What is Tripoto?
Nothing beats the joy of traveling and falling in love with places you have never seen before. You get to learn new cultures, explore wonderful locations, and try all kinds of fun activities. Even if it’s with friends, family, or all on your own, a journey can fill you with experiences to be cherished for a lifetime. What makes these experiences better is being able to share it with someone. Don’t you feel like going on and on about your travel experiences after you have reached home? Some people take thousands of pictures, some create videos, and others write a journal. Either way, the joy lies in sharing that happiness with someone.
Tripoto (1) is a platform that brings all these travelers together to space where they can share and explore travel adventures. It also has the best recommendation for hotels, tourist spots, holidays, etc. Since the information has been verified by people who personally took part in it, you can rely on it entirely. You can take a look at the exciting travel stories before you plan your holiday. Tripoto has the information and maps for every location that is mentioned in their articles. It is also a fantastic platform for everyone who loves learning about the world. Tripoto was founded by Anirudh Gupta and Michael Lyngdoh in 2013 and has its headquarters in New Delhi, India. As of now, the website has more than 2 million travel itineraries and 6 million active users every month.
The Founders
The founders of Tripoto, Anirudh Gupta, and Michael Lyngdoh met while they were both pursuing their business studies at ISB, Hyderabad. They had discussed the initiation of a startup and the idea of a travel story platform. Even though they casually planned the entire concept, Tripoto was not executed until a few years later. Before founding Tripoto, Anirudh Gupta worked for Rocket Internet and was one of the founders of Notion Ink. Other than Tripoto, Michael Lyngdoh also founded HST Operations.
Gupta and Lungdoh finally put together a talented team for the technology functions after much effort and headhunting. They had realized that the primary strength of a startup lies in the capabilities of its technology team. So they invested time and money into finding the right team members. At the beginning of hiring, they started using the prestige of IIT and ISB to attract people in. However, they realized that true techies were passionate about what they are creating rather than who they are working for. Even the salary or other benefits do not matter if you love what you are doing.
Why do people love Tripoto?
The best part about Tripoto is that most of the content is created by real people who are sharing their own experiences. When a travel itinerary is posted on Tripoto, it is linked to the person who wrote it. In this way, you can quickly check their profile, making the whole platform more transparent and authentic. On their profile, you can also see their areas of interest and preferences in travel spots. You can even ask them questions about their adventures. Tripoto feels more like an online community where all travelers come together. Another significant advantage of Tripoto is that it brings together stories, relations, and a marketplace for travel all in one place.
If you read an article and feel like learning more about that place, Tripoto has options for that too. All the travel itineraries on Tripoto are connected to more details and maps of the sites so that the users can easily track them. Most travelers prefer exploring places on their own rather than registering for a holiday package or letting a tour guide show the way. This urge is what makes Tripoto the best choice for them.
Tropoto has a vast list of unique destinations that not many people know about. Instead of depending on the mainstream travel guides, you can find out the most exciting places all on your own. This also leaves you with fulfilling experiences and a sense of satisfaction. Tripoto always gives top priority to its customers. With more people depending on online sources for their journeys, Tripoto has become a great option since it covers everything you need for it. You can easily jump from inspiring content to booking a holiday all in the same platform.
Early growth and obstacles
Within a year of starting a business, Tripoto had more than 100 travel itineraries on their website. According to the statistics, every person who visited the platform would take a look at seven to nine pages. There were a strong bond and cooperation among the team members, which helped in improving the profits of the company. One of the earliest challenges was to find a good source of articles. Since the writers were common people, they had to reach a broader population to get more content. The travel itineraries had to be regular and of good quality.
Tripoto soon realized that there was an umpteen number of offline travel stories, photographs, and videos that needed a platform to reach the crowd. They had to bring together various such creators from all over India and digitize the whole trend. They also integrated an option for the users to book a tour directly from the travel guides that are listed along with the itineraries. This B2B business method was a win-win situation for both the company and the travel agents. They could get real-time inquiries and bookings from aspiring tourists. Tripoto soon emerged as a famous name when it comes to businesses related to travel.
Investments and future visions
The first round of funding for Tripoto was conducted in November 2014 and it raised 400,000 dollars. A couple of other seed rounds of funding were also led by Chiratae Ventures in the later years. In March 2017, Tripoto led a series A round of funding which raised a total of 2.5 million dollars. Tripoto also led a series B round of funding in 2019 through which they raised 3.6 million dollars. This round saw participation from the investors Orchid India, Chiratae Ventures, Hornbill Orchid India Fund, Lasmer NV, and 3one4 Capital.
Using the latest funding, Tripoto hopes to make improvements in their marketplace and community. Along with more people developing a thirst for voyages, Tripoto hopes to bring more people into creating content of good quality. They will be focusing more on short interesting videos and intriguing content. Moreover, travel has now turned into a passion, a hobby, and even a religion for the younger generation.
