After completing the Growth Accelerator, the app to recommend and discover the best is set to become one of the most influential in its sector.

“We always look at things as the beta, the beginning of the next phase. We have a solid fundamental foundation that we will take it with us, it’s in our DNA now.” Gonzalo Recio, Head of Product at Peoople commented about The VentureCity’s Growth program, which includes a $100K investment and a Dream Team of committed experts during a six month period for 6% equity.

When asked about the program, David Pena, CEO of Peoople, said: “The biggest indicator that we benefited from the program is that we would do it all over again if we had the chance.”

Gonzalo Recio, Head of Product at Peoople, mentioned: “From day one there was no nonsense. In the startup world there is a lot of noise, people saying they are gurus, but with TheVentureCity it was different, they were always transparent and upfront.”

And how exactly did this approach fare with Peoople’s team?

David commented: “For us, the experience couldn’t have been better. We joined the program in a key moment in the evolution of our project. We had already done our product-market fit and since we were starting with the implementation of our Growth Strategy, it was crucial for both the program and the team that TheVentureCity’s offering helped to accelerate this growth. At the end of the day it allowed us to commit the least possible mistakes in our growth strategy, and it was very crucial for the evolution of the project.”

Gonzalo added: “We used to be a small team of 8 to 10 people and, with TheVentureCity, we became a 20-person team. You feel more secure. You have a big net of people with expertise so you feel more confident about the decisions you take. Making decisions at this point is key to success.”

During the program, Peoople measured three main metrics: the quick ratio, daily/monthly active users, and engagement by percent of users using key determined events. All of these metrics showed 5 times growth. Peoople started with 3K daily users and ended in May with 14K daily users.

David mentioned: “Beyond the metrics, we now have a strategy to improve our retention and engagement better. We experienced an amazing evolution in our acquisition and are growing retention and engagement in the same way.”

Peoople was also able to take advantage of TheVentureCity’s international presence and attend GoogleLaunchpad in Miami, about which David said: “It was amazing because of the people that the event gathered and the ability to meet TheVenutreCity team, some of whom we had only met remotely.” It also enabled Peoople to showcase the launch of their new product, version 3.

Furthermore, IAB featured Peoople as one of the trending ad spaces to keep an eye on. The startup has also won several other awards including the app with the highest daily use in Spain, even compared to the likes of Instagram and Twitter! When asked about this, David commented: “We are a bit shy in this regard.” If you know David, you would be shocked to hear him speak the word shy. He said: “We are flattered. We want our product to speak for us. We prefer our users to tell us that we are doing an amazing job and that, since we exist, we have made their lives a bit easier.” This humbling attitude is yet another reason why we love working with the Peoople team.

What about all the GIFs? David commented on their GIF strategy saying that GIFs have a potentially negative aspect, that the only way users can react is by viewing them. This, however, has created incredible awareness and visibility for Peoople. They currently have 936 GIFs with 2.3 billion views!

Andrés Dancausa, our VP of the Growth Accelerator EMEA, commented: “Peoople has a special team, they are all very close and you can tell that they love what they are doing. Their team has always been very resourceful and well connected into the ecosystem, which will serve them well as they continue to grow.”

While they may have graduated, we expect Peoople to be around, family always is! ?