STARTUP STAGE: Travly connects brands through targeted engagement

Travly

Travly offers brands custom content creation, made by real travelers, and enhanced distribution across its owned channels to drive engagement.

Founded in 2022, Travly allows travelers to share their first-hand accounts of locations with prospective travelers, achieving transparency in the process.

What is your 30-second
pitch to investors?

Travly is the world’s
fastest-growing travel media company, specializing in social-first discovery
and travel experiences. With owned and operated social handles across
Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, Travly reaches over 25 million travelers,
garnering more than one billion monthly views. By connecting brands through targeted
engagement, and more than 1000 creators, Travly stands at the forefront of travel
media innovation. Travly has an OTA platform available as a mobile app and
website, allowing travelers to book accommodations through authentic videos, “dupes” – cost-conscious alternatives and a revenue-sharing program that
enables content creators to earn money from bookings. Another key feature is the platform’s
user-generated content, where travelers can upload their own travel videos,
fostering an authentic and diverse content ecosystem.

Give us your SWOT
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the company.

Travly has significant
growth opportunities, particularly through its video-focused booking system. As
video content continues to dominate digital media, the platform is
well-positioned to attract more users as visual and interactive content becomes
the consumer standard. Collaborating with travel influencers presents another
opportunity to boost visibility and credibility, tapping into new customer
bases and enhancing Travly’s market presence. Furthermore, by expanding into
new markets and catering to younger, tech-savvy travelers, Travly has the
potential to capture a broader and more diverse audience.

Despite Travly’s
strengths, less tech-savvy audiences might not be as comfortable with
video-based browsing or creating travel content. Also, Travly operates in a
highly competitive environment, where other companies may adopt video-driven
strategies. Shifting social media algorithms present an additional challenge,
as they could impact Travly’s ability to reach and engage its audience
organically.

What are the travel pain
points you are trying to alleviate from both the customer and the industry
perspective?

In today’s digital world,
travelers often book trips, hotel stays and excursions based on what they see
online, and some may not meet their expectations, due to poor or dishonest
marketing. Travly addresses what can be called “travel catfishing” by allowing
real travelers to share their first-hand accounts of locations with prospective
travelers, achieving heightened transparency in the process. Travly also offers brands the opportunity for
custom content creation, made by real travelers and enhanced distribution
across its owned channels. This approach drives engagement and delivers
tangible results, underscoring Travly’s position as the preferred partner for
brands navigating social media. There’s also a general disconnect between
trip discovery through social and the outdated process of booking travel accommodations.

Travly makes it easier for inspired travelers to book the
incredible adventures they’ve just discovered on social media
instantly. And finally, our unique revenue-sharing program allows any creator
to upload their own travel videos for possible listing as landing page videos
for partner hotels. By democratizing travel content creation, we hope to
encourage a new generation of travelers. 

So you’ve got the
product, now how will you get lots of customers?

We know that today’s
traveler lives online. Travly’s model ensures that we can meet today’s
travelers where they are most present to provide authentic and captivating
content. Travly reaches over 25 million travelers and garners more than 1
billion monthly views, and by connecting brands with a discerning audience
through targeted and authentic engagement, Travly will continue growing its
user and customer base. Within weeks of launching the OTA app platform, Travly
has already confirmed over 2,000 registrations and over 500 video
submissions. 

Tell us what process
you’ve gone through to establish a genuine need for your company and the size
of the addressable market.

After exiting Gamelancer,
a public gaming media company that Zak co-founded in 2020, Zak embarked on a
European trip that inspired his next venture. Observing his reliance on social
media for travel recommendations, he co-founded Travly with colleague Mayur
Patil, aiming to transform how people discover travel experiences.

How and when will you
make money?

Travly actively generates
revenue through an affiliate partnership with Booking.com,
earning commissions on bookings made through its platform. This model
seamlessly integrates monetization while enhancing the user experience,
allowing travelers to easily book accommodations directly from Travly’s curated
video content.

What are the backgrounds
and previous achievements of the founding team?

Zak Longo, co-founder and CEO,
is an entrepreneur and travel content creator who began his career in
entertainment as a filmmaker. He transitioned to a full-time travel content
creator in 2015, amassing over 1 million followers. Zak has collaborated with
prestigious hotels, including Four Seasons, W Hotels, Auberge Resorts and
Waldorf Astoria. In 2020, he co-founded Gamelancer Inc., a gaming media
company, which reached more than 50 million followers and went public on the Toronto
Stock Exchange in 2023.

Mayur Patil, co-founder,
is a leader in the tech and digital industries. He launched his career as a
software engineer at Expedia Group before making a significant impact at
Gamelancer Inc. in 2020 where he led a team to increase its audience. Subsequently, Mayur joined Bustle Digital Group (BDG), where
he executed social media strategies for prominent brands such as Elite Daily, W
Magazine, Nylon, Bustle, Romper, Inverse, The Zoe Report and Mic. His
leadership propelled BDG’s TikTok presence from zero to over 16 million
followers within a year.

How have you addressed diversity
and inclusion within your business?

Travly creators come from
a wide range of different backgrounds and bring an array of experiences to the
kind of content to Travly. In addition, Travly’s unique, built-in
revenue-sharing feature incentivizes travelers to create and share unique
content and earn from each booking, helping to democratize and expand the
travel influencer community to amplify new and emerging voices.

What’s been the most
difficult part of founding the business so far?

The most challenging
aspect of founding the business has been transitioning customers away from
established booking platforms they’ve trusted for years. These platforms have
familiar user interfaces and booking processes, making the adoption of a new
system possibly challenging, even when it offers enhanced features.

Generally, travel
startups face a fairly tough time making an impact – so why are you going to be
one of lucky ones?

Travly is poised for
success due to its innovative technology and an exceptionally talented team.
Despite being lean, each team member brings unique strengths that fuel our
progress. As a new app, Travly has already seen strong initial traction.
Additionally, our robust social media presence serves as a powerful marketing
engine, giving us a distinct edge in attracting today’s travelers and setting
us apart from the competition.

A year from now, what state do you
think your startup will be in?

Travly aims to be world’s
most popular socially driven booking platform, offering hotels, flights and
city attractions and activities.

What is your end-game? (Going
public, acquisition, growing and staying private, etc

Travly’s end-game is
flexible: we aim to either attract acquisition interest from a major industry
player or take Travly public and grow into a market leader.