion over yours.
However, there’s more to organic marketing than just influencer marketing. Take the time to improve your Search Engine Optimisation, or explore the world of digital PR. It’s also worth diversifying your content marketing strategy and promoting user-generated content.
This year is set to change the world of PPC as we know it. So, if you want to be at the forefront of these changes, you need to start adapting your PPC strategies now.
Audience numbers are growing, and you need to innovate your offering to meet this audience’s needs. And now you have new tools to play with, you can experiment and implement new and effective strategies in 2022 and beyond.
WithinDigital is an almost monthly digital marketing podcast, featuring in-depth interviews with experts in digital advertising, SEO, social media, and everything in between.
Click here to listen and subscribe to WithinDigital on iTunes>>>
Click here to listen and subscribe to WithinDigital on Spotify >>>
In episode 10 of WithinDigital, Nick Livermore is joined by Incubeta‘s Head of Measurement Consultancy, Kate Jervis, to chat about the ‘first-party data renaissance’ of 2022.
Data is at the heart of everything we do in marketing. And first-party data has been around for a long time. So, why in 2022 are we talking about first-party data like it’s this new thing?
Together, they cover…
This podcast first appeared on the Adapt Website here >>> https://www.adaptworldwide.com/insights/2022/withindigital-episode-10-the-first-party-data-renaissance
After almost a year of a basic holding page, Noughts & Ones have launched a new low-impact website as they look to further establish themselves as the go-to Shopify agency for planet-friendly ecommerce brands in 2022.
“2021 was all about laying the foundations for growth and it’s great to see it all come together on our new website. We’ve got some really exciting plans in place as we look to continue working for real change by helping planet-conscious brands to sell their products in the right way.” – Tom, Creative Director
The new website was born of their own Conscious Development™ framework, which guides (and will constantly evolve) all aspects of the Shopify stores and JAMstack websites they deliver.
Further to case studies on projects for incredible conscious brands such as fussy, OceanSaver and Hunter & Gather, the new Noughts & Ones website also serves as a platform to educate and spark conversation around the very real concern of digital sustainability.
Putting their website into “Super-Eco Mode” not only switches the site into even-more-efficient design mode, but also showcases tips on reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of websites.
Having worked closely with the Epilepsy Society for the past few months, we’re delighted to announce the launch of unFlash, an AI-powered tool that detects and helps prevent the spread of flashing images on social media that in turn could trigger seizures.
The first-of-its-kind plug-in allows specific users to report examples of flashing images that appear on their Twitter feed, which are then captured as part of a dataset used to train a Machine Learning model.
unFlash’s aim is to eventually teach the AI how to effectively detect and block media that falls within the photosensitive range. This would prevent harmful imagery with the potential of triggering a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy from being shared online.
“Social media is a global platform, and the only true way to protect people from seizure-triggering content is to turn off the tap at its source. That’s why we are so grateful to the team at Gravitywell for their commitment to developing unFlash. We are hopeful for what the AI can contribute to the protection of people with epilepsy online.
However, small companies such as Gravitywell who have donated their time to protect people should not burden the responsibility of protecting Twitter’s users; the social media giants must be held accountable for protecting vulnerable people with disabilities on their platforms.” — Epilepsy Society
The new ‘Intro to Game Art’ short course will give you an insight into the world of game art, exploring the range of roles and essential skills needed to get you started when exploring a potential future career in game art. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning and producing work to a design brief.
Working in the games industry
Concept art for computer games
Modelling for computer games
This new and exciting programme is designed to equip individuals (aged 19+) with the technical skills, knowledge and understanding needed to produce digital content across several platforms, ensuring you can use social media most effectively for your small business, sports team or trade.
This course will provide a great opportunity for you to develop media production techniques, such as camera operating (on mobile devices, DSLR cameras and broadcast cameras), video editing, graphics and motion graphics to produce content for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and more. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning your Project
Camera Production Techniques
Sound Recording Techniques
Editing Techniques
This new and exciting programme is designed to equip individuals (aged 19+) with the technical skills, knowledge and understanding needed to produce digital content across several platforms, ensuring you can use social media most effectively for your small business, sports team or trade.
This course will provide a great opportunity for you to develop graphic design techniques, such as designing and producing a brand identity and branded graphics for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and more. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning your Project
Typography and Layouts
Working with Illustrator and Photoshop
Creating a Brand
Bristol Institute of Performing Arts
Our team is made up of industry professionals from all corners of the creative industries. Performers will be put through their paces by our academic team of performers, directors and choreographers which is supported by our Student Experience and academic support teams.
Our Purpose Built Campus
The Bristol Institute of Performing Arts is based at the SGS WISE Campus a £17.5 million pound campus designed for sporting, performing and visual arts excellence.
Olympus Theatre
The Olympus Theatre based at the Bristol Institute of Performing Arts/SGS WISE Campus has been producing and receiving theatre on a local and regional scale for almost 15 years. Since opening in 2005, the cultural and creative significance has exceeded expectations, making The Olympus a premier destination for theatre performance and education in the South West region.
Our Students perform in our 250 seat auditorium which holds over 35 productions a year through our in house production team.
Studio 22 Theatre
The Studio 22 Theatre is our most diverse performance space, kitted out with fully flexible seating which allows a variety of production design styles. Students will be immersed into a space designed for intimate productions, showcases and cabaret performances. The Studio 22 theatre can accommodate an audience of up to 80.
