With Kolu, the app’s co-founders are harnessing the power of three to put their spin on the local attractions space.
For one, “Kolu” is the Hawaiian word for three (though the name was originally “Global Hiker”), and the number forms the core idea behind how travelers discover tours and experiences.
To get matched with an appropriate activity guide, users create a profile and select three out of 12 common themes - or “interests” - such as “Hidden Gems,” “History & Learning” and “Drinks & Nightlife.”
From there, Kolu’s algorithm takes into account those three interests as well as other details such as age, language and ratings and reviews to present travelers a list of guides ranked by best profile match (think a less-risky dating app or a more personal Seamless).
“[The idea for] the service was a result of growing frustration with standardized tours that only ever seemed to showcase tourist traps,” says Riley de Leòn, one of Kolu’s (slightly off-brand) four co-founders based in Columbia, MO.
“[Fellow co-founder Alex Winkler] often quips he once had a tour guide who read directly from a printed Wikipedia page.”
Leòn says Kolu, which launched in January, helps travelers avoid simply finding big-box tours or activities considered “locally mainstream” that are starting to clog the experiences ecosystem.
“Kolu takes a more focused approach that we haven’t seen in this space before,” Leòn says. “We prioritize the person going to a city, before their experience in that city - we aim to find that city’s version of ‘you.’”
Once travelers review and select their best guide match, they can accept the tour, chat in-app and iron out pertinent details - with the idea being a fully formed “connection” with a “likeminded local.”
Guides for the service - which is currently only available in New York’s five boroughs - must apply and meet certain requirements such as a three-year residency and ownership of a smartphone (lower barriers to entry than, say, an Uber driver or Airbnb host who need access to cars or homes) before getting vetted by Kolu’s COO, Marin Meiners, and completing a background check via Checkr.
Leòn says the competitive price point is an advantage to guides, who can set their own availability and rate – no lower than $8 an hour or more than $50 an hour based on things like experience, ratings and compatibility with a traveler.
When compared to other peer-2-peer activity providers such as Airbnb’s Experiences, Leòn says the home-share site’s version is “niche to the area and host’s skill set or talents, but leaves little room for custom flexibility and cultural immersion in the way that we’re offering custom city introductions by placing our first priority on the person.”
There are currently 25 guides operating in the New York city area, and Leòn says Kolu is looking to scale to Washington, DC, by the end of this year. The company is eyeing the West Coast, too, and Leòn says interest spans even further, with more than 300 people from 18 countries responding to Indeed and Craigslist ads during the app’s beta launch.
Back to the number three: Kolu’s plan to scale involves three distinct funnels to target users where they’re at. Though Leòn is keeping full details under wraps, the strategy may look beyond the traveler experience to other regional or corporate services.