Virtuoso, an international network of luxury travel agencies, is inviting travel tech start-up companies to enrol for their 2017 Incubator program. The mentor focuses on tools to develop enhanced advisory productivity and client service as it enters its third year.

Virtuoso had launched industry’s first formal program to foster these skill sets as it recognised the kind of gap that existed in the market. Its goal is to improve the efficacy level of the travel agency members and nurture promising tools by preserving their spirited edge.

The record-breaking program this year showcased 276 travel advisors in six countries testing solutions and providing feedback on how they currently use the technology and what they would expect from the future versions.  The program enables travel technology developers to gather real-world insights into the industry and help them polish their products to increase functionality plus fulfil market demand.  The testing process includes above mentioned deeds and once they are complete, the participants are considered for a full Virtuoso partnership.

“Virtuoso Incubator is at the forefront of improving the experience clients have with their travel advisor,” said David Kolner, senior vice president, Global Member Partnerships at Virtuoso. ”Through the program, Virtuoso travel advisors are innovating by adopting cutting-edge technology, demonstrating their flexibility and staying ahead of the curve. With the solutions curated and cultivated by Incubator, our advisors are bridging the gap between a traditional consultant and a technology-enabled advisor.”

From the 2016 Incubator participants, the two who graduated successfully from the program are:

• Tandem Cruise booking Engine: A B2B tool that finds, compares, quotes and cruises from a single web-based system.
• Engage: An integrated chat and video communication tool that helps advisors sell immediately online on any device, and makes clients accessible to advisors anytime with a single click.

“Virtuoso not only shares our vision to empower consumers and travel advisors with real-time communication capabilities, but has also been willing to put in the time and work necessary to validate and expand this program,” said Engage CEO Lief Larson. “I can’t fully articulate how valuable this partnership is to us and how highly we think of everyone in the Virtuoso organisation.”

The six companies that remain active in the Incubator program are Addo, Alanna, ITeXplorer, Travefy, Tripchamp, and Yonderbound. Virtuoso Incubator went into a partnership with Phocuswright Innovation Platform to locate start-ups with potential and leverage research in travel technology. It would enhance Virtuoso’s reach in the world of start-ups furthering the aim to incorporate emerging travel technology companies under its banner.

TravHQ take: The Virtuoso Members lead the industry in both the quality of their businesses, and their vision and strategy for the future. They can provide a vital link to finesse business models which is definitely a plus for the participating travel technology start-ups.

The application process has started for the year of 2017 and the interested parties can show their expression of interest here. The deadline for applications is November 30, 2016 and decisions would be made by January 2017.

Source: Travel Daily News

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Singapore was a developing destination a decade back. The way the terrain has transformed itself into a start-up jungle right now is just a fact to be marvelled upon. Now the place is crawling with investors, incubators and accelerators. Almost every sector is booming but the travel and hospitality sector is creating a traction for the start-ups following an exponential trajectory in South East Asia’s tourism. The geography is apt for any start-up to flourish because the ease of investments and technological support.

Here is a list of few of the incubators based out of Singapore that has mind boggled the growth rate of many travel disruptions around the world.

JFDI Asia

JFDI(Joyful Frog Digital Incubator) Asia was founded in 2010 by Hugh Mason and Wong Meng Weng. Since then this community has helped numerous people in Asia pacific domain to reach their true potential by assisting them in reducing risks and boosting repeatable returns from both technical and business model innovations. The members are some fine industry experienced entrepreneurs, investors and innovators who work closely with independent thinkers and academic institutions.

Travel incubatee: roomfilla

Jungle Ventures

Jungle Ventures was founded in 2012 that invests and builds category leaders in Asia. It was founded by various industry experts who came together to reinvent venture capital in Asia with its operation as a service model. Full-time partners at Jungle manage portfolios on marketing and design, product management, engineering and recruiting. Jungle invests in a lot of early start-ups across India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and other such hotbeds of entrepreneurial activity in Asia.

Travel incubatee: CatchThatBus

Tech Cube 8

Tech Cube 8 is a private technology investor and incubator that supports entrepreneurial ventures and high-tech R&D in the region. They identify and invest in high- impact, early stage technology platforms and start-ups with an aim of creating global traction. It provides incubation in the form of technological support, multiple rounds of funding, high-quality human capital, enhancing business development and various buy-out opportunities for these start-ups.

Travel incubatee: LCO-Creation

Startup Spaze

Startup Spaze is a start-up community where entrepreneurs gather to seek incubation. Spaze ventures is a seed capital firm and start-up incubator based out of Singapore. They provide seed capital for pre-launched ideas to seed start-ups. They focus majorly on financial services, healthcare services, e-commerce, mobile and enterprise technology. It’s a mentorship-driven community where they invite network of entrepreneurs, senior industry representatives, and government officials to contribute to the start-ups.

