Traveling SpoonConnecting travelers with vetted, authentic food experiences in
people’s homes around the world
Andrea Angquist, Steph Lawrence, Sanjay Sharma, Aashi Vel
4.3.2013104 interviews
The Idea“My experience with the Traveling Spoon was the highlight of my trip to India! I would jump at the chance to do another wherever in the world I might travel next.”
- Jane Wong, guest
The Team
Andrea Angquist Steph Lawrence Aashi Vel Sanjay SharmaKeval Desai
Hacker, Picker, Designer, Hustler,Advisor,
Technology geek Marketing genius Design expert Finance guruJust awesome!
The market is large and growing
TAMInternational tourist spending
$483 billion
SAMTourism food receipts$159 billion
Traveling Spoon Addressable Market
$26.6 billion
SOURCE UN World Tourism Organization 2012
Business Model Canvas, v1
WebsitePersonal assistanceReviews
What we did
Interviewed 35 Lonely Planet travelers
Where do you STAY?
Which websites do you browse?How do you decide where to eat?
How many PEOPLE do you travel with?
What we found
NOT MUCH NEW, but it was validating.
Willingness to pay
$25
Interested
100%
Logistics
SecurityReviews
What’s important
Customer Demand95% of LP customers would pay for a TS experienceSample size: 200
Net Promoter ScoreNPS = 9, from survey of all existing customers
We were missing something
What we did
Interviewed 30 Luxury travelers
Where do you STAY?
What do you read?
Who PLANS your trip?
How much do you spend on a trip?
What we found
Decision maker Interested
80%
Willingness to pay
HIGHFood safety
HygieneQuality
Conversation
Concerns
Channels
Travel agents,
tour operators
Trust
TripAdvisorWOM
But was our product a luxury product?
“I loved my Traveling Spoon experience, but it was not what I was expecting. Vasudha’s home was, how should I put it, nice. I wasn’t expecting luxury.”
- Paula Crossfield, Traveling Spoon customer
“At first I thought $25 was a lot of money for a meal in India. But when I saw how many courses were offered, and how nice the experience was, it seemed like an incredible value.”
- Jane Wong, Traveling Spoon customer
What we did next
INSPIRATION BOOKING TRAVEL REVIEWS
Inspiration engines
WOM
Social media
Travel guides
PrintedOnline
OTAs
Direct sales
Peer-to-peer
Travel agents
Tour operators
Review aggregators
Group buy
Hotel concierge
Local guides
Tourism offices
Experience aggregators
Which channels are important?
INSPIRATION BOOKING TRAVEL REVIEWS
Inspiration engines
WOM
Social media
Travel guides
PrintedOnline
OTAs
Direct sales
Peer-to-peer
Tour operators
Review aggregators
Group buy
Hotel concierge
Local guides
Tourism offices
Experience aggregators
Travel agency network Travel
agents
How we fit in the ecosystem
US
Host
Destination Mgmt Cos
Traveler
Tour Operator
Experience aggregators
(25%)
Traveling Spoon
INDIA
Traveling Spoon
Interviewed 26 channels
Direct TS Sales
Why would they be interested in us?
“Sometimes we get stuck because travelers ask for home dining experiences and we don’t have hosts in certain cities.”
– Shonali Dutta, Managing Director
“This market is growing! We need new tour operators who have the scale to work with our requirements. You would be perfect.”
- Baidi Li, Asia Product Manager
“Food has become an important part of boutique travel. Home dining is very trendy now, and we want to expand to India.”
– Rumit Mehta, CEO
What we found
Traffic partners Supplier
$500 fixed listing cost
25% commission
Minimal brand
recognition
Requires insurance
Requires TripAdvisor
presence
No fee (they add a
mark-up)
No commission
Requires sales person
1% commission
Loss of control over
touch-points
Minimal brand
recognition
What we did
WHERE am I going?
HOW do I get there? 1
22
3
4
3
1
4 Too much information - it’s OVERWHELMING.
How do I know that I won’t get SICK?
What we changed
What we learned summary
Customer segments
ChannelsValue Prop
Local and
authentic
food
Cultural
exchange
Key partners
Review
websites
Travel guides
Food safety
Logistics
Interactions in
English
Traffic
partners:
Experience
aggregators,
Tour
Operators &
DMCs
Suppliers
Revenue Streams
Fixed
commission
15% Variable
commission
around 40%
The business… is it worth it?
Traveling Spoon Addressable Market
$26.6 billion
Culinary tourism is a $27 billion
industry.
With no major leader.
We think we can change that.
YES.
We remain passionate about connecting travelers with meaningful, authentic culinary experiences in people’s homes
around the world.
To get there…
Launch beta site with first 50 hosts
Build out team with CTO and first regional manager
Develop partnerships with 20+ additional tour operators and DMCs; build partnership with Viator including developing first 10 listings in multiple cities
Secure angel funding for next 12 months of operations
We hope you’ll come with us.
As we build Traveling Spoon after graduating, we would love to stay in touch.
We hope you’ll contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in serving as an advisor, investor, team member or friend. We’d love to share a meal with you.
Thanks to all the Lean Launchpad faculty, students, GSIs and advisors for this great learning experience.
We’ve had a lot of fun.
- Aashi, Andrea, Sanjay and Steph
APPENDIX FLIPBOOK!
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 10 (expanded)
Week 10 (expanded)
Week 10 (expanded)
Key Metrics that Matter
CLV = $115.3
Customer Lifetime Value
Revenue/customer $75
COGS $40
Gross margin $35
# of TS experiences/year 1
Retention rate 85% YR 1, 85% YR 2, 50% YR 3
Average TS lifetime 15 years
Average visits per lifetime 3.3
Customer Acquisition Cost
Salary (sales): $40,000Channels/wk: 5Channels/yr: 240Conversion: 5%Partners/yr:12Customer/partner: 100Customers/yr: 1200
Cost/customer: $40,000/2400
CAC = $33.30
Burn rate assumptions
YR 1 Operating costs =
$491,000
Competitive Landscape
Local and regional tour companies based in our geographies
Existing restaurants
Family and friends
Connecting with locals
Provide social travel experiences
Potential partners
Most direct competition
Aggregating kitchens and shared food experiences
Many US-focused; other direct competitors have regional focus (Israel, Spain)
Substitutes (the forks)
Local Tour Companies
Experience AggregatorsHome Dinner