Meet the ex-banker empowering solo women travellers to explore the world
Travel startup Flapper Life, started by Zinal Doshi, aims to break the notion that women cannot travel alone by offering safe travel experiences to the community.
Far removed from the urban chaos of Mumbai—amidst the towering trees and rustic wilderness—a group of adventurous women often gather for a healing hike on Sundays.
As they reach the hilltop, they engage in wellness activities like yoga, painting, and more, finding peace and building friendships. This 10-hour-long hike is one of many one-day trips the Flapper Life—an experiential travel platform for women—organises.
Started by Zinal Doshi in 2016, Flapper Life focuses on solo women travellers looking for adventurous travel and exploring local culture across India and Asian countries.
Creating safe travel experiences
Zinal Doshi (Credit: The Flapper Life)
“Women have always been conditioned to depend on someone when it comes to travel, and that is exactly what we are trying to change through our startup,” Zinal tells HerStory.
Moreover, safety concerns are very different for men and women. “Women, especially, have this thought ingrained in their minds that travel cannot be done alone, and they need a friend or someone to sync their plans. This bothers me a lot,” she says.
The startup wants to break this notion by offering safe travel experiences to solo women travellers in India and several Asian countries.
For this, the startup employs three to four local people on a commission basis in all its travel locations who pre-check the accommodation facilities. “We prefer taking branded or semi-luxury properties to ensure safety,” Zinal adds.
Also, it offers a ‘flapper coach’—a travel guide—who accompanies the group on the trip to provide a smooth travel experience.
Travelling has various impacts on people. Some may find it disappointing, while others may find it enriching, and rightly so.
Zinal recalls when a woman traveller—the dean of a hospital—was forced to come on a trip by her friend. While she was apprehensive at first, by the end of it, she was happy that she came.
“She told us that after travelling independently, she could understand why her daughter wants to explore the world. She decided to let her daughter travel and experience that freedom as it was truly empowering,” Zinal shares.
Deepali Salunke, an avid traveller with the startup, cherishes every trip she has taken with Flapper Life, particularly the Tadoba and Pench safaris, for the wildlife experience. Salunke believes these experiences were not only memorable but also boosted her confidence.
“Participating in this adventure alongside a group of women with similar interests as a solo traveller pushed me beyond my comfort zone and motivated me to approach new challenges with a receptive attitude. Whether it was trying unfamiliar activities or navigating unknown surroundings, I unearthed a strength within myself that I hadn't realised was there,” she adds.
Flap and explore
The bootstrapped startup offers pan-India domestic trips in Meghalaya, Ladakh, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Kerala, and more. For international trips, the startup covers Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore, among others.
Its one-day wellness trips include picnics in secret locations, sound healing activities on a yacht, village voyages, heritage walks, healing hikes to a hilltop, etc. It also offers offbeat adventure activities like wildlife expeditions.
“Most trips cover the mainstream or trending places of a location. But we also include some adventure activity or a visit to a remote area near that location to make the trip more interesting,” Zinal explains.
The average cost of a domestic and international trip for six nights and seven days is around Rs 55,000 and Rs 1 lakh, respectively. These packages include food, accommodations, and travel expenses. Flapper Life also helps with visas for international travel. It also offers customised travel experiences.
The U-turn
Hailing from Mumbai, Zinal recalls that she wanted to pursue fashion since her childhood, but she pursued commerce in college.
“My family and I believe that education is of utmost importance, and at that time, fashion was not a big thing. So, I decided to pursue commerce and take up fashion at a later stage in my life,” she says.
After graduating, Zinal started working in a bank, and the thought of a career in fashion took a backseat.
During her tenure in the bank, Zinal planned a leisure trip to Jaipur with her female colleagues, where they did everything on their own—from planning the itinerary to changing hotels in the middle of the trip.
She recalls, “That experience of doing everything independently stayed with me. It made me feel empowered and boosted my confidence. I knew I just wanted to do more of it.”
The Flapper Life offers pan-India domestic trips and international trips (Credit: The Flapper Life)
There was no looking back after that. Zinal started planning official work trips for her team, and the experience gave her a lot of satisfaction.
After a 14-year stint at the bank, she decided to quit her job in 2016. Zinal gave herself three years to pursue her venture, which allowed her to translate her love for travelling into a thriving venture, marking the beginning of Flapper Life.
“I had never planned to be an entrepreneur, but it was a spontaneous calling. I wanted to use my skill set to start my own business and do something to support women,” she says.
However, convincing her father was a daunting task. “He was sceptical of my decision as I come from a salaried home. He could not understand why I was leaving a good and well-established career to start anew,” she adds.
Nonetheless, Zinal’s father came around after he read an article about her in the newspaper. He finally understood her decision and felt genuinely happy for his daughter.
Flapper Life’s first-ever trip was to Goa with two people, and Zinal says the travellers loved the experience offered by the startup. “The firsts are always special, and this trip was extremely close to my heart as it turned my dream into a reality,” she says.
Beating the odds
Building trust among travellers regarding safety has been a challenging task for Flapper Life. Now that the startup has conducted many successful trips, Zinal finds it comparatively easier for people to trust them.
The startup also organises one-day wellness trip (Credit: The Flapper Life)
So far, the startup has hosted around 1000 women and has curated around 250 trips.
Recalling her entrepreneurial journey, Zinal says she had no business experience when she started. “I had no prior business experience and that was challenging but I figured things out on my journey.”
She adds that a founder has to play multiple roles, including that of a CEO, an account manager, a courier person, etc.
Flapper Life has seen its fair share of losses too as initially, many events would get cancelled because no one showed up. But Zinal never gave up.
She also plans to extend her business to Tier II and III cities in the near future.
“We want this to happen because women in these small cities also need to experience the freedom that comes with travelling and have every right to be empowered,” Zinal says.
Edited by Suman Singh
