Startup Year One: Inside Fora, the startup is fueling a potential renaissance for travel agents.

Amid travel lockdowns and chaos at airports around the world in the first year of the pandemic, new travel startups have sprung up promising a better experience.

The final entry is Fora, which describes itself as a tech-forward travel agency that essentially serves as a hub for experienced travelers looking for a launchpad to run a side gig (or more) as a travel agent.

Since Fora’s launch in August a year ago, there are currently around 500 travel advisors worldwide (97 percent of whom have never worked in the sector before) working in the network, with more than 30,000 people on a waiting list.

And this week, the New York-based company announced $13.5 million in Series A funding, which will help advance the travel agency’s technology development for advisors.

Chance They recently spoke with founders Henley Vazquez, Evan Frank, and Jake Peters, who shared more about what it’s like to run a travel business now.

The following interview has been condensed and edited for simplicity.

Can you share a bit about your professional background before starting Fora?

Vazquez: Each of us are repeat founders who have worked in the travel industry for decades. I first caught the travel bug when I took a gap year in college, and have been a travel consultant for over 15 years. I was in the founding team of Indagare where I learned all about being a travel consultant and working with hotels. Then, I founded Passport (Virtuoso) travel agency.

My co-founder, Evan Frank, started in corporate finance then venture capital and has spent the last 10-plus years building new disruptors in the travel and hospitality space. He is the founder or CEO of three travel and hospitality marketplaces, including Onefinestay, which was acquired by Accor Hotels.

Jake Peters, founder and chief product and technology officer of Fora, is our technology genius. He is a self-taught programmer and tech entrepreneur with over two decades in the industry. With his passion for technology, information, and travel, Jake, along with Evan and I, wanted to make dramatic changes in the travel agent industry.

The three of us make a dynamic team, each with very different specialties and interests, which is what makes it work so well. We partnered with Foran to create a new travel agency that accepts demand or demand—the go-to person in their network for travel recommendations—to sell travel in a way previously reserved for travel agents. Our mission is to build the next generation brand in travel, empowering a network of travel entrepreneurs on the go.

What inspired you to start Fora?

Frank: When we first started Fora, we looked at the real estate industry and drew inspiration. Compass had just IPOed, and we read that there were 3 million real estate licensees in America, most of whom were not full-time realtors. However, there were only 100,000 travel agents. We asked ourselves why there was such a disconnect, especially considering how much fun a full-time job can be when traveling, as I saw at Henley. Having our kids in the same school, Henley and I were constantly surrounded by other moms and dads who were planning family trips around the world, but didn’t think they could monetize those bookings as a travel consultant.

That said, traditional travel consultants had to hit a certain sales volume to be successful and work in the industry, so there was never a place to sell travel as a side gig. We wanted to change that and started brainstorming about the epidemic when the trip came to a spectacular halt. Henley and I both had the same idea: Travel is making a comeback and remote work isn’t going away, so why aren’t more people doing it and how can we build a more effective organization? Although travel has been shut down, we know that the current travel industry is dominated by large online booking sites and large agencies, but when we start traveling again, people prefer the human interaction and experiences they receive with a traditional travel agency.

In addition, 1.5 million women have left their jobs due to the pandemic, and we know that these people will have time and interest in side hustles or new jobs. Additionally, much of the education and training has been forced to move online due to the pandemic, creating the first opportunity to train a remote worker without the detriment of setting up in an office. The creative economy and team-based courses have really exploded with staying at home with computers.

From there, we decided to empower entrepreneurs to turn their passion for travel into revenue and do so by creating amazing experiences for travelers. Empowering the long tail who can sell for a living and building tools to make the job easier and more efficient, we created Fora with online booking website technology, but like a traditional travel agency.

Courtesy of Fora

Being a travel agent as a business has changed dramatically as consumers have been able to book themselves for travel over the Internet, leading to a decline in the profession since the 1990s. Why do you think there might be a comeback now?

Vazquez: The travel agent market is booming with all things Covid related to cancellations, last minute changes and stress-free travel amid the pandemic. It’s our job to stay on top of current travel tips, trends and restrictions so you don’t have to worry about it.

The internet is also unregulated and unregulated, with endless options but no one to sort through the noise for you. That’s where our agents come in. They are also there to support you when things go wrong.

