Extract Conf is a day of awesome data stories worth sharing. We’re gathering 500 of best minds in the dataverse on 29 May, at The Brewery in London where thought leaders will share inspirational stories and teach you how to use the coolest data tooling on the market. In the run-up to the event, we’re introducing you to a few of the magnificent people who will be blowing your mind on the main stage. Check out the conference.
Our third speaker profile in the lead up to the event is . . . drumroll . . . John Sandall, Lead Data Scientist at YPlan!
Fun Fact About John
John has been on-stage with his band in front of an audience of thousands . . . but nothing gets him buzzing like the exhilarating terror of presenting to a room full of his statistical peers.
When John Met YPlan
If you’re in the London tech scene and haven’t heard of YPlan, you need to come out from under your rock! We couldn’t have been more excited when YPlan agreed to send John to Extract. With a carefully curated list of events, perfectly tailored for impulsive city-dwellers in London, New York and San Francisco; YPlan inspires people to enjoy their city like never before. The free app (available on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire) allows users to browse upcoming gigs, food tastings, theatre shows and gallery exhibitions, meaning they can book tickets to some of their city’s best attractions in two taps.
Remember the dark days before YPlan? If you wanted to book tickets for something you had to search multiple listings sites, find a vendor to buy tickets from and then print them off. It was a time consuming process. YPlan takes all the hassle out of planning a day out.
This unique offering is what enticed John to work join them. His previous experience includes business analytics at Apple, computational genomics research at Imperial College, co-founder of ed-tech startup Knodium, developing strategy & tech infrastructure for international non-profit STIR Education, and losing sleep on many a hackathon along the way.
His work at YPlan involves designing personalisation algorithms from vast quantities of behavioural data, concurrently running a ridiculous number of A/B tests and ending internal disputes with a few well-aimed insights . . . and you’re going to hear ALL about it at Extract.
YPlan Facts ‘n’ Figures:
- 2012 Yplan launches in London
- $12 million Series A: (more than Twitter, Soundcloud and Dropbox achieved combined at that stage)
- 2013 YPlan’s expands to the Big Apple, NYC
- $24 million Series B (more than either Skype, YouTube or LinkedIn at that stage)
- 2014 YPlan launches in the Tech Hub of the world – San Francisco!
- $37.7 million in funding to date
- 1,500,000+ downloads globally (around 35% of all iPhones in London)
- 1,000+ event partners in London including the Barbican, the South Bank Centre, the Royal Albert Hall, the Roundhouse and the Comedy Store
- 3 Celebrity investors and advisors Ashton Kutcher (investor), Pharrell Williams (advisor) and Stephen Fry.
BIG NEWS FROM YPLAN!
YPlan recently launched a new ‘use-case’ version of the app. It’s a complete design overhaul, very different from the original product they launched back in September 2012. New functions include: maps, search, date filters, price filters and event groups (‘Today’, ‘This Weekend’, ‘Iconic London’, ‘Hidden London’, ‘Date Night’ and ‘Inspire Me’) which they can update to reflect key calendar moments and even changes in the weather. All of these new features were informed by their user data. They’re giving people the tools to make the most of their night out based on their existing browsing and booking habits.
It’s no surprise then that YPlan has recently been named the UK’s fastest growing tech startup:
“We’re thrilled to have won this award, the competition was tough so it’s a real achievement for us to have been selected. We’re very much looking forward to appearing on stage at The Next Web’s 10th anniversary conference.”
– CEO of YPlan, Rytis Vitkauskas
Hunting Unicorns With Superpowers
Come along on 29th May to hear John talk about how he uses data to help him hire the best data scientists in the very competitive London market.
Don’t forget to grab a ticket to Extract Now because it’s en route to selling out for mid May!
Any questions? Email extract@import.io