Giggypop is the British startup aiming to make the gig-going experience social

Vaughn Highfield June 15, 2016

The “sharing economy” is far more than just a buzzword – it’s a cultural shift in how consumers behave. We’ve become rather well versed in the ride-sharing sector, what with Uber, Zipcar, BlaBlaCar and others gaining traction, but there are still plenty of other industries that need a good overhaul.

Giggypop is the British startup aiming to make the gig-going experience social

For Giggypop, this is live events – namely parties and gigs. While apps already exist to crowdsource affordable gig tickets, Giggypop is here to help you connect with others going to the same event and offer up experiences you may otherwise have missed. After all, nobody likes to go to something alone.

I caught up with Giggypop founder Alice Shyy to find out how the Giggypop dream started and where it intends to go in the future.

Where did the big idea for Giggypop come from?

giggypop_alice_shyy_founder Alice Shyy – Founder

I was feeling anxious about going to the Startup Weekend hackathon, and asked my friend Nick, a product manager, what problem I should try to solve. We were at Rozi Plain’s gig at The Lexington, and Nick said the magic words: “Well, nobody’s really solved the ‘Gig Buddy Problem’ yet.”

The next day, I pitched a (terrible) solution to the “Gig Buddy Problem” to the hackathon crowd and, after lots of ideation and iteration, social ticketing platform Giggypop emerged to take first place at Startup Weekend.

But what exactly is the “Gig Buddy Problem?”

It’s taken us a year to get to the core of it, but it’s best defined with a Courtney Barnett lyric: “Nobody really cares if you don’t go to the party.”

Promoters and artists definitely want people to go to their parties and gigs, but it’s very hard to reach the individual fan, the fan frustrated that none of her friends are available to join her, so she stays at home thinking nobody cares. With Giggypop, we make it possible to get personal about event promotion by connecting individuals to a wider community of passionate event-goers who care for each other, supported from the top.

When you book in with Giggypop, you’ll always have a crew to join at the event.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome so far?

People are always the challenge and the win. Internally, my team has evolved from seven to two (and is still evolving). Externally, we have to win over lots of players in the events industry while also caring if our individual community members go to the party. Luckily, I have a lot of time for people, which is why I’m doing Giggypop in the first place.

Where do you see Giggypop being in five years’ time?

In five years, music-event lovers around the world will rely on Giggypop to connect with others before, during, and after the event experience, with a community-centric, beautifully human, online-to-offline-to-online product. Beyond that, we have no idea!

Is there one thing you wish you’d known before starting Giggypop?

If you’re going for something out of love, don’t worry about fundraising, or monetising. Set a limit and a target for yourself, and then do what feels good. It’s much easier, and you’ll do better! But if you don’t hit your target in your set time-limit, you can move on knowing you made no compromises.