Adeo Ressi, founder of TheFunded.com and TheFunded Founder Institute, joined me and Ezra Roizen (Vator Box regular, Ackrell Capital and Strategyfx) as guest host. We took a look at Offbeat Guides, a personalized travel guide, founded by David Sifry, better known as the founder of Technorati.
Here are some our some of our observations:
– Excellent pitch by David Sifry
– Adeo would buy this product. The problem is that he may be an atypical traveler as a) he travels a lot b) he has a lot of money c) he’s interested in the details of places he’s traveling. The norm is people are cost conscious, and that makes him concerned.
– Ezra says Offbeat Guides is cheap enough relative to, say Lonely Planet, that it’s a compelling buy.
– Travelers roam around with a book. So, the printed book is a great idea.
– Ezra and Adeo believe Offbeat Guides is a “volume play.”
– Ezra says that if you fall in love with this product, you’d probably buy a few.
– I said the book’s price needs to drop to appeal to the cost-conscious consumer. I’m also very frugal.
– Adeo says what’s going against Offbeat Guides is that the travel industry is in trouble, and people aren’t exactly taking a lot of trips these days.
– Distribution is key. We all like the Singapore Airlines distribution.
– Nile Guide is doing a similar thing. But we like the UI of Offbeat Guides. David did a nice job with the UI.
– We give David “two thumbs” up. Way up!
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