Travel incubatee: UrbanTip

TNF Ventures

TNF Ventures incubate Singapore- incorporated companies with expansion plans across South-east Asian domain. Their investors include managing partners in Series A, B, C funds who have invested in companies like Baidu, GrabTaxi, Ctrip etc. they have established themselves in ICT, social media, fin tech and medical space with an extensive network spanning across the pacific sphere.  They are on a constant lookout for a start-up in the emerging market.

Travel incubate: BeMyGuest

For incubators that are actively supporting start-ups on Indian soil, read here.

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It was about 6:30pm in the evening, there was nip in the air and a perfect time to drive back home. But when you are supposed to get on a call with veteran travel entrepreneur, strategic business advisor and founder of Travel Startups Incubator, Matt Zito, one won’t mind staying in the office. I spoke with Matt last week and he shared some wonderful insights about Travel Startups Incubator, the startups they have invested in so far and the launch of their India operations.

Travel Startups Incubator was launched about a year and half ago in September 2014 by Matt and his wife Nicole S. Zito. Later they hired Mike Coletta in November 2015 as the Managing Director. Mike brings to the team, 14+ years experience as a travel entrepreneur and  travel tech organiser. The three of them work on a day to basis building the company.

Travel Startups Incubator has raised $1Million from a venture capitalist in UK and Dubai to invest in 30 companies. The program is $25,000 and they work with startups via a virtual Global Incubator program for 6 months. The program is less of an incubator and more of a business and strategic marketing advisory where Matt & his team help startups move the needle with their business-development relationships in the travel industry.

Travel Startups Incubator funds, advises, mentors and provides business development services to travel startups across the globe

How does Travel Startups Incubator work?

The virtual incubator has an advisory & mentoring team of 15 high level travel executives from Amadeus, Facebook and others who have built multi billion dollar companies. Each startup gets one or two mentors to work with them during the 6 month program which works out very really well.

The company is also building a global travel technology investor platform and has approximately 150 investors in its database. This platform aggregates all companies that have received investment from Travel Startups Incubator and are aiming to raise further capital. The system acts as a private pool where all startups can upload their pitch decks, information about the company, management etc. Investors are also sent monthly reports which keeps them in the loop about who is doing what and their growth traction etc.

Why is it different from other Startup Incubator Programs?

While the Travel Startups Incubator program is of 6 months contractual commitment, the TSI team continues to work with those who are succeeding or have a potential to succeed in the near future. For instance, they are still backing 4 of the startups and helping them grow the company after making an initial investment in 2014.

As Matt says, “The reality is in the startup world, it takes 3 years to build a company. While there are guys in the online world getting acquired in 12 to 18 months for their technology or team, the underlying foundation of doing business is to build a profitable one with revenue”.

From L to R: Mike Coletta, Nicole Zito and Matt Zito

The real value of Travel Startups Incubator is with its business development network across the travel industry. They have built a strategic alliance with Amadeus, the leading GDS & IT Tech solutions provider in the world. In addition, they have business development relationships with Skyscanner, easyJet, Emirates, Tahiti Innovation Labs and many more.

Matt adds, “Our bigger vision of what we’re trying to do is through the advancement of technology, evolution of investing online, someday travelstartups.co will enable for any travel startup in the world to raise money via our platform”.

What makes Travel Startups Incubator different is that it typically invests in alpha/beta stages, which means the products are either not built or are ready to show. Having said that there are few companies that are in their first year, generating some revenue and are looking at raising some funds.

Travel Startups Incubator in India

Travel Startups Incubator will be represented in India by InnoveLaw, a Mumbai based law practice firm. Its presence in India was always on the cards as Matt says that currently they get 40 to 50% of startup applications from Indian travel entrepreneurs. India is the number 2 country behind United States in-terms of the overall website traffic.

The incubator has invested in 14 companies so far and has just made an offer to an Indian travel startup company. The company will be the first Indian startup in the Travel Startups Incubator program. Travel Startups Incubator usually takes a startup it likes to an in-discussion, relationship building phase where they monitor the startup’s growth for two to three months before making an offer. For instance, they are now tracking multiple tours & activities startups in India for the next 60 to 90 days and will possibly make an offer to one of them in the next couple of months.

TravHQ Take: What Indian Travel Startups need to know?

Travel Startups Incubator program presents a fantastic mentorship opportunity for all Indian travel entrepreneurs who are working on exciting ideas. The cumulative value of the incubator is far higher than the pre-seed/seed funding investment of $25,000. The team has a strong network in the travel industry which can provide the right impetus to all startups who’re looking to grow to the next level.

To learn more about the incubator and apply for funding, visit the program website. If you have any questions about the application process, please email them to matt@travelstartups.co.

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