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As a part of the Morning Lazziness collection highlighting empowering girls who’re making a exceptional affect with their concepts, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vicki Fletcher.
Vicki Fletcher is the founding father of Little City UK, an award-winning cell play enterprise, which supplies imaginative play alternatives for kids underneath the age of six.
Vicki based the corporate from her kitchen in 2017 with a single role-play metropolis arrange. The ethos of the corporate was to create imaginative experiences the place youngsters can discover the world round them via immersive, child-led role-play experiences. By 2020, Little Metropolis UK had scaled to a number of areas, with a franchise mannequin enabling the idea to be taken nationwide.
There are presently 36 franchises throughout the UK, empowering regional operators to copy the immersive play idea throughout the nation.
In 2025, Vicki launched The Huge Play UK, a singular idea which brings collectively a variety of child-friendly actions to create an indoor competition, aggregating native youngsters’s entertainers, interactive workshops (child signing, first support, phonics), and themed play zones.
The inaugural Ipswich occasion bought out each morning and afternoon classes. Greater than 600 guests attended the occasion. The second Huge Play UK occasion will happen in Bedford in October 2025.
Below Vicki’s management, Little Metropolis has partnered with a collection of high-profile manufacturers, bringing the idea of imaginative child-led position play to company occasions, household enjoyable days and strategic partnerships. Little Metropolis UK has partnered with many high-profile manufacturers (together with Stokke, Estee Lauder, Sky, Cry Infants, P&O Cruises, Casdon, Usborne Books & Mrs Hinch) to determine child-friendly role-play classes particularly for company household occasions.
On this interview, she gives a candid take a look at the realities of entrepreneurship, sharing each the challenges and the victories that outlined her path.
What’s the origin story behind your enterprise, and the way does it mirror who you might be past the entrepreneur title?
The origins of Little Metropolis took place in 2017 after I’d returned to work, and it felt like my childminder was spending extra time with my youngsters than I used to be.
The kids had been stepping into ‘position play’, which is the place the thought first sparked from. The cell factor of Little Metropolis was born out of necessity, because the overhead prices of a everlasting website had been astronomical. Nonetheless, that flexibility has now develop into our largest power, as Little Metropolis may be arrange wherever.
My preliminary plan had been to do it earlier than the women began college, so I had extra flexibility as they had been youthful, but it surely’s now eight years on and we’re larger than ever.
What motivates me is that my franchise staff are all folks of comparable backgrounds. We’re all working mother and father searching for one thing versatile, the place we will take our youngsters with us to work if required. This shared expertise is what retains us motivated and dealing collectively.
Your work blends objective with enterprise — what’s the “why” that also will get you away from bed on robust days?
The preliminary why was centered on with the ability to spend extra time with my women after I select to and having that flexibility to be with them through the college holidays.
This has developed considerably now that Little Metropolis UK has develop into a nationwide franchise. My driving pressure now could be ensuring that I’m doing the whole lot potential to completely help my franchise staff. I solely earn money in the event that they earn money, so it’s my job and accountability to make sure that they’ve the instruments, assets and confidence to do what they should do round their households.
I’ve at all times prioritised giving every franchise proprietor sufficient autonomy and creativity so that they really feel like they totally OWN their very own enterprise however profit from the help of the staff they’ve constructed round it, in addition to my experience.
Many manufacturers provide related companies, however few seize hearts — what’s your secret to constructing deep emotional resonance together with your viewers?
The whole lot is about being trustworthy and remaining true to what we’re good at and what we all know.
We perceive that customer support is our utmost precedence. We have to guarantee that we’re at all times going above and past what our clients are asking for, whether or not it’s hiring Little Metropolis for get together rent, organising toddler teams or another bookings that we would have.
Each query comes again to at least one key precedence – what can we do to make that occasion further particular?
That honesty about who we’re is why our clients belief us. We’re working mother and father too, and we’re not right here to show our clients or their youngsters. As a substitute, we offer protected and respected imaginative free play areas which permit youngsters to discover in their very own means. Each baby is welcome to affix Little Metropolis no matter their skill, tradition or background, and that’s actually essential to myself and the whole staff.
What’s been your best advertising technique, and might you stroll us via the inventive pondering or risk-taking behind it?
We by no means lose sight of the truth that we’re our personal clients. That’s why we’re at all times questioning, “Would we like this?” or “Does that resonate with me as a dad or mum?”
For us, our best advertising tactic has been to prioritise the little private touches that may appear insignificant to some folks however are extremely essential to every customer. We guarantee that we bear in mind the names of kids who come again to us time and time once more. We contemplate the wants of grandparents and childminders who convey youngsters alongside to Little Metropolis occasions. If we all know that they’ve had an amazing expertise, we will depend on them to advertise us through phrase of mouth and suggestions.
After all, there are different advertising actions we get entangled in.
We love a foolish video or two, and we use our social media platforms to elucidate who we’re and what we do. The folks on the opposite aspect of the display screen don’t simply wish to know concerning the play alternatives obtainable for his or her youngsters. They wish to get to know us, they wish to like us, and most significantly, they wish to belief us.
How do you take heed to your group — not simply in surveys or analytics — however in ways in which assist you to anticipate their unstated wants?
It’s all concerning the ongoing communication that we’ve with our guests. As we stated, we’re our personal buyer base, and we love to speak on to the mother and father and caregivers who attend our classes.
In each dialog, we’re discovering out about their households, their likes and dislikes, their preferences and their youngsters’s wants. We discuss to them about what stage their youngsters are at developmentally, and we recognise that oldsters like to have a chat whereas having a espresso.
