Trvlpage | Gabi Klapman | Traveltech

Gabi Klapman grew up in Oak Park, IL. For those not familiar, it’s the first suburb West of Chicago. It’s known for having Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio and many homes designed by him. Gabi Klapman originally wanted to be an Art Teacher, which she now finds funny because she was not very artistic.  Now Gabi Klapman has created an app called Trvlpage to help friends and family give reliable recommendations for places to dine, visit and explore while travelling. We were lucky enough to speak to Gabi and excited to share her story.

What gave you the idea for Trvlpage?

I first started experiencing the problem when I was Studying Abroad in Madrid in college. One weekend we went to Rome. I felt bad bothering my friends for recommendations because they had other priorities while abroad rather than making a Rome list for me. I looked online but we were looking for cute mom & pop restaurants not tourist traps. I ended up having mediocre food – who has mediocre food in Rome? (I think I need to go back). A few weeks later, I was talking to a friend who was raving about an amazing restaurant she went to. I couldn’t help but think, I wish I had known.

I also used to scrapbook all my travel experiences. But it takes so long. I still have a half complete book from my post college travels… and that was 6 years ago. For my own personal memories and for when friends ask for advice, I find myself thinking I wish I could remember. 

I started Trvlpage when I was attending a coding bootcamp 4 years ago. They said to create something you’re passionate about and I immediately thought of Trvlpage. The product itself has changed but the core problem has stayed the same.

Any key stats, data, reports, research you can provide to give flavor to the opportunity/problem?

In an open response question on the Trvlpage discovery survey asking whether current trip planning resources fulfilled their needs/wants, almost 50% of respondents answered that the slew of current resources available to them makes trip planning overwhelming and time consuming, rather than being helpful. The most prominent resource used by survey takers was “Actively seeking friends’ advice” but that was followed by responses about how burdensome it is to do so.

When asked for travel advice, 64% of millennial travelers have no method of documenting their trip details meaning they have to spend too much time recalling their experiences if they want to create a list to be helpful.

What does Trvlpage do? Who is the solution for? What problem does it solve?

Trvlpage is a travel based social media app. It helps users log their travel experiences and connect with friends for trusted travel recommendations. Trvlpage makes it really easy to compare recommendations from your network and plan a trip with helpful information from people you trust.

Trvlpage is for all travelers but specifically we’ve found Millennial and Gen-Z females most interested.

What is unique about Trvlpage?

Your network. Your network. One more time, your network. Trvlpage is all about easily planning a trip with your network’s recommendations. It’s about authentic reviews from people you trust not unrealistic pictures from people who travel for a living.

Travel reviews are so much more valuable when you know the reviewer.

Where do see your proposition in ten years time?

Trvlpage will be the go-to spot for trip planning all focused around your network’s recommendations.

Biggest challenge you have faced so far?

With most products, you can build a small version or no-code version to determine if you’re solving the problem in a way people will use. It’s much more challenging with Trvlpage because the problem we’re trying to solve requires a pretty extensive product to test the core problem. Our goal is to make it easy to search and compare your trusted network’s recommendations. This means we have to make it easy and encouraging for people to upload their trip recommendations and spread the word to their network bringing them onto Trvlpage as well.

Example of a good result with Trvlpage?

Since our initial launch in July, our user numbers have nearly tripled with 71% of them attributed to word of mouth. And that’s while people weren’t traveling. We are eager to see how big Trvlpage can grow with people traveling.

We also had a TikTok go viral about Trvlpage asking people if they would use it. The response was incredible, and we took Trvlpage off the app store as we prepare for a relaunch with new branding and designs. 

In what ways do you think female founders are treated differently?

I think there’s many ways. One in particular applies to both being a female founder and being a software developer. Both groups of women are held to a higher standard. It takes more to prove we are capable and skilled. The expectation is that we aren’t as strong of a developer or leader so when we make a mistake it’s scrutinized more than our male counterparts.

What is your focus now? And for the next couple of years? How has COVID impact your activity?

We are SO excited to be relaunching in about 1 month with new designs and a better way to connect users. We are focused on getting ready for that as well as fundraising. We just started a fundraising for a large seed round as we get ready to grow.

We have plans to grow significantly over the next few years. We will continue to learn from our users and improve the product based on their needs and wants.

COVID has impacted our business significantly. We launched a travel business in the middle of a pandemic. But we think this could actually work to our advantage because we had more time to learn and build a backbone for our company before travel explodes. There is a huge pent up demand and people will need a product like ours more than ever.

What tips would you have for female entrepreneurs?

Use your feminine attributes as a strength and don’t try to be the like the men. Women are strong and often have unique characteristics that make them incredible leaders.

What are the one or two lessons/principles/ you carry with you into everything you do?

Not every day is going to be a good day. And that’s ok.

 Push yourself to continuously learn and grow.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

I see Trvlpage as a top used social media/travel app in the world. I see myself being at the forefront of business continuing to learn, improve, and grow Trvlpage.

How do you balance your personal time and your ‘work’ time?

This used to be really hard for me. I would force myself to work all that time and punished myself for taking breaks. Then, I started measuring my days based on my energy levels and how much I was able to accomplish rather than the hours spent working. Now, I happily take breaks because I know I’m fueling up so I can be more productive when I actually get to work.

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