Why it might be a good idea to invest in your favorite web app/mobile app?
Roadtrippers
A couple of weeks ago, during our drive from San Francisco to LA, a friend and I decided to go on a random road trip along the California Pacific Coast since FOR ONCE, we were in no rush. As we drove alongside the CA-1 and was greeted with lush greens and the California coastal view, we just followed our guts and went whichever way we felt would give us a better view. As the sun starts to set, suddenly our spontaneous adventure is turning into somewhat of a nightmare: In the midst of our drive, we lost all digital signals and somehow found ourselves stuck in the middle of nowhere. You know that feeling you get when you are suddenly rid of all electronic devices and Internet in this day and age: PANIC.
Then I wished I had opened the RoadTripper/TripIt/Furkot app that I have previously downloaded and installed on my phone. It would have saved us from that Harold & Kumar moment—
“Oh it can’t get worse than this…”
On goes 30 miles of constant driving along winding roads without any sight of a lodge. Anyway, I digress. Here I would like to highlight the reasons why I would like to invest in RoadTripper if I was offered the opportunity:
Note: I wish this kind of analysis/interface was available when I was a Banking analyst, instead of having to read boring company descriptions with very annoyingly formatted FactSet/CapitalIQ/Bloomberg pages.
- Company overview
Roadtrippers is a web based software application that helps travelers plan road trips. The application road trip planner calculates approximate trip mileage, travel time, and fuel cost. The software lets users discover independently owned points of interest anywhere in the United States, within 50 miles of a planned trip. Once a trip is saved, it can be synced to the Roadtrippers iPhone app, for turn-by-turn navigation, and further local discovery while on the road. Since 2011, the team at Roadtrippers have worked on securing investments and growing the business. Co-founders, James Fisher and Tatiana Parent, founded Roadtrippers. The headquarters are in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2. Market analysis
The U.S. travel and tourism industry accounted for 2.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 and directly employed more than 5.7 million people in 2013. Tourism exports reached a record $181 billion in 2013, representing about a quarter of total U.S. services exports. The sector has posted an annual trade surplus with the world for more than two decades.
Road trip activities are picking up as well. In 2012, there are over 250 million registered vehicles in the United States. As the population suffered from the pain of recession back in 2008, many people resorted to cheaper road trip travels as opposed to flying abroad. According to reported statistics, 81 percent of road trip planners rely on travel experts or search engines for road trip information. And the top three things people look forward to on road trips are taking in scenery (64%), discovering local spots (45%) , and enjoying the company of friends and loved ones (37%).
3. Competitive landscape
Furkot
Tripit
Roadtrip America
Other relevant competitors: Kayak, Expedia, Priceline
4. Business model
Profit model — Business listings
One of Roadtrippers’s most profitable business model comes from its direct revenue generating capacity from small business listings. It is able to direct customers to a specific restaurant or accommodation as a part of its road trip planning process. This business model works well as it provides customers with easy access to accommodations and food while providing small businesses with high success for its ads.
Key considerations: Traffic flow, customer follow-through, current competitors, market trends, etc.
5. Founders’ journey
Roadtrippers co-founder James Fisher grew up traveling. His family ran a safari company in Africa. His fellow co-founder, Tatiana Parent, shares his passion for travel, having traveled the USA extensively herself.
Fisher and Parent brainstormed the idea of Roadtrippers in 2010. They were frustrated with the lack of useful travel resources. Particularly for finding independent places to visit, and syncing travel advice with navigation. This frustration led them to create Roadtrippers.
Fisher and Parent moved from Great Britain in 2011 to focus on their company. In July 2011, The Brandery, a Cincinnati based startup accelerator, accepted Roadtrippers into its program. The Brandery’s aim is to helps new businesses with securing funding, gaining mentors, and networking with business professionals.
Since its 2011 inception, Roadtrippers has grown to a team of 8 full-time employees added 3 members to its team: developer John Lauck, software engineer Andrew Fickas, and marketing and outreach specialist Brandon Hite. The company has 2 interns on staff, as well as a mentor network of more than 20 top travel writers. Roadtrippers founded its official website in August 2011. The website officially launched in July 2012. The iPhone app launched as Gizmodo app of the day on Nov 19th, 2012.
Through 2012, the company secured $500,000 in venture funding from CincyTech, Vine St. Ventures, Ludlow Ventures and a number of angel investors. Fisher is looking to secure approximately $600,000 in order to stay in the Cincinnati area. In June 2012, the company launched a public beta version of its application. The application allowed use of the unpolished software in order to gain feedback for the website’s full release. The Roadtrippers team expanded the company outside of the United States to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel. While the application allows for route planning, fuel cost estimation, and unique sightseeing, Fisher and Parent want more. As of September 2012, the Roadtrippers team was building features to enable hotel booking via the application. On November 19, 2012, after working with app developer Forest Giant, Roadtrippers released a companion iPhone app. In December 2012, Roadtrippers reached 1 million monthly users. In August 2013, the company received a $2.5 million investment from Drive Capital for expansion.
Roadtrippers was recognized on TIME’s 50 Best Websites of 2014.
6. Founders’ Background
James Fisher acted as a project manager for DIS Ltd in 2006. In his position, he worked with large real estate portfolios in East Germany to design & implement innovative new strategies to improve net cash flow and increase capital value. Fisher remained in his position until 2010. Fisher began his side job in Flight Energy as Communications Director in 2008. In his capacity as Communications Director, Fisher gained experience in raising private equity capital and product planning.
Fisher began his entrepreneurship journey in 2007 when he founded Belle Grove, which is a self-catering accommodation in the UK. Fisher subsequently started Roadtrippers in 2011 where he acted as the CEO of the company.
Fisher’s core skills include product development, marketing, project management, strategic planning, and business development.
Source: Company website, news run, Linkedin, Wikipedia
