The conversation around wellbeing has been at the forefront since the pandemic, especially within the workplace. Loopin, the Employee Engagement Tool, wants to translate this conversation into actionable outputs. Their ambition is to improve employee wellbeing and nurture authentic leadership. Founded in 2020, the team has rapidly grown to 13 employees.

Loopin is the Employee Engagement Tool set to improve employee wellbeing and nurture authentic leadership. Founded in 2020, the team has rapidly grown to 13 employees.

Here to answer our 10 questions is CEO and co-founder, Antony Thompson.

1 – In your own words – what do you do?

Loopin is an employee engagement tool connecting leaders with their teams and empowering people to reach their full potential. Loopin has a range of features that brings together employee wellbeing, communication, leadership, and engagement.

We’re on a mission to create an environment where it is ok to show vulnerability and emotion. We want to encourage workplaces to show a more human approach that allows people to show up, do their job, and be the best they can be.

2 – What’s the most exciting thing about what you’re doing?

There are two things that we’re really excited about right now so I’ll mention both of those!

Firstly, Loopin is at an incredible stage where our users have really started to reap the rewards of the tool. One business recently told us that prior to using Loopin, they had a real issue with employee turnover. Since using Loopin, they haven’t lost a single member of staff. They told us that it’s really helped to create an open and honest working environment and the team feels a lot more connected to one another. Feedback like this is really helping to shape the future of our product.

We’ve got some incredible new features launching soon off the back of valuable feedback from the awesome businesses we work with.

Another thing we’re excited about is heading out to North America early next year. We have meetings
lined up with some of the world’s biggest brands.

" We want to encourage workplaces to show a more human approach that allows people to show up, do their job, and be the best they can be. "

3 – What are you most proud of so far?

The thing that I’m most proud of is starting a business during the pandemic and still being here 16 months later. Whilst the pandemic sadly shut down so many other businesses, Loopin was just beginning.

We adapted and overcame some huge challenges and have brought together a team of seriously high performers. They are a team of thinkers and makers who truly believe in the Loopin mission. It’s incredible to see. Coming into the office every day makes me insanely proud.

4 – What have you found most difficult about being a startup?

There are a few things that have been particularly difficult. Firstly, trying to get investors on board when you do not yet have a working product or a customer base is a really unique challenge.

Knowing which decision to make next is a daily challenge too. Whether that’s who to hire out of a pool of amazing candidates or which platform to launch Loopin on first. You’ve got to make seriously big decisions and just go with it. It’s a case of risk management. However, the riskiest thing to do is not to make a decision at all.

5 – What would you do differently if you started now?

That’s really difficult to answer as everything is so conditional on the time in which it happens.

At the start, we began designing Loopin for Whatsapp and then switched to Microsoft Teams, which then changed to Slack.

We may have lost time and resources due to the changing nature of the direction of our product but it’s hard to incorporate hindsight into what has passed. If we hadn’t have followed this path, we may not be where we are today. Those lessons and decisions have shaped who we are.

6 – Where do you think you’ll be in 12 months?

Loopin will be used by a number of household brands who believe in their people as much as we do. We’ll be working with people-first organisations across the UK and North America.

I can’t say too much right now about who these organisations are, but the team finds it astonishing that our ‘small’ Bristol brand could be reaching these sorts of heights at such an early stage.

7 – What tools/people/services/organisations from the cluster have helped you most?

This region has an incredible startup community that we’re so excited to get involved with in the future. This year we’re planning to network within the cluster to absorb as much advice, expertise, and knowledge as we can. Our tool is still being shaped around what’s important right now so the more feedback from experts within the cluster the more people our tool will truly help. We see a huge value in having access to network with such a talented pool of people within the cluster.

8 – What’s the best thing about the Bristol & Bath tech cluster?

The talent pool and energy within Bristol and Bath is amazing, maybe that’s due to the incredible universities at the heart of both cities. Bristol particularly is a hub for up-and-coming tech and a haven for tech entrepreneurs.

We feel like we’re in exactly the right place, at the right time, with the right people, doing the right thing.

9 – Who will you be nominating for a SPARKie next year?

An organisation that brings to the forefront a unique problem that is faced daily and is attempting to solve that via a technical solution. A company that shares similar values to ours and genuinely cares about its impact on the wider community.

10 – Where can we find out more about you?

We just re-launched our website which we’re super proud of! It explains the range of Loopin features in detail and you can chat live with the team there too. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Twitter, or pop into the office to see us in person. We’re based near Bristol Temple Meads.

(If you stop by on a Wednesday around 2pm, you’ll be just in time for cake day, delivered by an awesome local bakery!)

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