10 Studios & Workrooms
All our dance studios are equipped with sprung flooring, mirrors, barres and a speaker system. Our rehearsal rooms also feature a range of equipment and speakers
Studio 1 – Dance StudioStudio 2 – Rehearsal StudioStudio 3 – Dance StudioStudio 4 – Dance StudioStudio 5 – Dance StudioStudio 6 – Rehearsal StudioStudio 7 – Rehearsal StudioStudio 8 – Rehearsal StudioStudio 9 – Rehearsal StudioStudio 10 – Practice RoomWorkroom 1 – Scenic Design WorkshopWorkroom 2 – Technical TheatreWorkroom 3 – Costume & Scenic Store
If your understanding of the startup world is based on the series produced by (and starring) mid-noughties nerdy heartthrob, Adam Brody, it might surprise you to learn that most tech ventures aren’t funded by dubious dosh from the criminal underworld. That isn’t to say that StartUp isn’t an entertaining show, by the way, but it’s not exactly an accurate representation of how startup founders might seek investment.
While there are some great examples of companies that have ‘bootstrapped’ their way to billions, most successful tech businesses will raise equity finance at some stage in their scale-up journey — usually over several funding rounds. The right investment not only unlocks the cash you need to accelerate growth but also provides you with a new business partner who is aligned with your goals, brings business acumen and an invaluable network of industry contacts.
Knowing how to turn your venture into an investment magnet is key to getting the attention of the right type of investor while never feeling pressured to settle for a bad fit. So, how do you as a startup founder attract that perfect investor? Here are 6 qualities investors will be looking for in your tech startup.
As a startup founder, being passionate about your project should be a prerequisite. If not, then it’s probably the wrong venture for you. You need to truly believe in the product/service you want to provide and be confident that it’s either an improvement on what’s available on the market or an entirely new take on addressing an old problem.
Beyond your bright idea, you should also be mindful that investors are investing in you as much as they are in your business. Are you able to distil and describe the journey you’ve been on thus far? Can you showcase your passion, skill-set and creativity?
However, while passion per se is great, would you put your money where your mouth is? Most investors are looking for founders who are willing to invest their own capital — hypothetically, at the very least. After all, why should someone part with their hard-earned cash for your project if you’re unwilling to do the same? The same applies to investing your time. If you’re unwilling to work hard on your own project, then it’s unrealistic to expect anyone else to.
To get your business off the ground, you’ll have to — or will have had to — raise the initial capital yourself. This can come from your own savings, borrowings, or even friends and family. Either way, this is a concrete example of demonstrating that you believe in your product/service, so much so that you’re willing to invest money into it.
To be worthy of investment, any new product/service needs to have a proven market and be appealing to that market. Ideally, your venture will have begun operations and demonstrated an ability to sell that product or service — essentially, you need to have a robust ‘proof of concept’ to show investors. Investors will look for the following:
For a tech startup, the proof of concept is often an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) — a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide adequate feedback for future product development. Through our experiences building brilliant launchpad apps for businesses, we’ve come up with a checklist to help you get started with your MVP ASAP.
Most investors are looking for business opportunities that have potential — primarily, for growth. This is all relative, of course, based on the size of your market, but ideally, you need to have a market with significant reach — regionally at least — depending on the nature of your product or service.
Not every product/service is going to have a worldwide market, of course, but a large enough market to increase scale and margins within your operations is typically a requirement for investors.
If your startup is a would-be disruptor in an existing, saturated market then the same rules apply. However, your growth potential is likely to be deeply scrutinised because any market share gained is being taken directly from a competitor, therefore your competitive advantage needs to be demonstrable.
Which leads us on nicely…
No matter what the product — whether it’s clothing, music or a new software platform — the same question always applies: what makes your product unique? To be worthy of investment, there has to be something that sets you apart.
If your product or service is genuinely the first of its kind (something that many founders wrongly convince themselves is the case), then that’s your competitive advantage. What’s more likely, however, is that your startup will be entering an existing market. This is where having a real differentiator is crucial for success.
Take German neobank, N26, for example. Voted ‘Best Bank in the World 2021’, N26 is by no means the only player in the online-only banking market — competitors include the likes of Monzo and Revolut. However, by taking a service that people have to consume and generally dislike (banking), and turning it into an enjoyable process by focusing 100% of its efforts on user experience, N26 has confidently positioned itself as ‘the bank you’ll love’.
To save on cost, most startups will have very limited staffing (at the start of their journey, at least), usually consisting of one or two founders. Whether it’s a team of two or ten, the number of staff isn’t an issue so long as the key areas of the business are covered. For example, if your business is centred around AI technology, do you have someone in the team who is a specialist in this area? It’s extremely important that you have an expert in the tech or market you’re entering.
Operating control is another area investors will be looking at before taking a punt on your startup. They’ll expect you as the founder to have developed (or be in the process of developing) policies and procedures to control the business and ensure their investment doesn’t go to waste.
It’s also important that as a founder, you’re able to ‘let go’ and delegate authority across your team. We get it, your startup is your baby, but over time, you need to trust someone else to take care of the proverbial nappies. Or bedtime story. You get the gist. Investors will take comfort in seeing expertise and autonomy spread across a fully engaged team.
The coldness with which investors approach this topic can be a bit of a shock, but getting into their mindset — ie. looking for a return, can keep you focused on what’s important for your startup. It’s important to know that from a financial perspective, investors will have two primary questions when looking at a project:
These questions can be answered by a thorough financial projection which you can do yourself, but if you’re struggling, there are people you can hire to help out.
Essentially, investors want to know what their ROI (return on investment) will be and when they’ll begin to see it, so including a full ROI analysis in any pitch to an investor is highly advised.
At Gravitywell, we love working with enthusiastic startups and help with prototypes, pitch decks, MVPs and conceptual work. If you’d like to discuss how we can take your idea to the next level, get in touch.
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