Holidu’s Post

James Martindale joined the team a few weeks ago and has been busy learning the ropes here at Traveltek Ltd. which has involved his participation in various calls alongside me, delving deeper into the intricacies of the industry. I asked James to share some of his insights of the last few weeks: 👨🎨 The role of a travel agent is a blend of artistry and science. While they must provide a seamless user experience on the surface, behind the scenes, a robust technological infrastructure is crucial to furnish them with the necessary tools for success. Consumers may not be aware of the technological backbone supporting their experience, but they certainly expect top-notch service ⚙ A subpar tech stack inevitably results in subpar service 💸 The Host Agency model operates within a fiercely competitive landscape. Similar to the role of a financial advisor, the success of a host agency hinges on its ability to cultivate an environment that entices travel agents, as their presence directly impacts revenue generation." 🌐 Contrary to popular belief, travel agents do not have access to all resources. This revelation came as a surprise to me. They rely heavily on the support and partnerships within the industry to fulfil their clients' needs." What James has picked up on in his few short weeks with us shows how important our role is in the industry as a technology provider and how far we delve into businesses to expose the critical aspects that drive success. We're thrilled to have him on board, bringing fresh perspectives and valuable insights to our team. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and empower travel agents

Wait! Weren't you working on GrandTour? What's this Guru thing about? Few understand the entrepreneurial journey from concept to market-ready product, where learning and iteration are crucial. It's a tough path filled with obstacles, yet it's essential for any founder seeking to create a viable, needed product. I launched GrandTour at the start of the year, fueled by excitement and drive. I partnered with Willem Krauss, one of my best friends. We soon discovered our backgrounds—my fast-paced startup environment and his detail-rich design agency world—led to divergent visions for the company. Realizing we were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, we chose to prioritize our friendship over forcing a fit. This tough but wise decision prevented potential conflict and preserved our relationship, allowing us to part ways amicably and avoid a dead end. Over two decades in startups has taught me the value of data and rapid market feedback in achieving product-market fit. At GrandTour, we hit a scalability barrier, prompting a strategic pivot. This shift clarified my direction, aligning closer to my vision and mission. Now, I'm embarking on a new phase: bringing this pivot to life and continuously gathering market data and feedback. This iterative process is vital, as many great companies initially embarked on very different paths before finding their successful formulas. To my fellow founders navigating your own challenging journeys, maintain your resolve and keep iterating. Persevere through the hurdles, and you'll find your breakthrough. Onwards and upwards!"

🚀 Residents wanted for Hackerhaus: I am starting the best place for ambitious founders to get started in Munich. 🇩🇪 Today I take one more step towards my lifelong dream: bringing more innovation to market. We in Germany, especially Munich, have so much talent & so many skills, but not enough of them result in companies that build sellable solutions. My passion is to turn this around—💡 I want us to lead in the commercialization of innovation. Therefore… ✨ Introducing the Hackerhaus: the place that increases your conversion from an idea 💡 to a company with product-market fit 🏆. Whether you have finished university 🎓 and would like to commit to working on an idea, you want to transition from corporate life 💼 to becoming a founder, or you are launching your second venture, this community may be for you. By bringing together outlier founders in one workspace, we create a genuine environment for exchanging experiences and knowledge—removed from any FOMO caused by the exaggerated startup narratives often seen on LinkedIn. 💬 The objective of the Hackerhaus is to increase the success rate of residents transitioning from initial concepts to fully validated ideas with early customers. To achieve this, we offer the following: • 🏢 Place to work: Accessing a fully equipped, all-paid-for communal office space • 🎯 Accountability: Participating in regular goal-setting/review sessions within the community of residents • 🤝 Shared experience: Experiencing the highs and lows of the founding journey in a relatable peer-group setting • 🌟 Inspiration: Being surrounded by a community of outlier, ambitious founders and inspiring guest lecturers • 🛠️ Support: Engaging in hands-on sparring sessions with me So if you’re a founder about to start out, apply with the link in the 1st comment and come by for a coffee ☕️.

💬It’s “Pitching/Presentation skills” Vol 2! Vasiliki Mavrokefalou, Director Market Management - Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria & East Adriatic of Expedia Group, returns and analyzes everything about: ⚙️The startup traction 🤼 The competition 🤝The founding team 📉The Business Model! 👨💻The last workshop of the 5th Idea Platform has arrived and gives the teams all the necessary tools so that the presentation of their idea stands out from the competition! 🎯 #CapsuleTacceleratorGR #IdeaPlatform5 #IdeasForTourism #Pitching

Check out this post by B4i on EIRA! 🚀

Dive into the story of Sara Lucija, Executive Assistant at Daytona, as she shares her journey and insights on growth, startup dynamics, and the importance of cultural adaptability in today's remote work environment. Explore how her background in marketing and social media has been integral to our operational excellence. Discover her unique perspectives in our latest blog post: "Meet Sara, our Driving Force of Operational Excellence".

