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Workshop on How to Build a Successful Travel Startup

Valentin Dombrovsky and Travel Massive Moscow teamed up to host a workshop in which they shared tips on building a successful travel startup. 

Valentin is a Chief Alchemist and Chief Envisioning Officer at online travel consulting company Travelabs. He helps companies to find their way in the online travel world, mostly through b2b marketing and business development. Today, Valentin shares with us a  bit about himself and wrap-up of his workshop. 

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What inspired you to lead a Travel Massive Workshop?

I have always tried to learn and to share my travel startup experiences with others (writing articles and talking at different events in Russia and abroad). I believe that there are newcomers to the industry whom I can learn something from as well. That is why I was inspired by the idea of the Travel Massive Workshops.

Travel Massive is a great platform for workshops because it really inspires to make them an international leader. I hosted my workshop in Moscow and in Prague already and hope to have more in the upcoming future.

Tell us about the workshop.

1. Online travel landscape – find your niche.

When you start a travel startup, you need to understand which part of the market you’re trying to reach. Traveler’s online journey is usually divided into several steps and it’s important to understand which part of eco-system you’re going to serve in order to plan your strategy accordingly.

2. You’ve got an idea, now what? (Or why you shouldn’t do a travel startup).
Too often startup founders are obsessed with their ideas which sometimes don’t have clear problem solving value proposition. In this case it’s better to stop and to think if you need to start a travel startup or is it better to spend time and money on other useful stuff.

3. B2C and B2B startups – where’s the biggest potential?
B2C is where most disruption happens (at least as it’s seen by general public). Being successful b2c startup founder might turn you into sort of a “rock-star” as we can see by examples of Airbnb, Uber and others. But competition for travelers’ attention is really high and b2b companies usually provide more clear path to profits. Although, in case of b2b companies there are also obstacles that should be understood before starting work on the idea.

4. Disrupting the market – understanding key opportunities.
I am not telling workshop attendees how to make billion dollars in one year, but I am telling about opportunities to see the trends and to make bet on right technologies in the right time.

5. Travel startup product – how to help customers in solving their problems?
It goes without questioning that product is the core of any tech company – travel startups are not exclusion to this rule, of course. Again, there are some things that apply to startups in general and some travel industry specific issues that you should take in mind when planning a travel product.

6. Going mobile – when you should do it?
Mobile is booming and it presents lots of new opportunities. But there are some limitations to mobile channel too. So, you need to take mobile technology peculiarities into account when you plan doing mobile travel startup.

7. Growth hacking and business development – some words on travel startup growth.
Marketing is one of the main pain points for any young company and for young travel company, which tries to disrupt travel market, it’s even worse. So, it’s time to “hack growth”, or to find ways how to grow your company in an extremely competitive surrounding.

If you’re doing b2b travel startup, some business development lessons might be useful as well”.

I am going to listen to workshop visitors’ feedback and to make adjustments to the schedule if needed.

Are there any additional tips you’d like to share with our Travel Massive readers?

When you build a startup you should listen to your heart, ask for feedback and do it your way. It’s good to know stories of others‘ success and failures, but you always should follow own path. Even if you won’t succeed, it will be an amazing journey!

If you’re interested in digging a little deeper, be sure to attend the next workshop hosted by Valentin on March 23rd: How to Build a Successful Travel Startup

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Workshop wrap-ups are featured on the Travel Massive news feed to provide community members with quality tips within the travel industry. If you would like to learn more about how you can host a Travel Massive Workshop in your city, click here


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