We caught up with Brad Nobbs, CEO & co-Founder of Licklist, to talk all things from bringing tech into the nightlife industry, to helping venues re-open safely during COVID-19鈥�
听
Tell us about Licklist
听
Licklist is a social platform that we founded in 2015 for the nightlife industry, making it easier for customers to organise and enjoy a night out. Five years later and we have over 600,000 users on the platform, 6000 venues listed on the app and 拢6m gross sales annually.
We offer services for before, during and after the night out, like booking, loyalty offers and photography. For the venue, getting listed with Licklist means greater exposure, increased attendance and revenue per head, plus sophisticated, data-led loyalty tools.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
听
I鈥檓 29 now but one of my first jobs was running events in nightclubs. It gave me an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by the nightlife industry. Their main challenges were ticketing and filling a venue, promotion and loyalty- all of the challenges that Licklist now successfully overcomes for them. I saw an opportunity to bring the nightlife industry into the 21st century with tech that would both enhance customer experience, and make venues more efficient and profitable.
In the initial planning stages, that first-hand knowledge of what I wanted from a night out was invaluable too. How much time I鈥檇 be willing to invest in research for a night out, what the booking process would have to be like. This all fed into the concept. Although Licklist was founded in 2015, the idea came before 2015 but took time to come to fruition.
Since then, we鈥檝e developed new tech-based on what our venues and customers have asked for through our in-house development team. Our whole platform was built through customer feedback.
More from Interviews
- Powering Funds For Investors: Interview With Anders Ramsten, CEO of PowerFunds
- A Conversation With Penelope Sonder, COO Of NALA On How AI Is Quietly Reinventing The Art Industry
- A Chat With James Clark, Partner At Spencer West LLP On What Digital Regulation May Look Like Under An Andy Burnham Government
- A Conversation With Brennen Lawrence, Co-Founder And CEO At Proofly On The Next Evolution Of Claims Readiness
- A Chat With Liam Houghton, Founder & CEO of Popsa On What The Next UK Government Needs To Do To Best Support Startups
- A Chat With Richard Kersey, Founder And Chief Architect Of Chirpper On What People Are Missing With The 鈥淒ead Internet Theory鈥�
- A Chat With Paul Beare, Founder Of Paul Beare Ltd On UK Companies Going International
- Get To Know Taiwo Akinropo, Founder And CEO At Heyfood And MENA40 Judge
How has the company fared during the pandemic?
听
In 2019, we developed Licklist for Business for the b2b market and introduced mobile ordering tech. The take up for our mobile ordering tech wasn鈥檛 huge but when the pandemic hit, interest went through the roof. It was something that every venue needed, alongside table booking and loyalty initiatives. We widened our focus from nightlife to the hospitality industry and worked with cafes, restaurants, hotels and pubs. In effect, we鈥檝e widened our market from 6000 nightlife venues to 150,000 hospitality venues.
Through our tech, these venues have been able to re-open safely, in line with new regulations for test and trace, managing visitor numbers and reducing face to face contact with mobile ordering. Over 300 hospitality venues are using Licklist for Business tech now, and they鈥檝e been really appreciative of what we鈥檙e offering. As well as meeting regulations, the tech is a great way for venues to undertake tailored marketing and initiatives, using data in ways they may never have done before. It鈥檚 really satisfying to see these small independent businesses marketing themselves effectively. Loyalty will be more important than ever post COVID.
We鈥檝e been extremely fortunate that we had this technology ready and developed which has enabled us to focus on Licklist for Business at this time. Nightlife venues closed overnight and we anticipate they won鈥檛 open again until November. When they do, Licklist will be ready to support them.
听
What can we hope to see from Licklist in the future?
听
Licklist were successful in gaining entry onto the PWC Raise Programme, which helps scale-up businesses prepare for their Series A funding round. The pitch day was planned for earlier in the year but got put back to November due to the pandemic. We鈥檝e got a strong brand in Licklist, and we鈥檙e seeing fast growth with our Licklist for Business brand too. The Series A funding will help to drive that growth even faster. Our aim is to replicate our UK success in Europe. To better cater for the hospitality market, we鈥檒l also be re-branding our b2b Licklist for Business brand to Booked It over the coming months. As a leading tech firm in the UK, we鈥檒l continue to listen to our customers, innovate, develop and grow, responding to and anticipating the next big trends in our industry.
