Thursday Business Showcase : Zipkick

By @SimonCocking

It’s summer time, perhaps many of you are lying on a beach somewhere else in the world, possibly even in California. So, for a change we thought we’d bring you a profile of an exciting new startup Zipkick  @Zipkick , based in California, who are launching this month. We spke with Jason Will, their CEO about Zipkick. They offer personalised Travel Search & Booking. Anytime, Anywhere. Android and iOS apps coming soon!

Describe the company – the elevator pitch …

Zipkick is a personal travel concierge in your pocket that makes mobile travel search simple and convenient by only showing results that matter to you. We believe it’s time for a new experience, which is personalized, clean, simple and fast.
Personalized: Only see results that match your preferences

Clean: No ads, checkboxes, or scroll bars to sort through

Simple: Just type in when and where you are going

Fast: Three screen process, start to finish.
As you continue to use Zipkick, the results become even more personalized, saving you time and ensuring the most relevant options are shown without any clutter.

How are you different?

The online travel industry has never experienced personalisation. Due to check boxes, scroll bars and sorting features in conjunction with sponsored results across online travel agencies (OTA’s), un biased personalisation cannot exist. Keep in mind that the most valuable place for search results are on page one, which means sponsored listings are big money for these companies on top of every page displaying advertisements.

Another concept that isn’t widely discussed is static vs. dynamic preferences.  Check boxes on the current OTA sites are static, which means their system interprets the response as yes or no. Additionally, they cannot tell how checking amenity boxes are relatively more or less important than sorting by price. The introduction of ranked preferences is dynamic and by understanding the relative importance and all of the users unique travel behaviors (loyalty programs, purchase history, etc) then personalisation can take shape.

Why will the company / product do well?

The company firmly believes in a community approach as the foundation of going to market. We are anchored by Scott Eddy @MrScottEddy as our Global Brand Ambassador, which has opened up a myriad of collaborative opportunities with travel bloggers, influencers and other media personnel. Transparency is also a core principal for the company and we place a tremendous amount of focus on working with our customers to better the application.

Where are you based, how is the broadband? How long will you stay there?

Zipkick is based in San Francisco and has plans to remain here for some time. We are very happy with the broadband speed to adequately run the company.

When was the company launched?

Zipkick launched this month, August 2015.

What have been your biggest wins to date?

We feel incredibly blessed to have an incredibly talented team, which cannot be overlooked as a win. Also, the company was featured as a trending start-up on BetaList and has been receiving tremendous coverage.

What type of people (market segment) are you trying to attract to your product?

Our main focus today is the 80 million millennials within the United States. We have a very engaging presence across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook that are downloading the app today.

Tell us about your team?

Zipkick’s team has been structured with very complimentary skills. The co-founders come from large-scale technology consulting and big data careers. Additional members include a globally ranked social media influencer, computer science professor who holds patents and authored several algorithm books, mobile designer who has worked for PayPal and a 20-year hotel veteran.

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

We are focused on building out the offering for hotels and offering several complimentary services to enable a better travel experience.

What are you plans re Europe? Just US focused for now?

We are focused on the US for now, but have already set up partners to localize in Europe and all the global currencies are ready for when we decide to turn on that feature.

What are your favourite tech gadgets?

A Go-Pro is essential for capturing travel content. Also, I still use the original Beats by Dre headphones every day and the noise-cancelling feature is essential for flights. They are in rough condition so eventually a new pair would be nice.

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

Google Glass has always been on my mind and their limited success on the initial release was strictly a timing issue. However, that technology will no doubt be the most impactful within 2 years. As a company, we see an incredible opportunity to integrate with Google Glass and similar wearables sooner than later.

How can people get in touch with you?

Our site zipkick.com, also