How I Got Here, episode 50 - Paul Melhus of ToursByLocals

Paul Melhus, Co-founder and CEO

How I Got Here is a weekly podcast from PhocusWire and Mozio, getting the inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel and transportation.

A classic startup launch but an unconventional route through bootstrapping for the next ten years. Mozio's David Litwak and Kevin May of PhocusWire get the story of ToursByLocals from its co-founder and CEO.

In one respect, ToursByLocals is a classic startup story.

It was the brainchild of CEO Paul Melhus and chief technology officer Dave Vincent, with them having observed how the tour guide scene was handled during a trip to China in the mid-2000s.

They launched the business - a platform to find and reserve tour guides in numerous countries around the world - in 2008.

But there the typical linear nature of a startup tale ends.

ToursByLocals, based in Vancouver, Canada, expanded quickly for the next ten years but never took a dollar in funding.

This period of bootstrapping ended in January 2020, when it signed a Series A investment deal for $33 million.

Melhus joins us at the latest guest on How I Got Here.

HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.

It's hosted by our editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.

Here is the video version via PhocusWire's YouTube channel: