YPlan
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Event planning |
| Founded | November 2012 |
| Founders | Viktoras Jucikas and Rytis Vitkauskas |
| Headquarters | , |
| Parent | Time Out Group |
| Website | https://yplanapp.com |
YPlan was a digital event discovery and booking service in London, United Kingdom founded in 2012. In 2016, YPlan was acquired by Time Out Group[1] for 1.6 million GBP,[2] after having raised 38 million USD in funding[3]. It was shut down in 2017.
Description
[edit]Viktoras Jucikas and Rytis Vitkauskas co-founded YPlan in 2012.[4] They met at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany.[5]
YPlan provided London and later other cities with a curated list of events[6], manually and with personalisation algorithms. Users login to find a selection of events in the next few days that they can book through the platform or its partner venues. Jucikas stated, from research carried out by the company and others, that "the absence of too much choice makes the consumer buy more rather than less. If you have 100 events you would be less likely to go to one because you would be overwhelmed by choice."[6] According to the London Standard, there were around £600 million-worth of unsold theatre seats each year, which could be booked last minute.[4]
In April 2013, Business Insider listed YPlan on their list of London startups to watch.[7] Around the same time, YPlan appeared in 1st place on a similar list published by Mashable.[8]
A year after launch, it was stated that the company had reached over 500,000 users.[9] By the end of 2014, the app had more than 1 million downloads.[10]
Funding
[edit]After receiving early investments,[11] the company secured 12 million USD in a series A round[12] The funding was part of a plan to expand the service to New York City.[3]
In 2014, the app received funding of $24 million (£16 million), according to TechCrunch. This brought the total funding of YPlan to just under $38 million.[3] It was stated that the financing deal will allow the company to expand into other cities.[13]
On the 21 October 2016, YPlan was acquired by Time Out Group[1] for 1.6 million GBP.[2] AS of 2015, the company had accumulated losses of $20.8M, and accounts showed how Rytis Vitkauskas talks of building a billion dollar company were far off the mark.
Recognition
[edit]In its first years, YPlan received a number of recognitions as a fast growing startup[14],[15],[16],[17][18], as did his founders.[19],[20]
Notable recognitions include :
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Time Out Group buys London events company YPlan". City AM. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- 1 2 Palmer, Kate (21 October 2016). "Time Out snaps up one-time rising star Yplan for just £1.6m". The Telegraph.
- 1 2 3 Shontell, Alyson (4 June 2013). "YPlan Startups London London Startup YPlan Gets $12 Million To Start Telling New Yorkers Where To Party". Business Insider.
- 1 2 Butter, Susannah (10 January 2013). "Spontaneity app YPlan makes planning ahead so passé". London Standard.
- ↑ Ashton, James (10 March 2015). "Rytis Vitkauskas interview: 'We sat there one night thinking: let's go out and do something fun' - the start of YPlan". Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
- 1 2 Rooney, Ben (27 November 2012). "YPlan Offers Last Minute London Nights Out". Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Shontell, Alyson (24 April 2013). "13 Hot London Startups You Need To Watch". Business Insider.
- ↑ Fankhauser, Dani (22 May 2013). "20 Hot London Startups You Need to Watch". Mashable.
- ↑ Curtis, Sophie (26 November 2013). "YPlan reaches 500,000 users one year after launch". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ "YPlan Receives $24M in Series B Funding". FinSMEs. 25 November 2014.
- ↑ "London events iPhone app YPlan gets investment from Spotify and Hailo backers". Growth Business. 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ↑ Lomas, Natasha (4 June 2013). "With $12M Burning A Hole In Its Pocket, London's YPlan Wants New York To Be More Socially Spontaneous". TechCrunch.
- ↑ Temperton, James (25 November 2014). "YPlan grabs £15.3m in funding, will expand to more cities". Wired.
- ↑ Connolly, Amanda (18 March 2015). "Tech5 UK: YPlan named the UK's fastest growing tech startup". The Next Web.
- ↑ "'Tonight's going out app' YPlan triumphs at 2013 Startups Awards". Startups.
- ↑ "London's hottest startups revealed at the Elevator Pitch Awards". Tech City News. 26 November 2013.
- ↑ "Best Entertainment App". Appsters. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ↑ "Best Intermittent Fasting Apps". Fastingapps.
- ↑ "The Power 1000 - London's most influential people 2013: Tech stars". Evening Standard. 19 September 2013.
- ↑ "Evening Standard: Silicon 60 (Rytis Vitkauskas)". Evening Standard. 15 April 2014.
- ↑ "2014 The Sunday Times Tech Track Ones to Watch - YPlan". Fast Track. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ↑ "Europe's hottest startups 2014: London". Wired.
- ↑ "The Hottest Global Startups of 2013". Forbes. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013.