We’re proud that Little Metropolis UK has develop into a protected house the place folks really feel welcome and wished.
It’s over these ongoing conversations that we will proceed to get new insights and concepts, and we like to make new connections and work with different small companies.
Which marketing campaign, collaboration, or strategic shift felt like a real turning level in your model’s public picture?
Probably the most important second within the final 18 months to 2 years was our involvement at school visits. We’ve at all times recognized that imaginative play is a vital a part of any college readiness preparation, however beforehand, we had little or no interplay with colleges themselves.
Nonetheless, this all modified, and we’re now thrilled that college visits are not less than 50% of our enterprise mannequin. This all began with one native main college that invited us to go to, coincidentally, it timed with a go to from knowledgeable videographer that they’d employed to make a welcome video.
Lots of our staff members have training and childcare backgrounds, and we use this inner data to talk straight with native academics and senior management groups about their wants. We’ve been in a position to display how we will use our cell cities simply and cost-effectively, making them an amazing choice for early years class visits.
In your personal phrases, how do you measure success past revenue, by way of legacy, affect, or cultural affect?
Success for us is concerning the blissful evaluations that we get from guests. It’s not simply the evaluations we obtain mother and father who inform us that they’ve been anxious to depart the home or attend a toddler group. It’s additionally the messages we obtain from SEND colleges about youngsters who wouldn’t normally ‘take part’ however are fortunately taking part in with their friends.
We love with the ability to go to socially and economically disadvantaged colleges that’ve tapped into their restricted budgets to ask us in. Seeing firsthand how youngsters are determined to have the possibility to play and study is one thing that at all times excites us.
We’ve labored in refugee accommodations and seen how youngsters’s faces gentle up after they get to play with their favorite princess at certainly one of our particular occasions. That is the place I do know that we’re profitable, as a result of we’re serving to youngsters construct reminiscences and have a optimistic affect on each the kid and the household.
The opposite aspect of success is seeing the expansion of the franchise enterprise. It’s seeing the arrogance develop in every franchise proprietor, and seeing them (who, like me, had by no means run a enterprise earlier than) develop into extremely inventive and keen about what they do.
What’s a day by day or weekly ritual that retains you grounded and in contact together with your model’s mission, even when enterprise will get chaotic?
What retains us grounded is figuring out that we’ve at all times obtained to show up, even when bookings are quiet and we’re solely anticipating a number of guests. There’ll naturally be days after we’re at full capability, and there shall be different days after we’re not making any revenue, however we by no means lose sight of the truth that whoever is there deserves to get the perfect expertise potential.
How do you method innovation in a means that makes your model each trend-aware and timeless?
That is the place collaboration and communication are important between the entire staff. My youngsters are rising older, and traits are altering in comparison with after they had been preschoolers. That’s why I at all times discuss to everybody on the staff. I prefer to take heed to what they are saying and ask their opinions on issues earlier than we launch something new.
My franchises are throughout the UK, so I’ve to belief that they know what their clients need. Some issues would possibly work brilliantly in a single area, however may not be fairly as profitable elsewhere, which is why I depend on them to inform me their ideas and opinions. In any case, they’re those who’re straight customer-facing and speaking to folks and caregivers day in and time out.
I prefer to encourage everybody to provide me their very own ideas on what they suppose will work. There’s nothing higher than one of many franchise house owners coming to me with an concept. We’ll at all times chat it via, and if we expect it’ll work, we’ll go for it. That collaboration is important to maintaining updated with what youngsters need and wish.
Should you may move down just one piece of knowledge to the subsequent era of entrepreneurs, what wouldn’t it be and why?
Constructing a enterprise takes time and arduous work, however as tiring as it’s, there’s at all times time to be trustworthy, respectful and type to others. It goes with out saying that you must by no means move off somebody’s concept as your personal.
However most significantly, it’s about frequently listening and studying.
Even should you haven’t but taken the plunge to start out your personal enterprise, otherwise you would possibly nonetheless be working in a job you don’t like, it’s essential to observe what’s occurring round you. Working in several environments teaches you a lot about operating a enterprise. It’s being attentive to what you suppose makes a great supervisor, or what software program instruments you want/don’t like, or what processes are simple to comply with – all of that data will develop into helpful later down the road when you’ve began your enterprise.
Successful recognition in your business is not any small feat — what behind-the-scenes determination or transfer do you imagine made that potential?
Imposter syndrome is the most important hindrance to award recognition. It’s simple to place it off, pondering that awards are for another person, but it surely’s essential to modify that thought course of round. It’s having the arrogance to simply go for it. The worst-case situation is that you just don’t get nominated, otherwise you don’t win – however the best-case situation is that you just do succeed. That feeling of recognition is very nice, and it’s one thing that may hold you motivated even throughout arduous occasions.
How have public recognition, awards, or media options shifted alternatives on your model in sudden methods?
We’ve had much more visibility within the business, however these awards and media options have helped us to choose up completely different bookings and opened up new avenues of earnings. For instance, we’re now closely concerned in company away days for a few of the UK’s most recognisable manufacturers. I feel our awards recognition has performed a giant half in elevating consciousness and visibility of what we will do for these potential shoppers.
The place’s the perfect place for our viewers to comply with your journey and discover your work?
We’d love to listen to from folks. We commonly use Instagram and Facebook, and we’re additionally experimenting with TikTok. It’s a good way to attach and talk with clients.
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