The Beaten Path

004: Joah Spearman (Founder & CEO, Localeur) Interview

Joah Spearman is the Founder & CEO at Localeur. His startup solves the problem of information overload when it comes to local experiences. In this episode, Joah shares how he's been able to scale his business to 100 cities and how his experience running a local business inspired the idea for Localeur. He talks about how he validated the need for Localeur, metrics he tracks and current challenges. The biggest pieces of advice he shares are the importance of partnerships (and how to think about them) and community to the success of Localeur. Lastly, he shares the coolest places to hang out and eat in his hometown of Austin, TX.

003: Jannik Lawaetz (Founder & CEO, LuggageHero) Interview

Jannik Lawaetz is the Founder & CEO at LuggageHero. His startup solves such an acute problem that it is on the recommended lists of the official city websites of New York, London and Copenhagen. In this episode, Jannik shares his early entrepreneurial successes (starting at age 13!) and how he his travel experiences inspired the idea for LuggageHero. He talks about how he validated the need for LuggageHero and the challenges he faced in getting travelers and local shops to understand the value of the service. The biggest piece of advice he shares is the importance of press, PR, and partnerships to the success of LuggageHero and how he approached these pieces. He also talks about how he made decisions to expand to new cities and the vetting process for shops in each city. Lastly, he shares his most memorable trips and the best way to experience his home city of Copenhagen.

002: Polina Raygorodskaya (Co-founder & CEO, Wanderu) Interview

Polina is the co-founder & CEO at Wanderu. Her story is one of grit and resilience, starting with her parents arriving as refugees to the USA when she was just 4 years old. She talks about how she went from modest upbringings to co-founding a startup that Sir Richard Branson is a fan of. You'll learn the experience that inspired the idea for Wanderu and how as a travel outsider built the kind of company that many thought not possible. Especially pay attention to the part about the importance of the right advisor early on and how bringing the right one on board impacted Wanderu's trajectory. Lastly, Polina shares her favorite dive spots and places she's loved visiting so far.

001: Yannis Moati (Co-founder & CEO, Hotels By Day) Interview

Yannis Moati is the co-founder and CEO of Hotels By Day. They gained some acclaim by being featured on Shark Tank but the after effects aren't all exactly as you might expect. You'll understand how Yannis' background of being brought up in different countries and being multi-lingual impacted his approach to starting up. You'll also learn where the inspiration for Hotels By Day came about, how he validated the idea and the path to growth. He talks at length about the obstacles he encountered from the hotel industry initially as well. Yannis also shares some of his favorite travel memories.

000: The Beaten Path: Intro

If you're into travel, travel startups or how they've grown, this is the podcast for you. You'll learn the secrets of success in a brutal vertical from co-founders & CEOs of travel startups. You'll also learn how their life experiences have informed their approach as entrepreneurs. And yes, you'll get some pretty cool travel tips as well. This episode provides a sneak peek of what you can expect in the first episode (and beyond).