Chennai-based travel startup Pickyourtrail’s lessons learned during the pandemic and its future plans.
What’s it about? Pickyourtrail, launched in 2014, is a holiday booking platform that allows users to curate their travel itinerary based on their interests and budget. Like many companies during the height of the pandemic, its business took a hit. For 6-8 months, their revenue was close to zero. However, for cofounders Hari Ganapathy and Srinath Shankar, it was a valuable learning experience.
- The company’s investors supported them in making their own decisions. All team members took a 50-80% pay cut to keep the company afloat.
- As travel restrictions eased, the company is back in business. Revenues are nearly three times that of the pandemic period.
Growth and the future: From 2014 to 2016, they helped plan trips for their friends and families. In 2016, they launched their first product – personalised vacation options for Bali. By mid-2018, the company managed to raise some funds. Now the company has gone global with its first office in Dubai. It will expand its physical footprint to other cities like Pune and Coimbatore.