Travelogy secures S$250,000 in funding from Crystal Horse Investments

Singapore-based incubator Crystal Horse Investments has just invested S$250,000 in Travelogy through the i.Jam funding scheme by MDA.

The post Travelogy secures S$250,000 in funding from Crystal Horse Investments appeared first on e27.

With Tourexplora, find travel packages at the best bargains in Indonesia

From providing maps of tourism hotspots to localized tour packages, Indonesian startup, Tourexplora, maximises travel experiences in Indonesia.

Unlike most apps that are catered for free and easy travelers to plan trips independently, this app calls out to the lazier travelers by providing information of various travel packages offered by different local tour agencies. Think hipmunk for travel packages in Indonesia and you will get Tourexplora.

I got in touch with Founder of Tourexplora, Dicky Johan to find out more on their future plans.

Tell us more about the motivation behind Tourexplora.

Tourexplora was born from the frustrations of planning my own travel trips. I like to maximize my travel time and visit many places within a short period of time. Personally, I would like to be able to see a collage of pictures and easily convert that to a day by day travel itinerary. Pinterest is nice for collecting pictures, but the images on pin boards can’t be converted into a travel itinerary.

Founder of Tourexplora, Dicky Johan. Image: Dicky

The travel industry is really big and competitive. What are some of the challenges faced by the Tourexplora and how did you handle these issues?

You’re right, the travel industry is very competitive, but it is also a trillion dollar industry. This means there can be many players in the industry. I have tried out a dozen travel websites as well, some do not have the functions I need, and some of them just do not have a good user experience, thus I feel there is an opportunity here.

The advantages of starting in Indonesia is that the cost structure is lower, which means, mistakes are not that costly. The drawback is that I am not in an environment that has a lot of engaging users. I agree if Tourexplora eventually wishes to target the global market, it needs to move to a more developed country.

The Tourexplora team. Image: Dicky

How is the traction like for Tourexplora and how do you plan to market your product to reach a bigger pool of users?

For now, Tourexplora is targeting Bali as it is part of our home territory. Furthermore, Bali has become an international destination with many 5 to 6 star hotels opening up soon. We feel that this is the right time to launch Tourexplora and gain worldwide traction. Google SEO strategies are also critical for us to gain traction.

What would you mainly be looking for at Echelon 2012 Startup Marketplace?
At Echelon 2012, we are hoping to get a lot of feedback for Tourexplora, and possibly open doors to some potential investments and partnerships.

Tourexplora will be exhibiting at Echelon 2012 Startup Marketplace. The team pitched their product at the Indonesia Satellite in April.

Indonesia Satellite sees 16 pitches and StartupLokal turns 2

Indonesia Satellite 2011 People's Choice Winner, PriceArea.com

With just 2 days to the Indonesia Satellite, 16 companies have been selected to pitch their products to a panel of judges made out of representatives from Research in Motion (RIM), Mindtalk, e27, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Magnivate Group.

The Indonesia Satellite will take place on 7 April, Saturday, at Telkom Kebon Sirih Menara Multimedia. Expect a day packed with strong content as there will be keynote presentations and panel discussions together with the much awaited startup pitches. Some key sessions would be the AWS’ Bean Bag Sessions with Simone Brunozzi and keynote sessions by RIM’s keynote on “The BlackBerry Opportunity” by Sarim Aziz. Attendees will also get to hear from Vincent Lauria of Golden Gate Ventures and Brynerio of 4id as they present on key tech startup topics. Find out from our panel of experts on what it will take to make Indonesia the next IT hub. Check out the Echelon 2012 website for the full list of speakers and judges and the Indonesia Satellite agenda.

The stars of the show

So who are the 16 startups selected to pitch? A total of 13 Indonesian, 2 Malaysian and 1 Singaporean startup have chosen and were selected to pitch at the Indonesia Satellite by our panel of judges during the internal judging session. They are, in pitching order:

Bistip – a social marketplace

Gobann – a marketplace for microjobs

AppsChef - human resource management SAAS

KirimPaket – an online marketplace for shippers and transporters

Tandif – a moderation service for websites and apps

Tourexplora – a social web-based travel itinerary planning tool

Klik-Eat – an online food order and delivery service

Squiryl – a social platform for merchants to engage customers with loyalty programs

HelloGoodBuy – an e-commerce site that helps merchants manage order with just-in-time production strategy

Kark – an education platform that creates a stimulating play experience

Eductory – online media to help parents find the right education for their children

Fokado – an e-commerce site to help find unique gifts

Volpen – a collaborative fiction writing platform

cr.my [pronounced kree-mee] – a contest hosting platform for brands and online communities

TaxiMonger – a taxi booking and review application for mobile and web

Updaterus – a social media platform to help men appreciate women’s beauty and inspiration

StartupLokal celebrates 2nd anniversary with e27

Another key component at the Indonesia Satellite will be the celebration of StartupLokal’s second anniversary. StartupLokal has been a key partner of e27, which also saw them helping to organize the Indonesia Satellite last year, and the team at e27 are glad to once again hold the Satellite in Indonesia with them and also be there to celebrate a key event in the organization. With the continuous support from the local startup community, e27 looks grow the regional community with this event and future ones.