Sector spotlight: Bristol-based apps

Launched in 2013, a humble app with a grand vision to revolutionise the health and fitness sector, MoveGB is on its way to global dominance.

Named the UK’s third fastest growing tech business in the Deloitte Fast 50 in 2017, the company now has more than 300,000 users, some 6,000 providers, and is on a mission to become the largest active community in the world.

It all started in Bristol, when founder Alister Rollins set out to connect providers of activities – from leisure centres to climbing walls – with customers seeking a flexible, varied fitness membership.

Alister Rollins of MoveGB, a company on its way to global dominance

MoveGB is one of a growing number of app-based companies catering to changing consumer demands by putting convenience and flexibility at the heart of their business model.

Whether managing finances, tracking periods, travelling across the city, dining out or delivering a ‘huggg’ to make someone’s day, there’s an app available to help.

Bristol is emerging as a hotbed of innovation in developing technology and a willing testbed for new apps.

YoBikes are now a familiar sight around Bristol

From the now-familiar sight of canary yellow YoBikes dotted around the city, to the development of a new app to make tipping more transparent, the city’s size, coupled with its tech-savvy population make it an ideal environment for the latest downloadable idea.

Developed by Rebeca Esteves, who had the idea for the app she wanted to leave a tip but did not have any cash on her, Tip Tap enables customers to give money directly to an individual member of staff.

Rebeca Esteves had the idea for her app when she wanted to leave a tip but did not have any cash on her

It is being developed at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio and is currently only available to use at the Watershed cafe and bar, but could one day be the new way to tip across the world.

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Read more: New app aims to make tipping more transparent

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Tip Tap is just one example of how the city’s thriving food and drink scene is a proving a prime market for tailored technology.

It is now commonplace to walk into your local independent café, restaurant or takeaway and confirm you’ve got ‘the Wriggle deal’. An app that launched in 2014, Wriggle has steadily grown its presence in the city, now offering deals at around 200 locations a day.

Wriggle’s founder says launching in Bristol was a vital ingredient for enabling the company to grow into what it is today

Reflecting on the marketplace, the company’s founder and CEO, Rob Hall, says: “I don’t believe that Bristol is innately a city where all apps thrive, because apps come in different shapes and sizes and perform different functions.

“However, I do know that launching in Bristol was a vital ingredient for Wriggle to grow into what it is today, and I definitely think Wriggle wouldn’t be around today if I’d launched it in London.

“For us, the growing food and drink scene has made a huge difference. We launched soon before a big wave of amazing new openings across the city, which has played a big part.

“The same is true for staffing-app, Limber, which also focuses on the hospitality sector.

“Also important is Bristol’s community and independent feel. It’s a creative city – and is happy to adopt and try new things.

“As a Bristol company, I feel like local restaurants were keen to work with us – and enjoyed the personal touch. Because we were helping people to discover independent establishments, we struck a chord with Bristolians.

“The flipside of that is that it can often be difficult for companies from outside Bristol to launch in here (there are lots of chain restaurants that come to Bristol with trepidation).”

Rob adds that the costs involved in creating and developing technology can be high, while the return per transaction is often low. This means that investment and financing are important in the success of an app.

“When I started Wriggle, it was hard to find local investors, which meant I had to go to London,” he says. “But the emergence of investment groups like Bristol Private Equity Club – who invested in Wriggle last year – have really helped the local scene, and that will only continue as there are more Bristol-based tech success stories.”

While people are ever reliant on their mobile apps, is there a risk that the general market is fast-becoming saturated?

Lisa Kimpton, head of marketing at DOVU, says personalisation, incentivisation and usability in apps are key to successful user adoption.

“Businesses are getting better at doing this,” she says. “But the challenge is to create something that seamlessly becomes part of the consumer’s everyday life.”

The company, which is based at Runway East on Victoria Street, has just launched the DOVU Beta app. This aims to incentivise people to share and improve the way they travel around the city by earning crypto tokens, which are redeemable and transferable to friends and other currencies.

Irfon Watkins, CEO and founder of DOVU, adds: “Locally-used apps are a growing trend globally. This is due to several factors; including the lower cost to create and distribute, alongside the increase in relevant data, enabling users to receive location-based, time relevant information.

“Bristol is no exception to this and, as a result of the hard work of local organisations such as the Bristol Pound, the foundations of a locally engaged community are already here.”

Alexey Shinkarenko, Parklook founder, says the city was an ideal place to launch the new app

Parklook is another new kid on the block. The app, which aims to help drivers find on-street parking through information shared by users about the location of nearby spaces, launched in Bristol in December.

Founder Alexey Shinkarenko says: “We chose Bristol for the launch because of its congestion issues, but also because it’s a city of ‘manageable size’, with a relatively young population in the central wards.

“We thought about launching in London, Manchester and a few other European cities, but apps which require data-sharing work best where there is lots of uptake in a small area, combined with a strong demand. Bristol ticked all these boxes.

“As a city, Bristol is forward-looking and its major challenge is to improve the movement of people and services citywide.”

The city’s thriving tech sector is turning its hand to tackling important issues.

TalkLife is a free app, used by more than half a million young people worldwide, that works as an online peer support network, with the aim of reducing self-harm and suicide and making a positive impact on the lives of users.

The company behind it, which is now based near Temple Meads, chose to relocate from New York to Bristol because of the city’s growing tech scene, as well as its research and mental health focus.

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Read more: ‘Bristol’s growing tech scene makes it an exciting place to be’

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Apps are also helping to level playing fields in employment. Rav Bumbra, the founder of Structur3dpeople, a tech recruiter and diversity specialist, developed the world’s first recruitment and mentoring on the go app, Cajigo.

Rav Bumbra, founder of Structur3dpeople, says Bristol has a great eco-system for tech startups

This provides employers with direct access to talent, while helping women kick-start tech careers and reach leadership roles.

“I left my corporate job to found a platform that would help people achieve success,” says the entrepreneur, who is passionate about opening up the tech industry and closing the gender pay gap.

“We have such a good eco-system in the South West, we can drive the talent and I think it’s really important to get word out there in as many ways as we can.”

Rockpool says there is a shortage of highly-skilled app developers in the city

Rockpool, a digital agency based at Paintworks, agrees the city is a prime location for innovative ideas to thrive. The company has recently launched its own in-house app, Street Eater, which enables users to find street food close to their location.

Emma Vaughan, Rockpool’s digital marketing executive, says this work however has also highlighted the challenge in finding skilled developers.

“With the number of smartphone users ever growing, apps are becoming an integral platform for a lot of businesses, and this will only continue to grow,” she says.

“In addition to this, Bristol is widely known for becoming ‘the next Silicon Valley’, and tech giants are moving their digital facing offices here.

“Both these factors only compound the challenge around hiring skilled app developers.

“It seems one way to keep up with the pressure of consumer demand is to recruit app developers at a junior or graduate level and up-skill in-house, opposed to hiring senior app developers, which are far and few between.

“If companies are willing to invest in and train new, junior members of staff, then the shortage of app developers won’t last forever.”

Main photo: the Wriggle team

Read more: Bristol startup named in Forbes ‘ones to watch in 2019’ list