SpeedQuizzing, the York-based tech company that’s revolutionising the pub quiz through its industry leading app, recorded its strongest ever trading month in November, as it remains on track to become a £1m business within the next couple of years.
The company, which is behind an interactive online quiz platform and app that allows pubs to do away with the old pen and paper model by enabling players to answer questions through their smartphone or tablet, saw monthly sales of its digital quiz packs exceed 4,500 in November for the first time in its history, with sales over the last three months exceeding 12,500 in total.
It marks the pinnacle of a year that has seen demand for the company’s digital quiz packs grow by 30% year-on-year, with SpeedQuizzing’s interactive quiz platform and app now used to host game show style quizzes in over 800 pubs across the UK every week. These range from small village pubs with a handful of teams, to large bars with up to 400 players.
The two brothers who founded the business – Alan Leach, best-known as the drummer in British indie band Shed Seven, and younger sibling John – hope to build on this momentum in 2020, with plans in place to add new and exciting features to the app aimed at making SpeedQuizzing even more fun to play and host. The duo is also looking to take SpeedQuizzing into new markets outside of the pub sector and grow its international presence, building on the 225 SpeedQuizzing events currently hosted in over 25 countries every week, including the USA, New Zealand and India.
Commenting on a successful 2019, John said: “2019 has been a milestone year for SpeedQuizzing, with pubs all over the UK using our industry leading software to drive footfall, sales and fun in their establishments.
“With its fast-paced, multiple game variations and automatic scoring, SpeedQuizzing is packing out pubs up and down the country, offering all the excitement of a quiz and game show rolled into one.
“There’s a lot more to come too and, over the next 12 months, we’ll be unveiling a host of exciting new game variations and features, designed to make it even more exciting to play and host, as we look to make the pub quiz fun and accessible to everyone. We’re also looking at how we can better cater for international audiences and exploring the possibility of developing content in a host of foreign languages.”
One pub that has seen sales rise since introducing a weekly SpeedQuizzing event is The Deramore Arms in York. Landlord Mark Pinckney said: “From taking the faff out of preparing for and hosting quizzes, through to driving some of our biggest crowds of the week, SpeedQuizzing has transformed our pub quiz night.
“Since we started hosting SpeedQuizzing nights in 2018, we’ve seen a huge swell in the number of people coming down to take part and we’re now at the point where we’re averaging about 16 teams and close to 100 people every time.
“The footfall SpeedQuizzing is driving is incredible and it makes a massive difference to our business, driving sales and generating a brilliant atmosphere that no other form of pub entertainment can touch.”
SpeedQuizzing is a family run company, headquartered on the outskirts of York, which directly employs 14 people, including five question writers who create and add 1,500 new questions to SpeedQuizzing’s question database every month. In addition, SpeedQuizzing is indirectly supporting hundreds of DJs and entertainment professionals across the UK, who are hosting SpeedQuizzing events as a way of boosting their income, with many now doing it full-time.
Kevin Jay, a SpeedQuizzing host based in the Wirral, said: “I’ve been hosting SpeedQuizzing events for almost four years and I’m close to 1,000 quizzes. I host five nights a week, so this is my main source of income now.”
Pub owners, DJs and entertainment professionals interested in learning more about how SpeedQuizzing can boost their business can visit speedquizzing.com for more information.
