Minimize the Stress of Airports with flightSpeak

Leo Osahor, founder and CEO of flightSpeak, helps to make airports less stressful by providing rich airport information and enabling social connections between travelers through a free mobile app.

flightSpeak, part of our Travel Massive Seattle chapter, is for the professional millennial traveler – folks who travel often for work/pleasure, and seek information and connection at airports.

What inspired you to create this startup?

We started by building an app called “How Was Your Flight?” – a real time feedback tool where travelers could give feedback on their flights, and airlines would see these insights in an analytics dashboard in real-time. It stumbled (to put it lightly) because we didn’t deeply understand traveler behavior and airline priorities.

We regrouped and went back to travelers, who shared (over 80%) a sense of “being lost”, “being alone”, and “being bored” at airports. That inspired us to build an app that travelers could use to find information and connect with each other…from any airport in the world.

How did you build your startup?

With a ton of sketches, diagrams, and coffee. We had a lot of help from friends and colleagues that shared their insights and experiences. We kept at it, laying brick after brick of code, designs, and team members – up to where we are today!  

What makes your startup different from other similar startups out there?

We’re on the hunt for simplicity – to find a solution so obvious that it’s a must have. At the heart of it, we believe what makes us different is our sense of culture that we’ve been able to create as a team, our unique perspective on travelers, and how our tools and services can make travelers’ lives less painful. 

How did you get your startup off the ground and gaining traction?

I believe our greatest leap forward began when we plugged into a consistently flowing pipe of user feedback. Once the app was built, all that was left was allowing users to guide us on what they believed would be helpful. After that, traction and growth came almost naturally. 

How is your startup changing the future of the industry?

What we’re doing at flightSpeak (and what’s coming shhhh!) will really just show what we’ve known all along – that travel is about people, information, and experiences. I think that as we rediscover people and connections, it will create a different type of change which we believe will make the airport (one of the most common sources of anxiety) a place of discovery, not a point of pain.

Do you have any tips for new entrepreneurs who want to create a successful startup?

Work hard to be very clear on what you’re building and who you’re building it for. Keep looking for amazing team members. Listen closely to everyone you share the idea with and hear what they’re saying. It’ll take longer and be much harder than you anticipate. It will all be worth it.

As a startup, what benefits have you seen from being a part of Travel Massive meetups?

Being a part of Travel Massive has been great. I’ve found a cohort of likeminded travelers, business partners, and curious friends, all on the journey to discover more about life through each trip. We’ve built relationships with large companies & skilled professionals that have moved our business forward in innumerable ways. Thanks Travel Massive!

Travel Start-Up is a monthly series that profiles unique online travel start-ups in the Travel Massive community around the world. Connect with Leo Osahor and flightSpeak on Travel Massive, Facebook and Twitter.