From travelling across China without spending a single penny, to discovering the African continent over four years, a unique portal launched by young MBA graduates Anirudh Gupta and Michael Lyngdoh, helps backpackers and travel enthusiasts plan their perfect trips.
Tripoto is a three-month old social networking site that connects travellers across the world. Here, you can share your travel itineraries and exchange information, especially if you’re looking for offbeat vacation ideas. The site currently features around 100 itineraries, including some by actors Manoj Bajpai and Ayushmann Khurrana, footballer Baichung Bhutia and sommelier Magandeep Singh, among others.
“The idea struck us when we were studying finance at ISB-H,” informs Anirudh, who quit his job as an entrepreneur in residence (Middle East) for a German online start-up incubator. Michael, too, quit his family business and the young entrepreneurs are now operating their start-up out of Delhi. “We discussed the idea with other ISB students and the name ‘Tripoto’ was borne out of the brainstorming sessions,” he adds.
Their USP, they claim, is the fact that Tripoto provides perfect matches for travellers’ interests and personalities, unlike other travel websites. “We have itineraries from people on a four-year vacation to Africa to those travelling in Myanmar, which can be difficult to navigate for a first-timer,” says Anirudh, adding, “Our start-up is crowd sourced, so the content is generated by the people for the people. Our focus is not on the usual Agra or the Golden Triangle tours, but more on offbeat places. And that includes trips like cycling from Manali to Leh or checking out art places in Kolkata.”
The duo is currently focusing on building the site and aiming to collect as many itineraries as possible. “We also plan on building a network, where those who have posted itineraries can also act as guides when others visit those places,” they share.