Back to impact entrepreneurship 🌱 🚀 The past 8 years I spent in the commercial growth of startups, both internally and at Google have certainly strengthened my radar for the teams and technologies capable of creating a true paradigm shift. I cannot be more thankful and excited to develop Improvin' in France and Spain. Here is a non-exhaustive list of what fills me up with energy every day: ⚖ An admirable moral compass guiding the team and product development. 👨🚀 Experienced, visionary and humble founders. 🤖 True technological leadership enabling the agri-food industry in creating systemic sustainable change. 🌍 An international playing field. 🙌 An authentic culture.

Forty five days ago, I made one of the toughest decisions of my professional life — I chose to leave a spectacular team at Time Doctor. During my four-year tenure, we doubled revenue, tripled in size, and expanded globally. This decision didn’t come lightly because: 🚀 I cherished the team and relished the challenges we tackled together. 🚀 The role offered financial stability and excellent security, which is hard to walk away from. 🚀 Time Doctor felt like home; it was comfortable and familiar. 🚀 It allowed me the incredible flexibility to work from anywhere, catalyzing a significant personal journey. Why leave something so perfect? Because my horizons have broadened. The global flexibility Time Doctor afforded me became a gateway to rediscover my roots and reconnect with family in Colombia—relations I hadn’t seen in over 30 years. What began as an escape from the Canadian winter evolved into a profound exploration of my heritage. Living between Canada and Colombia these past two years, I’ve fallen in love with the vibrant culture, the resilient people, and the boundless potential of my homeland. Exposing my children to this rich way of life has not only enriched their perspectives but also deepened our family bonds. These experiences have led me to profound reflections on the meaning of life and the concept of a life without borders. I see immense potential for innovation and opportunity generation in Colombia and throughout Latin America—a fertile ground ready for growth. Hence, I’ve decided to commit my efforts to supporting early-stage Latin American startups to reach the global stage. We have the talent, the passion, and the drive; what we need now is the structure, direction, and leadership to thrive. A few weeks ago, I made new friends at StartCo by Starter Company l Startco. Daniel Palis, Daniel Ordóñez Rubiano, Felipe Madero, GABY MUÑOZ. These are all innovators and bright stars in the LATAM tech scene and I feel fortunate to have met them. Now, I’m on a mission to connect and partner with Latin American VCs and investors to provide support and help materialize this shared vision. Here’s to new adventures, new challenges, and making a difference. Let’s build a brighter future together.

I’ve been coming to BEX since 2015 and it’s incredible to see how it has evolved. There’s a lot of frustration in the proptech sector about slow adoption of new technology in the built environment, but to me it’s understandable, and not due to a lack of interest or familiarity. Building operations, like most industries, is an ecosystem, with many highly interdependent parts. You can upgrade any of the parts without too much trouble, but restructuring them is not easy. It requires a transition period filled with failed projects (typically led by tech champions against the objections of the boots on the ground) and of course lessons learned. Some vendors try to go so big they build their own ecosystem (mostly failing), and some shrink to highly specialized applications, trying to hit the efficiencies of scale and avoid new interdependencies. We try to do both, by specializing and focusing in-house and building new ecosystems through partnerships. We’ve worked with many of the companies here at BEX Asia on exciting projects, and the keys to success are: A) Excellence as a priority - most of us will pursue exciting, ground-breaking projects even at the expense of profit. (Boring profitable projects are still welcome though - everyone has to pay the bills) B) Trust and teamwork - instead of seeing each other as potential threats who will copy tech and steal business, we trust each other to do what we’re best at. Building this is harder than building tech. C) Patience - Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time to get things right and build momentum in the market. But it will never happen if we don’t get started now. So I am excited to see the tech ecosystem that has emerged in the past ten years on display at BEX Asia, and I’m excited to be a part of it! Have a great weekend!

After returning from a company retreat, it's crucial to sustain the momentum and connections built during the event. Implement strategies like surveys, creative idea implementation, weekly social hours, and virtual team-building activities to ensure the retreat's lasting impact and continued success. Mastering Corporate Retreats for Startups, part 3 of 3 - learn more after the click: https://lnkd.in/dQGV6GGs