Filtering by
- All Subjects: Travel
- Creators: Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
The problem we are trying to solve is that it still takes hours to search for and find unique non-touristy experiences around the world. At a time when people can use their smartphones to have a car show up to their doorstep in minutes, it is unacceptable that it still takes hours to find an non-touristy experience on the internet.
Our value proposition is that users will be able to be anywhere in the world and be able to find an authentic, non-touristy experience that interests them. iWaandr is the most complete experience discovery tool, providing the largest collection of unique and personal experiences around the world.
Our competition is the large incumbent travel and review companies like TripAdvisor and Airbnb. There are also less established competitors that see a similar gap in the market like Mapify and Cool Cousin. We also have niche competitors that are only focused on outdoor activities like AllTrails and Outbound Collective. Google and blogs would also be competitors because people search on Google for unique experiences.
Our innovation is that we are focusing on creating unique content while our competitors are focusing on new ways to display the same content. Our advantage isn’t in a feature we created because a company with more resources could easily copy it. In order to create unique and useful content, we had to figure out a way for users to intuitively and easily post an experience with as much relevant information as possible. This involved a lot of thought into our posting process. We believe our posting process allows users to consistently post unique and informative content.
The technology we are implementing is very similar to the FERN technology stack of Firebase as a database, ExpressJS and NodeJS as backend frameworks, and ReactJS as the front-end programming language. We chose this technology stack because it allows our platform to stay lean, and be efficient with data. This allows the platform to have increased performance and lower costs.
From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.
Through Entrepreneurship at ASU, I became passionate about venture creation and the behind the scenes work that comes with creating a startup company. This allowed me to create my own venture in the realm of travel called "OverLay", where I learned that entrepreneurship is much more than coming up with a solution and solving it. I went into the community and had informational interviews with founders of startups and successful entrepreneurs to collect qualitative analysis of what must be done to have a successful venture. Through this analysis, I continued working on my own personal venture and was able to reassess some of the initial problems that I was having. I learned the importance of being customer oriented and of creating a successful team. I am continuing to progress my venture "OverLay" and am working on an official prototype to be released. With unyielding determination and a relentless pursuit of excellence, I am excited to bring my vision to life and make a meaningful impact in the travel industry.