Startups Awards Hall of Fame: YPlan

‘Tonight’s going out app’, YPlan, has quickly become a global phenomenon and one of the most talked about apps of the moment.

After being named in our Startups 100 list, the young company picked up two awards at the Startups Awards 2013 – Mobile Business of the Year and Simply Business Startups Business of the Year – after impressive stats which include 500,000 user downloads and over $13m investment.

Here, Startups finds out the company’s latest achievements and what winning the Startups Awards meant to the YPlan team…

What’s happened in the last year since you entered the Startups Awards?

It’s been a really busy few months since being awarded our Startups Awards. Having launched in New York shortly before we entered, we’re now also live in San Francisco and Las Vegas. A rapid programme of expansion throughout North America has also been matched by impressive user growth meaning that we now have more than half a million downloads worldwide. Our network of event partners has also widened with the result being that we’re now working with over 800 venues and promoters in London including the Roundhouse, Southbank Centre, Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall amongst others.

What’s been the single biggest highlight for YPlan since winning?

Hitting the 500,000 download mark was an immensely proud moment for us. It’s a real endorsement of what we’re doing to know that over half a million people from all over the world are now regularly using YPlan to make the most of their city.

What are you hoping to achieve in the next year or so?

We want people to be able to open YPlan and be presented with a definitive list of the best events going on that evening wherever they are in the world. Our launches in North America have been immensely successful so we’ll be looking to further our reach throughout the US. London is our spiritual home so we’ll continue to expand throughout the UK, and with so much on offer in Europe we’re also keen to introduce YPlan to our friends across the channel.

What did winning at the Startups Awards mean to you?

It was a proud moment for the whole team. We’ve worked immensely hard to make YPlan multi-platform and multi-city in a short space of time, disrupting the $80bn global ticketing industry by providing an answer to the question “what should I do tonight?” Winning at the Startups Awards was a recognition of the effort that each and every one of us has put in to making YPlan a success.

Why would you recommend entering awards like this?

Winning is a great endorsement for the work you’re doing, but it’s more than that, in taking part you’re pitching against some of the best in your category which drives you to push yourself even further.

Stay tuned for more catch-ups from our former Startups Awards winners – and if you think you’ve got what it takes to be a Startups Awards 2014 winner, enter now!