Startup Business Showcase : GLYD

By @SimonCocking

Describe the company – the elevator pitch …

GLYD is a community and a marketplace where travelers meet locals to have a more authentic and local experience on their journey. When we travel, we constantly strive to have that feeling of home, of belonging to that culture we are visiting – GLYD provides a community platform, where a traveler can connect with a local and request a locally curated itinerary from them. To take it a step further, GLYD allows travelers to hire the local to show them around town as well. What’s a better way to experience a city than to have a local waiting for you there, like a friend, to help you see their local town more culturally. Walk the local markets with them, sip coffee at their local cafe, surf at a beach they know gets the best waves or joining in on the local festivals of the town and meeting their neighbors.

On the other hand, locals get to showcase their hometown and have visitors arrive with a warm welcome into their locale. It drives the hyperlocal economy as well since both of these services are paid by the traveler to the local. It really expands the world of the travelers beyond the big cities to the local towns around them.

How are you different?

GLYD is different in that it promotes a personally curated experience for each user rather than a prepackaged or predesigned experience. Via GLYD, a traveler is able to request/order a custom itinerary from a local based on their interest. The traveler can specify type of things they like as well. To take it a step further, the traveler can also hire the local to give them a more cultural experience of their hometown. The traveler is always in control and has direct connection with the local.

#chenyu #yeepay #crosscampus #globaldisruptors starting…#innovatepasadena #phnix pic.twitter.com/vN1nvmYK7c

— GLYD™ (@glydapp) July 8, 2016

Why will the company / product do well?

GLYD is unique to all the travel apps out there in that it connects the traveler to the local directly to design a custom experience for them. The experiences can be requested and created in GLYD easily. At GLYD, we are solely focused on building a community of travelers and locals who truly enjoy traveling as well as community engagement. Focusing on our community helps us build a solid foundation of authentic experiences and GLYDrs globally.

Where are you based?

GLYD is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA

When was the company launched?
GLYD is currently in Beta and will launch in August 2016.

What have been your biggest wins to date?

Acceptance into the WebSummit 2016 in Lisbon. Write Up in a Japanese Blog. Working with World Gaming Committees to be the official app for the events.

What type of people (market segment) are you trying to attract to your product?
GLYD is for travelers looking to have a more authentic experience when on the road and for locals looking to connect with other cultures and showcase their hometown.

Retweeted John's World ? (@LifeWithJohn):

Ain't that the truth!#ThinkBigSundayWithMarsha pic.twitter.com/brSQfEEMky https://t.co/KyodsXwNrY

— GLYD™ (@glydapp) June 26, 2016

Tell us about your team?
We are a team of 2 Founders:

Monika Bhasin Founder/CEO:

With a background in Biochemistry as a Jr. Scientist, Monika has a strong understanding in technical research and analysis. For the past 5 years, she has been managing her family’s international Real Estate business in the US and abroad.
As a serial entrepreneur, Monika has created, run and sold a successful Food Truck Business for a profit. Constantly striving to stay ahead of the market, her passion for technology paved the way for her creation of GLYD to fill a gap in today’s livelihood.

Puneet Bhasin Co-Founder/CTO

Puneet disassembled his first computer when he was 6 years old, and it was love at first byte. He’s worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, providing solutions and implementations for companies both in-house and as a consultant.
He has managed IT projects from small-scale hardware rollouts to large implementations of corporate infrastructure software. An active panelist at SES, Puneet is a proponent of interdepartmental collaboration to find the best solutions for the business’s needs.

What are you long term plans for your product / company?

We envision GLYD to be an international community of travelers and locals.

Retweeted Epic Trips (@Real_Epic_Trips):

?Such a big journey awaits you? ? pic.twitter.com/IfgCUQC6Qn https://t.co/xNP5jRXD1y

— GLYD™ (@glydapp) June 20, 2016

What are your favourite tech gadgets?
SmartPhone, Smart Watches, Autonomous Cars.

We can barely think of our lives without a smartphone nowadays, so being iPhone friendly is great and we are building the platform for our users with an Android device as well as a Web platform.  We love smartphones because they allow us to be connected no matter where we are and while traveling – that’s what comes in handy.  

The next level of convenience comes with wearables like a watch.  Making GLYD compatible with smart watches is also being considered as many of us love having that mobility.

Having apps in an Autonomous car would allow users travel stress free so naturally we thought GLYD would be a great addition when time is right.

What tech gadgets do you wish you could use to help you?

Augmented/Virtual Reality. I think there is so much to travel and with new technologies emerging, it is only viable to think of integrating them into GLYD in the future to better help people find places, and people.  We want to make sure we are staying up to speed with the tech world and giving our users what they have come to expect from companies and brands today.

How do people get in touch with you?

www.GLYDAPP.com

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at [email protected] or on Twitter: @SimonCocking