IT’s A dog’s life
We’ve learned a trick or two since Yapster was founded…
-
2014
Whatsapp isn't working
In the course of a prior business, Co-founders Rob Liddiard (CEO) and Craig McMillan (CTO) discover that half the British workforce runs unofficially on consumer apps and that 80% of frontline workers are excluded from many company communications by virtue of not having corporate email addresses.
(Third Co-founder Nicci Setchell (CFO/COO) was busy still being a grown up at this point, leading 18 acquisitions as Head of International Finance for Just Eat plc) -
2015
company incorporation
With the help and encouragement of a few good friends working in law and finance, Yapster is incorporated (as 'Employee Republic Ltd') and receives seed funding to build a prototype product with which to test the market.
Yapster is initially conceived primarily as a GDPR Compliant instant messaging service for workers within retail and restaurants. -
2016
pilots and partnerships
After a few months of experimentation with an 8-site London restaurant group, Yapster is procured by the forward-thinking COO of a national retailer. The team discovers that large frontline organisations typically already have a lot of business software. Few customers want 'another platform' unless it can integrate with, enhance and deliver mobile notifications for what they already have.
From this point onwards, Yapster is an integration-oriented mobile platform. -
2017
social leadership
Working alongside the company's first integration partner in the UK Retail sector (RMS Metro - a store operations platform), Yapster is deployed globally by a listed retailer to co-incide with their Global Management Conference. Yapster is used for real-time Q&A with the global, listed retailer's executive leadership team.
Team Yapster witness the motivational power of 'Social Leadership' up close and personal for the first time (many store assistants could not believe they had been given direct access to their "boss's, boss's boss"). -
2018-present
engaging, growing and optimising at scale
Today, Yapster works for many of the most recognisable frontline organisations known to the public. It is a personal ambition of at least one of the co-founders (we won't say which - Rob) to go a whole calendar year without wearing or consuming a non-Yapster product or service.
We all recognise that working for our customers is an enormous privilege. How many other software products give you the opportunity to bring genuine joy to the workplace (Engage); better service to consumers (Grow); and greater profitability to competitive industries (Optimise) - all at the same time?
OUR Mission, values & BEHAVIOURS
Our team mission is to Make Work Meaningful.
We’re achieving our mission by encouraging and facilitating leadership, ownership, communication and gratitude within customer businesses - and our own.
Culturally, we’re friendly and humble but strong. We’re intolerant of snobbery and sceptical when people in power claim success is 100% ‘self made’.
We’re passionate about creating technology which works hard for working people. Our business proposition is as straightforward as our culture: we help unleash the full potential of our customers’ existing people & systems.
We reach new users primarily by integrating with the technologies their employers already pay for, offering massive additional functionality at minimal additional cost.
We believe - and can prove - that no greater return is available for less business disruption or expense.
We define product success as achieving 80% user onboarding and weekly active usage rates across all of our customers.
We obsessively measure customer satisfaction and proactively communicate with all users to ensure they know our commitment to doing a little better for them every day.
We like working with people who:
Love to Learn
Are Team Players
Take Ownership
Fight for What’s Right
Are Cheerful in adversity