The startup that helps you discover recommendations from Friends and influencers just joined TheVentureCity’s Growth Accelerator.

How do you go from zero to 200K active users in just a year? That’s part of the magic that makes Peoople. You might think this could just be a happy coincidence at first, but that is until you understand the amount of work, talent, and effort behind those numbers. David Pena and his team have just become part of our family at TheVentureCity. The Madrid-born startup, and a favorite among influencers due to its unique offering, wants to make a big jump in the next six months. Pena defines Peoople as “an app to discover anything you need, thanks to recommendations from those who you trust the most: your friends, family, and favorite influencers.”

At our campus in Calle Almagro in Madrid, Peoople is being guided by Andrés Dancausa, who highlights some of Peoople’s strongest features: “It’s one of the most robust companies I’ve seen in terms of their team, with team profiles that complement each other very well, a tremendously positive culture, and an understanding of the business based in data. They’re great at understanding the world of recommendations. It’s brilliant how much they know influencers; they know what is relevant for them and how to turn it into a high-impact platform.”

They could not be a better fit with TheVentureCity: “With them having a data-oriented mindset, we’re speaking the same language. In a scenario of growth like the one that the company currently has, the product retention will be what will help us put Peoople on track.”

Patricia de Loro, Chief Product Officer at TheVentureCity, cannot hide her enthusiasm. Peoople caught her attention very early for two main reasons: “First of all, the team’s leadership. Not only because of their attitude, energy, and eagerness, but also for the technical proficiency of each one of them in their areas. The responsibilities of the CEO, Head of Product, and Head of Growth, were perfectly divided and covered by a very solid team of experts, besides the youthfulness of the company and its team. On the other hand, I feel that their value proposal is very interesting and it’s something that hasn’t been fully solved in the industry, yet. If there’s a company that can do it, it’s Peoople.”

Peoople is also special for their combination of profiles. Of their eight team members, four are women and four are men. It is also a very young team, in which only the CEO is over 30. Since their start a little over a year ago, they have managed to raise 750,000 euros.

Our Product Queen is confident that TheVentureCity will be able to strengthen its Product and Growth methodology — and other areas such as international expansion, user onboarding, and engagement.

David, who is originally from Galicia, dares to think big when dealing with goals for 2019: “We have three fundamental objectives: to finish our growth plan in Spain, to launch in Mexico as our preview before launching in the rest of LATAM and in the US, and to continue working on Peoople so it becomes the best product ever seen.”

Until now, Peoople’s relationship with influencers has been one of its greatest factors of growth. They differentiate due to knowing first-hand the influencers’ real impact and relevance. “Influencers perfectly understand what Peoople offers since they are constant content creators that, due to the current structure of social media, are doomed to disappear. Peoople gives them a chance to continue offering their content to their fans, opens new pathways for monetization that are more scalable and less dangerous or more aligned with the trust they inspire on their fans,” says the CEO.

Peoople’s achievements never cease to amaze. Besides being recognized as “best social app” at The Awards, this year Peoople has been the most downloaded app in Apple’s App Store eleven times. During a brilliant GIF campaign that they created themselves, they gathered more than 500 million plays, all of this with a production budget of less than €100. Its first round of revenue is coming through partnerships with more than 22 companies, including Amazon, Expedia, and ElTenedor.

Their arrival couldn’t have gone any smoother: “We’ve been working with TheVentureCity for just three weeks, but the feeling couldn’t be better. I believe during this time we’ve managed to convey our needs, gather much needed feedback on all areas from TVC experts, and we’re making big steps in terms of Product. It’s difficult to believe we could make our plans a reality without the amazing team Laura has created.”

Translation by Sabrina Paz Riesgo.