⚡ How this Start-Up is Turning Social Media Travel Dreams into Reality

Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
🗺 How this Start-Up is turning social media travel dreams into reality
🍕 How bringing a fake product to life can turn your customer base mad
🗣 A tool that enables you to create engaging presentations in an instant

✨ Last weeks most clicked link was this link taking you through to the application process for the next Entrepreneur First cohort, with €250,000 of investment up for grabs.

Happy hustling,
Rich

🎤 Events/Opportunities

📣 Wayra have launched their office hours programme with a collection of Venture Capital firms belonging to the biggest Corporate companies in the world, including HSBC, Samsung, Oracle and more. You can apply here.

💸 For any of our Australian subscribers, the partner of Antler VC is investing $5m into idea-stage companies. Take a look here.

🌍 500 Global are running their is running their European and Asian accelerator programme for Founders in the region that have ambitions to go global, with successful applicants potentially receiving up to $100,000 in investment. You can apply here.

💼 Start-Up Jobs

📹 Growth Marketer, Viral Video Club
🌎 Product Manager, Boundless
🧑‍💻 Senior Software Engineer, Count

⛴ ‘Flying Ferry’ Start-Up raises $14m and eyes US expansion. Sifted

🎥 Spotify tests video feature for audiobooks as it ramps up video expansion. TechCrunch

🧑‍🚀 SpaceX signs second commercial deal for Starship lunar lander with lunar outpost. TechCrunch

🚎 Quick-Charging electric buses launch today as part of Mayor’s Zero Carbon Pledge. UKTN

Yond: Transforming Social Media Travel Dreams into Reality

Turning Inspiration into Action
Yond is revolutionizing travel planning for Millennial and Gen Z travelers by bridging the gap between social media inspiration and real-world travel. The app connects to users' social media accounts, using AI to turn saved posts into personalized, bookable trips. From itineraries to hotel and local experience recommendations, Yond simplifies the journey from dream destinations to real adventures, catering to the tech-savvy, social-media-driven traveler.

Finding the Right Co-Founder: A Perfect Partnership
The Yond journey began with two seasoned professionals in hospitality marketing. Emily and Mark had a long-standing working relationship defined by mutual respect and the ability to challenge ideas constructively. This foundation made the decision to collaborate on Yond both natural and effective, bringing complementary skills to the venture.

Winning First Customers: Social Media as Both Strategy and Solution
Social media wasn’t just a marketing tool for Yond; it was fundamental to their product. By leveraging their platform’s deep social integration, the team reached their target audience naturally and cost-effectively. This dual approach—advertising and showcasing the product’s unique functionality—helped them secure their first customers and build early momentum.

Funding the Dream: Simplicity Wins Over Investors
Yond successfully raised £250,000 from a combination of venture capital and angel investors. The turning point came when the team shifted their pitch focus from technical details to clearly articulating the problem they were solving. This streamlined storytelling resonated with investors, unlocking critical funding to fuel their growth.

Overcoming Challenges: Standing Out in a Crowded Market
Travel is a highly competitive sector, and Yond faced significant challenges in differentiating itself. Many potential users and investors initially questioned why they wouldn't simply use existing platforms like Booking.com. Through consistent refinement of their messaging, the team learned to effectively communicate Yond’s unique value—its ability to leverage social media insights for personalised, AI-driven travel planning.

Key Lessons Learned: The Power of Clear Communication
One of Yond’s greatest takeaways has been the importance of clear, relatable communication. Mentors played a vital role, offering an external perspective to help the team simplify their messaging for both investors and customers. This clarity was key to overcoming initial misunderstandings and building confidence in the platform.

Looking Back: Lessons from the Journey
If the team could start over, they’d launch earlier to validate assumptions and test ideas sooner. They also realised that focusing too much on features rather than benefits in their early marketing was a misstep. Transitioning from service-based businesses to a product-focused venture brought its own learning curve, teaching them to prioritise benefits and user needs above technical details.

Final Advice: Balance Optimism with Realism
Yond’s journey highlights the balancing act every founder must navigate—planning for more funding than initially expected while maintaining an optimistic outlook. In the startup world, agility and clear communication often determine success, allowing you to adapt and thrive as opportunities grow.

Finally, keep an eye on some SUPER exciting new features launching over the next couple of weeks!

Carta is a platform that helps people manage equity, build businesses and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Our mission is to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. Carta is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 8,000 investment funds and a million employees for cap table management, venture capital solutions and more. In the UK, we support founders who are raising money through SEIS/EIS, helping with Advance Assurance, round modelling and more. To find out more, take a look at their website, or get in touch with [email protected].

We’ve shown you brands smashing it out the park with April Fools products, but what happens when they actually make those products?

Well, Dominos did just that! Dominos know just how popular their Garlic and Herb dip is, so they decided to turn it into a travel sized product! This was a limited edition product that was launched at the height of the summer holidays, aimed at people taking it with them on their trip away.

This product went crazy online, with people trying to grab one of these limited bottles left, right and centre.

Which leads to the question, how can you modify your product to create huge hype? Regardless of whether you actually make it or not!

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our innovator community have recommended.

Butters scenes all you to create engaging workshops that combine the best of presentation, interaction, and whiteboarding tools—all in an easy-to-use slide builder. Easy for participants, powerful for you.

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…