This husband-wife duo is providing a one-stop app for all travel woes
Trip n howl, a flagship product of Bizydale Nets, is a mobile application for all travel needs.
At a glance:
Startup: Trip n howl
Founders: Satyajeet Pradhan and Vrushali Pradhan
Year it was founded: 2017
Where it is based: Bengaluru
Sector: Travel tech
Problem it solves: App for all travel needs within India, including bookings, stay, and connecting with like-minded travellers
Funding raised: Bootstrapped
All of us would love to travel, only if the challenges faced weren’t as many. Right from planning, booking, coordinating, verifying, sharing, etc, there are multiple hassles one encounters. Sensing an opportunity from their own travel experiences, Satyajeet Pradhan and Vrushali Pradhan built the Trip n howl application under its parent company Bizydale Nets.
“Initially we used to plan our trips using Facebook, WhatsApp, Google maps for GPS, and variety of other applications. It was quite a hassle but we had no choice,” says Satyajeet.
He adds, “Sometimes low space on our smartphones forced us to uninstall few of the apps. During one such trip, I thought to have a platform where travellers like me could get a one-stop solution that would not only solve all their travel problems but also add more fun and excitement to the trips.”
He started out by creating a list of challenges his friends and other people faced during travel and also understood the real needs of the present-day travellers.
Soon after, Satyajeet set out to discuss with his wife Vrushali and other team members of Bizydale Nets how to build Trip n howl.
Bizydale Nets is a business solution company and Trip n howl is its flagship product. Its app is designed to find solutions to all problems faced during travel under one umbrella. Besides, it includes a marketplace of the travel companies one needs during travel. The application is currently available on Android Play Store.
One can connect with fellow travellers, plan trips, book tickets for flight, train, bus, hotel, taxis, self-drive cars and bikes through the app.
Once the user signs in, they are directed to the desired solution, i.e. Feeds, Plan a Trip, Bag Pack, Nearby Amenities, Market Place, Trip Accomplishments.
Besides, a user may also visit other functionalities such as Join trips, Ask howlers, Blog, etc. One is also able to trace restaurants, hotels, and recreation facilities such as public toilets.
A bumpy start
Its social networking feature lets one create his/her own community or connect with other travellers. One can write blogs and rate the experience and share it with others.
Talking about setting up the business and scaling, Satyajeet says, “The biggest challenge that we faced was deciding on the type of technology and expertise to match the available apps standard.”
In the process, he built a couple of prototypes but they were all discarded, as Satyajeet was sure of what he wanted and was not ready to compromise on the right solution.
The parent company Bizydale Nets, being a solution building company with a bunch of technology enthusiasts, supported his idea.
Satyajeet has close to eight years of experience in business consulting, operations, business development, and customer service. He played a key role in the growth of a startup which was acquired by a leading online automotive portal in India. He has consulted brands such as VW, Skoda, other leading startups, and has a wide understanding of business challenges.
Vrushali, Co-founder and Chief Sales Officer, was a sales performer since the beginning of her career and has over 10 years of experience in automotive technology, sales and customer management.
Holiday-ready
Since its release in late 2017, the app has had over 2,000 downloads. “We have seen the usage grow by more than 200 percent every month. During the holiday season we expect the number to increase further and the defined marketing strategies are in place already.”
Essentially, Trip and howl’s revenues are through commission per conversion from partnered service providers, cost per click, and advertisement.
The company has been funded by Bizydale Nets which is bootstrapped.
A feature-rich app
The online travel market is projected to be a $1.09 trillion industry by 2022, logging a CAGR of 11.1 percent. Much of this growth is expected to come from the Asia-Pacific region, with India and China being the most lucrative markets.
The growth is attributed to an increase in disposable income, rise in the middle-class segment, and greater penetration of Internet facilities.
There are quite a few players that have entered the travel space such as Wandertrails, SavvyMob, ixigo, RepUp, Travel Triangle, Ithaka among others.
Talking about its differentiator, Satyajeet says, “Trip n howl is a feature-rich app that stands out from its competitors as a one-stop solution for all your travel queries. It is the only app with a marketplace for the best online platforms one needs during travel. It has brought “Flush – world’s largest public washroom finder” app under its umbrella, thus solving a major travel woe.”
For the future, the startup plans to scale the product to the next level by making travelling easier, convenient and revolutionary by using artificial intelligence in the app. “Trip n howl also aims to bring all travel-related information on one platform, thus making the lives of travellers simple and hassle-free.”
