Posted By Elliot Sawyer
The first three days of this week were crazily awesome. We had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday designated for Google, Amazon, and Microsoft respectively. The days were packed with priceless technical advice. The representatives from each company were so helpful!
We spent Wednesday morning with the guys from Generation Think Tank as they were moving into their new offices (sick). We loved the story about microwaving Crocs and how these caught people's attention from a marketing standpoint (great idea Brett Jackson).
As we met with mentors and executives throughout the three days, they enjoyed the idea that we are now targeting frequent flyers...mainly, because they are all frequent flyers. Everyone has their pain points and/or one crazy story about being on the phone for hours on end with airline reps. So just to let everybody know---we feel your pain and we are bringing you the antidote. Our focus this summer is solely on relieving problems FF's deal with - day in and day out.
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Posted by Krista Paul on 06/03/08 at 11:50 hrs.
The TripDoor met with Google yesterday through TechStars. Although the conversation was predominately technical and more in line with the interests of our Technical Director, Nathan, there were quite a few key takeaways for us common folk who don’t have
the faintest understanding of "Google Gears."
One quote in particular from the talk led by Kevin Marks and Dion Almaer really hit a chord for our business: “Before you plan your business model, make sure you have a pleasure model.”
Basically, this means making sure your business pleases your users first before you worry about making money. Don’t get me wrong, I think making money is a very important component of every business, and it’s a question we ask our team each time we analyze a new opportunity or feature on the site. But I agree with the notion posed by the visiting Googlers that it shouldn’t necessarily be our primary concern. The goal of any growing company should first be ensuring they are building a company that will provide a great deal of pleasure and value for users. In applying this to our business, I think some of the tough questions we’re tackling for frequent flyers will do just that---by providing them with a way to effectively manage their online travel while focusing mainly on the pain points associated with loyalty programs.
Another valuable lesson that came out of yesterday derived from a comment made by Rick Klau of Feedburner. He pointed out that while it is clear the airline industry isn’t going away, loyalty programs are currently an inefficient market...but it would help airlines if they weren’t. So it is important for us to not only think about providing value for our users, but also providing a specific and tangible offer for the airlines. I think it's a good opportunity for us to think of the airlines collectively as another prime user of our services and to succeed at building tools that will help them offer better loyalty programs to their customers (through improved communication and more efficient usage of miles).
the faintest understanding of "Google Gears."One quote in particular from the talk led by Kevin Marks and Dion Almaer really hit a chord for our business: “Before you plan your business model, make sure you have a pleasure model.”
Basically, this means making sure your business pleases your users first before you worry about making money. Don’t get me wrong, I think making money is a very important component of every business, and it’s a question we ask our team each time we analyze a new opportunity or feature on the site. But I agree with the notion posed by the visiting Googlers that it shouldn’t necessarily be our primary concern. The goal of any growing company should first be ensuring they are building a company that will provide a great deal of pleasure and value for users. In applying this to our business, I think some of the tough questions we’re tackling for frequent flyers will do just that---by providing them with a way to effectively manage their online travel while focusing mainly on the pain points associated with loyalty programs.
Another valuable lesson that came out of yesterday derived from a comment made by Rick Klau of Feedburner. He pointed out that while it is clear the airline industry isn’t going away, loyalty programs are currently an inefficient market...but it would help airlines if they weren’t. So it is important for us to not only think about providing value for our users, but also providing a specific and tangible offer for the airlines. I think it's a good opportunity for us to think of the airlines collectively as another prime user of our services and to succeed at building tools that will help them offer better loyalty programs to their customers (through improved communication and more efficient usage of miles).
Posted by Krista Paul on 04/01/08 at 20:07 hrs.
Happy April Fools’ Day! Rather than dream up some original scam to post on our blog, I am just going to take the easy/lazy way out and highlight some of the best (in my opinion) travel-specific April Fools' Day jokes on the web today.
Ha ha ha. Take a couple of minutes to walk through the spoof site and go through the questionnaire...it's well worth the trip.
WestJet is the runner-up for the best travel April Fools’ Day joke. They issued a press release today introducing a new spin on overhead storage bins. Their existing fleet of 73 Boeing 737 aircrafts will apparently now be outfitted with overhead sleeper cabins that can be booked on existing flights for the nominal fee of $12! Executive Vice-President Bob Cummings sums it up quite eloquently: "Our leather seats and live satellite television are a great part of WestJet's guest experience. However, by offering our existing overhead bins as sleeper cabins, guests will now have the opportunity to lie down for a period of time and arrive at their destination refreshed, rested and ready to go.”
Ryanair receives an honorable mention for their racy AFD joke introducing a new market the airline is tapping into…pornography. The launch of Ryanbare.com guarantees the sexiest in-flight entertainment, including x-rated RyanAir calendars, pics, and screensavers. “Ryanair gambling has already boosted our ancillary revenue by tapping into the internet’s second favourite activity, so our next natural step is to tap into the most popular internet activity of all. The launch of Ryanbare.com offers the ultimate in-flight service, with a range of products to satisfy even the most hardcore aerosexual," explains the fictional head of Ryanbare.com, Pussy Galore.
Way to go guys. And here I am still contemplating whether or not I should line the toilets with saran wrap. Boooooooring.
P.S. On a side note, I also must give kudos to my friend Kasia for weaving a remarkably believable personal April Fools' Day joke that involved her dog, boats, and a crazy new job. Very nice work.
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