GLP

Great Little Place (GLP), which operated under the domain glpapp.com, was a London-based digital platform founded in February 2010 by Rossa Shanks and Rich Brown. The company aimed to be a curated city guide, helping users discover unique, lesser-known local businesses such as bars and restaurants. The venture began as a Facebook page and evolved into a website and mobile application.

The founding duo brought complementary expertise to the venture. Rossa Shanks, who served as CEO, had a robust background in marketing, with a career that included roles at major advertising agencies and companies like News UK and Dow Jones. His entrepreneurial drive was a key factor in GLP's creation. Rich Brown, the co-founder and UX/Product Lead, had a strong background in user experience and product design, having worked with companies like Etsy and instructing at General Assembly. Their combined skills shaped GLP's user-centric approach.

GLP's primary offering was a mobile application that presented users with a deck of virtual cards, each representing a local establishment. The app employed a simple, swipe-based interface, similar to Tinder's, allowing users to swipe right to save a place to their 'Black Book' or swipe left to dismiss it. This user-generated content model was designed to create a dynamic and organically growing guide to a city's hidden gems. The platform's appeal lay in its ability to provide personalized recommendations, moving away from traditional, often tourist-focused guidebooks. The business operated in the local, social, and online travel markets. Later in its journey, GLP attempted to generate revenue by selling artist-illustrated maps of cities through a Shopify store.

The company's business model was its ultimate challenge. It operated primarily as a free service for users, which, according to co-founder Rossa Shanks, proved to be an unviable long-term business venture. Despite attracting over a million users and securing $556K in funding, the company could not find a sustainable path to profitability. In late 2016, Great Little Place announced its closure, citing the difficulties of monetizing a free platform.

Keywords: Great Little Place, GLP, glpapp.com, Rossa Shanks, Rich Brown, city guide app, local discovery, restaurant discovery, bar discovery, travel app, mobile application, user-generated content, startup, out of business, free business model, London startup, hidden gems, social travel, online travel, local recommendations, Shopify, illustrated maps, venture capital, seed funding, business closure, unviable business model, curated content