TLabs Showcase focus on startups featuring UK-based Travelstormer.
Who and what are you (including personnel and backgrounds)?
Travelstormer is a pioneering new web service that helps people to unravel group travel. The business was formed by a couple of keen travellers - George Coltart and Colin Armstrong - who reckon travel planning for groups is far from solved.
the company also has a partnership with digital consultancy Harmony Park.
What financial support did you have to launch the business?
Self-funded and loans from family
What problem are you trying to solve?
Travel pains/problems come from mixed opinions on where to go/what to do, group confusion about who's available or not, and indecision once some initial ideas are on the table (not to mention hundreds of emails with links and incomplete conversations split across email, Skype, Facebook etc).
Describe the business, core products and services?
Travelstormer helps people unravel group travel with online brainstorms to generate travel options and ideas, the ability to crowd-source travel tips and suggestions via Twitter and Facebook, and a group decision-making process to help you avoid the problem of too many travel options and not enough clarity on which ones to choose.
We have added expense tracking (powered by Expensure.com) to really take the hassle out of group travel planning/unravel group travel.
Who are your key customers and users at launch?
Tech savvy, avid travellers. The functionality is suited to groups 4+ but the application still delivers value for smaller groups/couples.
But really anyone who spends a disproportionate amount of their income on travelling and is acutely aware of the pitfalls of group travel. Key groups are UK/EU expats and students.
Did you have customers validate your idea before investors?
Yes – ourselves. As we are avid travellers who are acutely aware of the pitfalls of group travel
What is the business AND revenue model, strategy for profitability?
Free base account and soon to be released paid premium accounts.
SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?
Strengths:
- Application delivers against a need that is not yet being fully satisfied
- Founders have a complementary mix of skills
- Long list of future development opportunities/improvements… Version 1 is just the tip of the iceberg
Weaknesses:
- Limited funding, limited knowledge of monetising within online travel (Harmony Park partnership to aid in these areas)
Opportunities:
- Social networking and crowd sourcing travel tips.
Threats:
- The plethora of existing and future online travel apps/sites that will inevitably enter the space in which we operate
Who advised you your idea isn't going to be successful and why didn't you listen to them?No-one really suggested it wasn't going to work as a whole, however there are areas which have been adjusted due to constructive criticism from a few parties.
What is your success metric 12 months from now?
Busy growing Travelstormer, and moving from break-even to profit.
TLabs Showcase is part of the wider TLabs project from Tnooz.