Travel

Should you have a travel budget?

Yes, absolutely. When building a new company, brand awareness in your target market is a critical success factor. You'll begin by tapping into the usual channels: your industry networks, your advisors' connections, LinkedIn, and your industry's trade press.

Building relationships to reach your first commercial and product milestones is essential. You'll need to hit the road early to meet potential customers and partners, pitching your vision, roadmap and early wins. Find creative ways to attend key industry conferences affordably—for example, by securing speaking slots in breakout sessions or entering startup competitions. Connect with companies in your space, including your existing and potential competitors; these early relationships could become vital lifelines if plans don’t go as planned (as they did for flyiin).

Occasionally, you may need to fly out to meet with VC firms. However, before doing so, ensure you have solid numbers to present. Also, make sure you're meeting with the right people—not just junior analysts or associates who sometimes request meetings merely to appear busy. Otherwise, you'll waste both time and money.

You'll need to bid farewell to the corporate travel comforts of your previous life, though. Two-star hotels, Airbnbs, and budget airlines and basic economy fares will become your new normal. Fancy dinners? Forget about those (unless someone else is treating). Pizza, burgers, and ramen will be the norm. Funnily, the transition will feel natural. Your drive to bring your company's vision to life will far outweigh the loss of travel comfort.

Despite lacking a live product, flyiin’s Air Travel Marketplace concept garnered significant industry and press attention, establishing our brand early in the market. By 2017, we had built surprising momentum that exceeded my expectations from two years prior. Our success came from signing several major airlines for our beta phase. While our disruptive approach played a crucial role, the decisive factor was the personal relationships I built through multiple airline visits.

A few years later, as we pivoted to become a pure tech player, a single day trip to London to meet with a CEO resulted in our second—and ultimately only—pilot customer for our Airline DirectConnect Platform before our collaboration with Priceline. These one-day lunch meetings also opened doors to pitch our platform to Airbnb and discuss potential collaborations during their exploration of the transportation space—though they later abandoned that initiative.

I must admit that some of my accommodations severely tested my comfort levels. I vividly recall an Airbnb in Barcelona shared with three strangers attending the same conference—seriously challenging my sense of comfort at 46 years old. I also remember a rather shabby apartment rental in Fort Lauderdale and a basic hotel in Dubai for other industry conferences, while fellow attendees enjoyed the comfort of five-star hotels. That's when you become acutely aware of the difference between being a founder of a very early-stage venture and having long-term corporate employment.

Not to mention those long-haul flights at the very back of the aircraft or the one-hour commutes on the Berlin U-Bahn at 5 a.m. to catch a 7 a.m. budget flight.

Key Takeaway #23

Travel is crucial for building relationships and brand awareness in a startup. Budget wisely and embrace cheaper accommodations to maximize networking opportunities. One well-timed trip can lead to significant business breakthroughs, justifying the investment in travel.