Footy mates’ ‘Facebook for travel’ raises $5 million

MARK Cantoni and Ryan Hanly were “about as green as you could possibly get” when they launched their start-up.

TWO footy mates from Brisbane have raised $5 million for their “Facebook of travel” social media network, despite launching their start-up with zero app development experience.

Travello founders Mark Cantoni and Ryan Hanly left their respective jobs as a recruiter and a high school PE teacher three years ago to try their hand as tech entrepreneurs.

“We were about as green as you could possibly get,” Mr Hanly said. “We had to basically self-teach. We were literally Googling, ‘How to build an app.’”

Mr Hanly said the pair, both keen solo travellers, were inspired by the rise of social media apps in “pretty much every area except travel”, from LinkedIn and Instagram to even social networks for pet owners.

“When you travel you’re still relying on serendipity to meet someone, you cross paths or hear an accent,” he said. “You don’t know if you’re missing out on people staying a street away or two floors down. We thought, there’s got to be a social network for travellers.”

They “kept Googling it” and it “never appeared”. “We thought, if we don’t do this someone else will,” he said.

The pair went to an agency to build the first version of their app, which Mr Hanly said “isn’t following the start-up playbook” but “with the benefit of hindsight” was good because it allowed them to get a product in market relatively quickly to prove the demand.

“Speed to market was good but as soon as we got our own coders on, they looked under the hood and said, ‘We’re starting again.’ There’s not a line of code from that app that was usable.”

The Tinder-style app connects travellers.

Today Travello has more than 350,000 members, mainly in the US, Australia and the UK, with active users fluctuating between 27-35 per cent. User growth is tracking at 10-15 per cent month-on-month.

Users can share photos and content in a newsfeed visible to others in the location, while travel companies can pay money to target people “in country” with relevant offers such as tours and experiences.

Mr Hanly said the key focus of the app, however, would remain as a meet-up tool — more like Tinder for travel than Facebook.

“For millennial travellers in particular, actually having to meet someone new in person, go up to them in a bar or a hostel, that’s an awkward experience,” he said. “We’re providing what they’re used to.”

The $5 million funding round from a group of private Australian investors, which brings total funds raised to $6.4 million, will go towards rapidly growing user numbers — they’re targeting a lofty goal of one million monthly active users within 12 months.

Mr Hanly said the company was still bringing in very low levels of revenue and hoped to turn a profit within 24 to 36 months.

“If you look at the life cycle of any consumer-facing app, they all built their community before they built revenue,” he said. “We’re in the early stages.”

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