Social app Linkup has signed up 1,500 users in Manchester in its first two weeks and has plans to expand across the country.
Based in the northwestern city of Linkop offers users a new way to connect with people in their area. Based on categories of interest, from sports to drinks and fitness, the app creates “links” that directly address loneliness and social anxiety.
The app has the ability to scroll through hookups happening nearby, a chat feature to talk to people before visiting for details, dedicated location services, and built-in safety features.
Soft launch
“We have noticed a significant interest in the first couple of weeks when 1500 users have already registered to use the app“, – say BusinessCloud co-founders Jack Pigham and Ben Watson.
“Our soft launch, where we targeted Manchester, allowed us to get a a deeper understanding of what our users want to see from Linkup.
“Based on user feedback, we have already been able to start updating and improving various features in the app. Once this is complete, we will be targeting the UK to gain more traction than ever to take communication to the next level for everyone.
“We have just soft-launched in Manchester and our next step is to attract users and interest to expand our user base across the UK. We plan to grow our user base nationally, covering all corners of the UK.”
Pigham and Watson, who met at Ravensbourne University in London, previously co-founded Actve, a platform for connecting with fitness creators.
Pressing
The Linkup app was created in partnership with developer Tappable, which is an early investor along with hip-hop duo Krept & Konan, YouTuber Calfreezy, and other YouTubers and soccer players.
“We’ve worked closely with Tappable since the beginning,” the co-founders explain. “They agreed from the very beginning to invest a large sum in the business. The Tappable team also introduced us to their network of influential industry connections, which gave us an extra boost.
“Raj Singh and Sam Foor, the founders of Tappable, are our main mentors. They believed in the concept of Linkup from day one and advised us in the right direction from the beginning.
“They both ran startups before and raised significant capital and then sold the company. They’ve been through the process and have been successful time and time again, so we couldn’t be happier to support them.”
Peagam and Whatson are the only direct Linkup employees at this time.
“Looking further to the future, and once we have established a solid base in the UK, we are planning another round of fundraising to expand internationally and significantly expand the team,” they say.
