Picture courtesy of Stephanie Chai
I understand that you successfully started the wedding guide Asian portal in 2009 and then last year, The Luxe Nomad, a luxury travel portal, began. What advice would you give to people who want to start up portals?
Before I started, I took friends out for lunch who were either successful entrepreneurs or start-up founders. Nothing like learning from the pros and people always like a nice lunch.
When you set up your travel portal, The Luxe Nomad, what challenges did you face?
I knew nothing about the travel industry, technology or raising money. All I could remember from my Uni days studying finance were the WACC formula and the Standard Deviation of a portfolio – nothing that was materially helpful! But you learn as you go along and hey – if you don’t know something, google it!
I understand that you have been quite successful in getting funding for your latest portal. For example, you got close to $900,000 for this portal. What advice can you give to other online entrepreneurs who are looking for finance?
Getting funds is great for the company but make sure you get a good lawyer to draft out a fair agreement and protect you. Also, get to know your investors or co-founders. It’s like a marriage and if you don’t have the same vision it will lead to conflict and so forth. I’ve seen some start-ups fail because founders fall out with one another… don’t make that mistake!
To get in touch with Stephanie at The Luxe Nomad, please visit: https://www.theluxenomad.com
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