Startup Focus: Yellow Submarine
Date: 22 Nov 2023
Author: FINTECH Circle
Yellow Submarine offers a unique, remote, software only (no mobile app data or hardware used) global footfall tracking solution. They seamlessly track footfall from street into stores, including tracking dwell time at high frequency.
How would you describe your business in one sentence?
100% Compliant, unique remote footfall tracking solution, software only (no apps or cameras) providing accurate live data feeds every 15 minutes.
Tell us why your company is a game changer for our industry?
Footfall data has become a significant alternative data source, projected to rise from $1B to over $2.5B by 2030.
It has evolved through sensors and cameras to apps but with compliance ever tightening a solution was required to meet this growth and that is where Yellow Submarine comes it with its unique 100% compliant software only solution.
Our ‘cutting edge’ AI algorithms are created and developed by our Chief Data Scientist to also show historic and future data.
Founded 2018 & refocused summer 2023 to provide insights on consumer activity enabling investment banks, hedge funds, family offices and other investors and decision makers to find alpha across multiple asset classes.
In addition:
Yellow Submarine has been building a ‘data lake’, indexing real-time high street and retail store footfall data since July 2022, with over 500,000 API calls a month covering 900 UK high streets and 60+ publicly quoted stock market brands such as ALDI, Dr Martens, McDonalds, Monsoon, Morrisons, Tesco & Primark
This data lake provides excellent insights to then ‘dive deeper’ into specific locations footfall, including competitors and get even more detailed data. The calibration is also excellent highlighted by a project with Dr Martens, which showed our data at 99.7% of the camera data.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?
Aligning our product with the Fintech world & then identifying a perfect location for our London office & also getting our 1st member of staff in Japan.
What is your typical day like?
Juggling the priorities and not panicking as there are so many things that all need doing at once.
Even with a clear priority path with all of the enquires coming in we have to be very flexible.
We keep evolving and being recognised by those in the industry that see the benefits of our footfall tracking solution
What has been the greatest challenge leading the company so far?
Refocussing & rebranding the company this summer, that was first launched in 2018 & has been trading with banks, retail brands and councils
It is now focussed towards investment banks, hedge funds, family offices and other investors & decision makers to find alpha across multiple asset classes, as they have the most to benefit from it.
WHAT is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from your fundraising journey?
Spend more time than you think studying your market and your competitors and then identifying your USP and then putting this into a comprehensive marketing plan.
Get this right as we have, and the funding is available.
Your advice to anyone starting out as an entrepreneur?
Seek advice from experts and build up a team with diverse knowledge and then listen, share and adapt.
I remember you asking me if there were any issues, frustrations etc and my answer should have been I wish we were 6 months ahead of ourselves!.
It took longer than anticipated to get our ducks in a row as it were and with trials etc will be another few months to get the big deals in but all very positive
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Stewart Huckett, Sales & Marketing Director of Yellow Submarine
You can connect with Stewart Huckett on LinkedIn
