• Estia

“Somewhere” is the only place i want to be

Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash

Estia is a media startup company for those who seek the ultimate travelling experience. The idea came during the course Entrepreneurial Journalism (Associate Professor Betty Tsakarestou) in the postgraduate program Information Society, New Media and Technology of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences.

What we try to achieve by creating this business, is to combine our love of travel, our longing to meet others cultures, the thirst for knowledge and the socialization in a single useful medium accessible to all.

Where are we trying to provide a solution?

The value element we want to pursue is to guarantee safety and the unique experience. We want our users to live their journeys from the point of view of the locals and to experience the daily life of the place where they will travel.

Nowadays, travel has become a frequent “hobby”. Estia can be the companion on this journey. The tough parts lie either in the difficulty of organizing a trip or in the fact that travel is an expensive hobby, while most guides suggest the most touristic places in each area. Furthermore, it is hard to get in direct contact with locals who are interested in meeting travelers in their own countries. The solution offered by Estia comes to address these issues. Find friends, share your story, learn from our articles about the area you are visiting and experience the journey as a real resident of the area.

What did we do to get actively involved in the creation process?

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

We interviewed various prospective users about what they thought the existence of such a product would be and what they believe are the main reasons to use it.

Interviews

We continued with the design thinking, identifying what is important to us and what we could offer, addressing the audience we want to reach.

Design Thinking board

While at the same time, we specified the audience we target by emphasizing elements of their personality and skills.

Audience

After this study, we concluded to the design of our product, the website of Estia through which we offer our services. In short, we provide information about various trips and places that are not widely known but, in our mind, must be visited. Moreover, we provide to our readers the step to become content creators by be the storytellers and share their own stories, through articles, photographs and videos. We will try to combine a product of socializing and information. Our next move is the creation of an application for smartphones, in order to make access and use more direct.

Estia’s Website

Estia’s Website

There are already competitors in the spotlight with interesting proposals. Our competitors usually offer tips and reviews for different places or we find them in the sharing economy field, renting their homes to travelers and tourists.

Why us then?

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Because we are here to combine all travel applications in one and our product becomes everyone’s personal tool. We want to inspire those who decide to follow us and make them part of our journey. We are not interested in becoming mentors but in accompanying and learning from each other.

The membership plan is quite important for us to be active on the court. Our revenue streams will be through subscriptions and advertising. Our membership will deliver some special offers such as discounts to tickets, museums, activities or extra useful application tools.

Founders:

Angeliki Argiropoulou Konstantina Tsouni Vassilis Makris

Mentor & Professor: Betty Tsakarestou