Travel start-ups get set to sell their innovative idea in less than a minute

Think your big online travel product or service is more investable than the rest? Ahead of TDS Asia, we put the first successful applicants through their paces

In two months time, new start-ups and established, yet innovative, companies alike will be going head-to-head at the Travel Distribution Summit, Asia. They will be showcasing their big ideas that could be the next big thing for travel, but can they do it in less than a minute?

According to Wolfgang Jaegal, founder and chief executive of Syndacast, a digtal marketing firm in Asia, getting your pitch right when you are time short and up against a number of others is essential. He advocates a nine-step approach which includes showing that you:

·         Can solve a problem that is causing somebody else pain and explain how it works - having a prototype is a big plus!

·         Have a scalable business model 

·         Are able to monetise your business

·         Know your customers, market and competitors

·         Have a market penetration plan

·         Can talk potential investors through your numbers

Ahead of the awards we put the top dogs at some of the successful early entrants in the EyeforTravel den.

#1:  No ‘dead end’ solution: Anil Kumar Prassana, chief executive, AxisRooms

Innovative because…

 “The dead end for the hotel industry is a monopolistic market scenario and limited access to reach out to buyers. With AxisRooms we widen the distribution net and allow hoteliers to reach out to the maximum clientele at minimum cost.”

In five years…

“We expect to empower around 15,000 hotels to use and manage 90% of their business through our platform.” 

Biggest start-up challenge is…

“The adaptability to use our platform and educating the hoteliers on distribution beyond the online travel space”

#2:  Banking on ‘pester power’: Janeece Keller, Founder & chief executive officer, Bound Round, a family travel planning business

Innovative/investable because…

Bound Round is a niche consumer product with a proven business-to-business business model - and we’re already making money. We have an experienced and committed team, a kids’ advisory board and a product that excites both users and customers by involving eight to 12 year olds in family travel planning and allowing tourism venues to harness ‘pester power’ to drive engagement with their organisation. Plus, we’ve got first mover advantage, there’s nobody else doing what we’re doing… yet.

In five years…

In four years time, Bound Round will be the world’s leading kids travel brand with over 6 million users and $14 million revenue and EBITDA of over $3 million. We’ll be innovating our product based on our detailed understanding of the way kids consume content and want to contribute to content development, while remaining the number one destination for kids looking for information on places around the world.

Biggest start-up challenge…

Balancing speed of growth and product development with cash-flow management. 

#3 A solution for the ‘tedious and time-consuming’: Matt Kwa, chief executive Travelog, a developer of over 15 apps 

Innovative because…

We have a strong team and are finally fixing a problem that every traveller faces - the tedious and time-consuming task of travel search.

In the next five years…

We will continue to add more value to both our users and partners. Whether this is through global expansion or additional tools to help our partners drive visibility and revenue, we want to build a platform that both sides consider a top option.

Biggest start-up challenge…

Will be our ability to adapt quickly, while executing at a high level especially since the travel industry is quite fragmented, trend driven and differs greatly across regions.

#4 ‘A 36-year history of innovation’: Alicia Seah director of marketing and communications, Dynasty Travel

Innovative because…

We’re not a startup but have a 36-year history of innovation, and use technology to make life easier and more convenient for our customers to stay ahead of the competition. For example, two years ago, we were the first travel agency in Singapore to launch a travel app, which allows customers to browse travel package details, flight and country details and even redeem their after-travel reward points on the iDynasty apps.

In five years…

With a saturated and competitive market in Singapore, Dynasty Travel wants to take the brand worldwide, and we hope to expand our products and services into ASEAN and ASIA markets.

#5 An ‘international focus’: Kenny Goh, founder, Tourism Media

Investable/innovative because…

While the bigger players in Internet Travel (except for tripadvisor.com) focus on booking, booking and booking, Tourism Media (with the founders’ enormous experience) has created a free web-app for international trip planning, knowing well that if prospective customers plan with us, they will book with us.

Though international trips form a fraction of global tourism, there were still a billion international travelers in 2012.

In five years…

We will be acquired by an existing booking site (OTA) within four years.

Biggest start-up challenge…

Balancing between the expectations of Angel funders and Key management.

Don’t delay! Enter the Start-Ups & Innovation in Travel Awards 2014, sponsored by Syndacast, today. We look forward to seeing you at Travel Distribution Summit, Asia (May 27-28)  

Related Reads

comments powered by Disqus