Kris Naudts, CEO and founder
Culture Trip began life in London in 2011. The company, which describes itself as a tech startup aiming to inspire people to explore the world's culture, has grown from 12 employees two years ago to almost 250, and has raised more than $100 million in funding.
Kris Naudts has a background in academic psychiatry but left the field in 2011 to found Culture Trip, which began life as an online bookstore.
Are there elements from your background in psychiatry that you can apply to the travel industry?
I think I was always an entrepreneur who happened to be a psychiatrist rather than a psychiatrist who became an entrepreneur. Psychiatry is about helping people, about deepening understanding, and there was a part of me that was always interested in taking that one step further.
At first I didn’t think the experience was easily transferable, but I have since realised my background is a real strength. I have the scientific training that allows me to communicate and work well with the engineering and tech elements of the business. At the same time, I have the focus on empathy and the desire to learn and understand people which, alongside a strong passion and affinity for creativity, make up the necessary ingredients to found and run Culture Trip.
In today’s world, other countries and cultures are more accessible than ever before, and yet mindsets seem to be narrowing. Travel helps break down barriers, allowing people to immerse themselves in a culture different from their own and uncover new perspectives and new ways of thinking.
What is it about Culture Trip that you believe attracted its latest investment of $80 million?
Culture Trip is a startup focused on travel, media and entertainment. We create local stories told with a local perspective, revealing what is unique and special about a place, its people and its culture.
Culture Trip has created a model capable of cracking two great challenges relating to content online. The first is finding a way to generate quality, creative content consistently and at mass scale, and the second is driving and attributing direct commercial value as users consume that content. Furthermore, I think our determination and execution after the Series A has been second to none for a startup.
How easy was it to persuade the investors for this latest round of funding for the business?
I am very fortunate to have investors that I have a real connection and synergy with. PPF were also the investors behind our Series A $20m raise, and have been able to witness first hand how fast we executed against the money they invested back in 2016, and which has led to our hypergrowth since then.
Our inspirational content and vision resonate strongly with people and our ongoing growth formed the building blocks for their Series B investment.
What makes people want to come to and use Culture Trip?
Location-based inspirational storytelling is at the heart of what we do, offering something for everyone, whether they’re actively planning a trip, in a destination and looking for things to do or simply curious about the world and seeking out something that piques their interest.
We have a global community of more than 300 local contributors, who publish around 1,600 pieces of original content every month, consisting of written articles, photography, videography, illustration and animation, covering the best of local culture across genres such as art, architecture, fashion, film and television, literature, food and drink, music and travel. We want to bring the world to everyone and in doing so bring us all closer together.
Our stories are available on our site, our app and social channels, helping us to reach a global millennial audience who have an appetite for culture, travel and new experiences, online and out in the world.
Hundreds of trip inspiration startups have gone by the wayside, what are you doing differently that is helping Culture Trip succeed?
Some travel players focus on providing inspirational content, others are better placed to deliver practical information at the planning or booking stages. Culture Trip’s main USP is that we offer highly creative, localised content, connecting travel inspiration with the ‘how to’, at a global scale. This has been our real success story to date.
We're using creativity and storytelling to inspire people to get out and do things. And our content has clearly been resonating with millennial audiences - our unique visitor numbers going from five million to 18 million in just two years, and our app having been installed more than 1.3 million times. Similarly, we’re reaching and engaging with audiences on social media in a huge way - we have more than seven million followers on social.
We’re not taking this for granted - we’re harnessing our data to help us improve and continue to grow. As our tech develops, we’ll be able to offer even more ease and access to people who want to experience the world, via enhancements to our app functionality and our product offering.
Give us an update on the OTA side of the business. Have plans for it/its direction/or focus changed at all since you announced it?
We’re planning to launch in 2019. Our funding round means we have been able to hire great talent, including Andy Washington, former MD of Expedia, who is now leading and driving the delivery of our strategy. It’s important we take our time to get this right so that’s what we’re doing.
What’s your view of the opinion that travel content sites are dead (giants aside)?
I think Culture Trip’s hypergrowth - out of nowhere - to 18 million monthly visitors says the opposite. There is a very different school of thought out there - that with so much content available now on a myriad of websites, there is a real need for a more curated approach and a desire for one go to app or site.