On top of that, travel advisors can set you up with perks and extras that you can’t get with an online booking site. Because of their direct relationship with the property, those using Trip Advisor are more likely to receive upgrades, dining and spa credits, and additional amenities. Additionally, we are in constant contact with the properties and their team to ensure that your travel specials are met. Think: wine in the room upon arrival, a romantic getaway, or a surprise treat for the kids.

Airports are suffering from check-in delays, cancellations, lost luggage, and meltdowns (in some cases, literally), but the travel industry is certainly making a comeback. But inflation and a looming recession have some people worried about spending money on travel. What do you think will be some of the top travel trends this fall and holiday season?

Vazquez: The looming recession hasn’t stopped travel from happening, but we continue to see a trend that doesn’t cancel last-minute travel plans, and we suspect it’s related to confidence in spending. We recently saw a third of the recorded week, all with departure dates next week. If there is uncertainty in the markets, what we are seeing is a reluctance (rather than reluctance) to plan further ahead. not at all never) trip.

That said, the weird thing is that everything in travel is so expensive now, but people are still booking their dream trips without spending a fortune. After two years at home, they are eager to see the world again.

In terms of trends, there is less focus on action-packed itineraries. A few people are asking for tickets to the Louvre or museums; Most people don’t want to make back-to-back travel plans. Instead, they want to wander and explore the cities they’re in, eat great food, and immerse themselves in places they’ve missed. We have seen a huge increase in adventure and outdoor oriented travel. I lived in Costa Rica for the worst of the epidemic, mostly out of curiosity. do Things do not get stuck again and at home. From national parks to tropical rainforests, we’re seeing the same trend in travel planning – let’s move!

In terms of airfares, there are now more travelers than available seats. For those of you who haven’t thought about your flight this holiday season, you should check in now, even though we know from our data that last minute is the name of the game. The big thing is that people are adjusting their behavior to the unpredictability of flights, building in waiting days or flying earlier to avoid delays and cancellations. Even if we don’t like it, we’ve all gotten better at the “go with the flow” approach. Working with a travel agent means you have a friend in the industry who can help you navigate the ever-changing nature of travel.

Courtesy of Fora

How is the company funded? Is it self-funded or have you reached out to investors? What is the financing process like?

Frank: Innovation in the travel agency industry has historically been very fragmented with many owner operators, and as a result there is generally very low margin for building technology and many capabilities are typically only seen at OTAs. [online travel agencies]- We had to raise capital first. Agents have been left behind in the online booking revolution in travel; We want to put the power back in their hands and build a sense of halfway between a traditional agency and an OTA. A human powered OTA.

As a result, we’ve been VC-backed since the early days. In the year We closed a $5 million seed round in 2021 and announced a $13.5 million Series A funding round led by Heartcore Capital and Forerunner. This Series A funding will be used to accelerate the continued evolution of the platform: an innovative customer and booking management system—the first of its kind in the industry—exclusively for our community of travel advisors.

We are an experienced team with exits under our belts and diverse backgrounds – agency, travel provider, construction technology products – that helped us attract this equity capital.

Looking ahead five years, how do you want Fora to grow? What services would you like to add in the future?

Peters: Travel writing might actually be the best job in the world. But, for this to be true, and to welcome thousands of travel-loving people into this industry, a lot needs to be re-thought: from payments to marketing to the community to enabling different ways of working – and making the planning easier. and reservation process.

We have great visions and many ideas of things we can build; Putting the platform together is what we’re working on right now. Our focus right now is laying the groundwork in terms of product and underlying technology, but more so in terms of process – how we build, how we listen to and understand our advisors, and how we interact with travel technology and the provider community as a whole.

And we do all of this with a laser focus on making sure our advisors are successful and enjoy selling travel and serving their customers. I enjoy looking ahead a few years and thinking about how we can have a product that covers all the important parts together; This includes booking tools, customer management tools, payments, supplier information, training and community, and more into a single offering that’s powerful and fun to use.

I know I speak for everyone in the team when I say that we are committed to growing Fora and making it even bigger than it is today. We want to bring new people into the industry and enable them to turn their passion for travel into a meaningful career, side hustle or full-time. We want to support Travel Advisors as much as we can with technology and the community. The travel agent industry has approximately 100,000 agents. Our mission at Fora is to bring the next 100,000 agents or more to a more progressive approach to training, labor and technology. We want being a Fora consultant to be the best job in the world.