Ruth Ann S. Basnillo

SYSANAL

O0A

Stephen Kaufer

Cofounder, TripAdvisor

            Stephen Kaufer founded TripAdvisor together with Langley Steinert, Nick Shanny, and Thomas Palka.

            It started when Kaufer and his wife Caroline tried to find a vacation for them and found out in the Internet some chat rooms that tell that the island recommended by the   travel agent was not safe. It was then that his wife suggested that he build a better search engine to find what he’s looking for in an unpublished and unbiased opinion about a place.

            The particular problem that this startup addressed was when they had the biggest challenge in sales and marketing and business development because they didn’t have any takers. A company finally came and talked to them about considering a deal wherein their database will be licensed and they will be offered $50,000 a month only to find out that the company would just want to do the deal for two years and will walk away with all of their intellectual property.

            People were using the site because just like Stephen Kaufer before, they also needed informations about a certain place they would want to have their vacation. And this service was offered by TripAdvisor.

            It had an impact in the history of the Internet in a way that it contributed to developing   the use of the Internet for web searches specifically when it comes to travels. It used Internet as the medium where people could contribute their personal reviews about destinations, hotels, and attractions.

            What’s unique about this startup was that there was a give-and-take relationship here wherein TripAdvisor.com would feed people ideas about certain destinations that they would want to know, and these same people would give back to the site that helped them make a decision by sharing their personal experiences about a certain place they had gone through personal reviews.

            If I were in the cofounder’s shoes, I would have also not closed a deal with the company that’s going to tae my intellectual property away after two years with the reason that they have been funding a lot of money in the creation of the database.

            This startup would have been possible in a Third World Country since places here are already into the Internet thing. And since places here need ways of promoting tourism without needing to put a big investment, then they could also think of this. The peculiar characteristic that allowed it to flourish where it has been conceived was that it was built   with the opinions of readers about certain places they had gone through. Moreover, it had a give-and-take relationship too that lasted long because of trust.

10 THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW:

1. After reading the case study, I learned that TripAdvisor was built out of the very great suggestion from a house wife. Before, I didn’t know anything about TripAdvisor and how it was built.
2. After reading the case study, I learned that TripAdvisor is a site for people who need backgrounds about certain destinations. Before, I knew that there are sites like this such as Yahoo Travel but I didn’t know that TripAdvisor also offers this.
3. After reading the case study, I learned that TripAdvisor became the largest online                          travel company in the world. Before, I didn’t know that it was the largest online travel company.
4. After reading the case study, I learned that their great competitor was when no one else is using their stuff. Before, I didn’t know that it’s really considered a competitor.
5. After reading the case study, I learned that the company didn’t have any investments for the opinions of people. These reviewers never were paid, instead, they voluntarily do it. Before, I didn’t know that it could be possible.
6. After reading the case study, I learned that the company was never sued even though there are many negative posts from people about hotels or other destinations because they are protected under the law. Before, I thought that it’s always possible for a site having negative posts about establishments to be sued.
7. After reading the case study, I learned that you should not get too attached to your vision in a startup because things may change. Before, I thought that you need to always look at your vision so that you’ll be focused.
8. After reading the case study, I learned that Expedia was the first client of TripAdvisor. Before, I didn’t know anything about Expedia.
9. After reading the case study, I learned that a lot of startups that are based strongly on technology don’t have the luxury of having a business guy as one of the founders. Before, I didn’t know about this idea.
10. After reading the case study, I learned that TripAdvisor had techniques to detect the sort of fraud wherein hotel owners would tell all of their employees to write wonderful reviews of the property. Before, I didn’t know that the idea of that spam would be possible.