Similarly, contrary to the prediction from several years ago that there was no longer a need for the traditional travel agent, we’re seeing a resurgence of people seeking out help and guidance to plan their travel. People expect a lot from their trips. In order to ensure they’ll have that memorable experience, or find that perfect gem of a local restaurant, they are turning to the players out there that can provide the inspiration and local recommendations they seek, and help them to make that perfect trip happen.
Our success and hypergrowth demonstrate that our approach seems to work.
What best piece of advice do you have for travel startups?
During the course of my journey as an entrepreneur I feel like I’ve almost done a second Phd in this arena. When I was developing the concept for Culture Trip, I had time. No money, but I had time. So I read everything. My advice to anyone else would be to read, learn and persevere.
If you want investment you have to realise that is it not a “civil right” to raise money. You have to deserve it, and add demonstrable value if you are trying to raise a next round and try to find the right investor.
Every round you do, you need a bigger and better investment than the previous round because it validates your earlier ones and it keeps upping your game. That, with hindsight, is the journey I took. You need to identify the right investor who believes in you and your vision. The better your investor is, the better your journey and success will be. It’s also really essential to understand your funding landscape - for us that was across the US, UK and Israel.
Everyone seems to talk about or say they are driving towards personalization; does Culture Trip plan to take advantage of the trend? If so, how?
Absolutely. This is obviously very important and a recent example would be our Wishlist feature which allows someone to save the articles, animation and videos they love, in essence creating their own personal collection of content they find inspiring, entertaining or educational.
Helping people discover and connect with the world around them is at the heart of everything we do - making this process as personal as possible will only make it more appealing to our users.
If you want investment you have to realise that is it not a “civil right” to raise money. You have to deserve it, and add demonstrable value if you are trying to raise a next round and try to find the right investor.
Kris Naudts
What is your biggest digital challenge right now?
There is so much we can do, and so far we can go from here, that we have to be slightly ruthless about ensuring our core vision drives what we choose to do next. Right now, I am focused on ensuring we have the right, broad leadership team in place to maximize our growth in a stable and sustainable way.
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the travel industry currently?
The industry's ability to meet the real needs of the consumer is its biggest issue. Many operating models are outdated, lacking investment and technology and therefore not meeting the real needs and wants of the consumer. Legacy players have a slow pace of change so this allows newer entrants the opportunity to deliver something new, fresh and technology-driven to meet the needs of the consumer - this is why we feel Culture Trip is very well placed to succeed.
Since founding Culture Trip, what have you learned about 1) the travel industry and 2) being a startup?
On the travel side it was absolutely vital we brought in industry experience in our hiring - Andy Washington is a good example. Travel is a really grown up industry with people who go into the trade and tend to stay there. They hold a wealth of knowledge that’s hard to come by from outside. As a scientist I can look at the data, but we need those deep pools of knowledge to help us grow fast.
From a startup point of view, one of the main things is being able to approach things with fresh eyes and a hunger to succeed. This gives you the space to really experiment and innovate. And I am particularly excited about the possibilities in Culture Trip of marrying the smartest engineers with the smartest creative and content people. That is an enormous opportunity.
What’s your favourite part of your job?
The idea for the company actually started with a bookshelf. I stood in front of a bookshelf in my West Indian friend’s apartment and realised I hardly recognised any of the books in my friend’s collection. As a book lover myself I wondered how this library of ideas and culture could have passed me by and how I could solve the problem. And so the concept for Culture Trip was born.
My pleasure is in making aspects of the world and culture accessible to everyone and seeing that actually translate into the real world with millions of people actually enjoying what we do.
I also take great satisfaction from hiring talented people, building teams and providing opportunities for people. I believe the company we have built together not only impacts people's lives but also brings together like-minded individuals united in a common goal and vision. I love working with so many different people in varied disciplines and being able to dig deep into and learn about so many disciplines within the business.
Networking with other CEOs and industry leaders has also given me the opportunity to learn and share knowledge across the creative and tech communities which has been invaluable.
What keeps you awake at night?
Excitement.
If you weren't running Culture Trip, what would you be doing?
I would be an entrepreneur of some sort in the creative industries, for sure. I think it’s in my blood. I love jazz and books so… maybe running a jazz club, or bookshop, or a combination of the two.