Movin’ on up: Startle sees growth in 2020 despite a tough year

Like many suppliers, we’ve had to make big changes to our strategy, often taking a much more short-term view. With many of our customers closed for several months in 2020, we diverted much of our annual revenue into supporting those customers and securing the jobs of our hardworking team.

Despite such a tough year, we’re extremely proud to say that Startle was still able to grow, supporting more retail and hospitality businesses in delivering exceptional customer experiences through music and technology at scale.

After just four years of operation we had our second profitable year, growing our EBITDA in 2020 by 44% (to £720,000).

What else is new?

December 2020 also saw the beta launch of Studio, our brand new platform for managing and synchronising music, digital signage, lighting and other integrations. Studio gives retail and hospitality the power to replicate a perfectly curated atmosphere across an entire estate, whether that’s 3 locations or 3,000.

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While safety has, of course, been the top priority for businesses, our “Mind The Gap” research has illustrated how increasingly important atmosphere is to the overall customer experience, in ensuring that customers want to return in the current climate.

A word from Startle CEO, Adam Castleton:

“Startle’s growth over the last 12 months comes from operators that are in-tune with this, and are investing in music and technology to provide a welcome escape from the four walls of customers’ homes. We look forward to supporting the industry further throughout the continued highs and lows of 2021 in any way we can.”

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We’d love to chat to you more about how using music and tech could help to provide an atmosphere that makes customers feel welcomed and at ease post-lockdown. Don’t hesitate to contact us, or download our recent Mind The Gap report for insight into customer behaviour and the perceived gaps in experience and atmosphere in the times of coronavirus.