Fast food makes us fat, tech makes us shitty, let’s take a detour, says Groupon’s founder Mason
Holiday times are good for epiphanies and Andrew Mason, founder of Groupon, had his during a one-month break in South-east Asia after he left the company he founded.During the break, he found his attention span returned. “I had built up this complete addiction to technology without knowing it and [...]
Phocuswright Announces the Next Generation of Groundbreaking Travel Innovators
Travel industry research authority Phocuswright Inc. has announced the award winners of The Travel Innovation Summit, held on Nov. 11, the first day of The Phocuswright Conference currently underway in Los Angeles, Calif. Each year, 32 innovators are selected to demonstrate groundbreaking applicatio [...]
The View from Students: Don’t be afraid to make changes and take ownership of challenges
As part of our WITNext outreach to inspire and mentor young talent, we opened our events to tourism and hospitality students from the UNLV (University of Las Vegas). This is a summary by Jan Lim on The Challengers' panel on Day 1 of the WIT 2014 Conference on Oct 28.How does one infiltrate into tr [...]
The View from Students: 10 Key Takeaways from WIT Bootcamp
As part of our WITNext outreach to inspire and mentor young talent, we opened our events to tourism and hospitality students from the UNLV (University of Las Vegas). This is a summary of their learning from the WIT Bootcamp on Oct 27. Constant shifts of trends in businessesIn the past, businesses us [...]
Spacebase, changing the way we meet, wins WIT Start-Up Of The Year
Judges of the WIT Start-Up Pitch 2014 placed their bets on the P2P sharing site for event spaces, Spacebase, while the People’s Choice award, voted by delegates, went to Local Alike – a Thailand-based community-based tourism platform.Julian Jost of Capetown-based Spacebase pipped three other f [...]
Innovation by any other name equals commoditisation?
So what is this innovation talk all about then – an important question to consider when working on and inevitably claiming such a lofty ideal?In the travel sector, innovation is supposedly ready to greet us on every street corner, waiting to whisk the marketplace into a frenzy of adulation and cha [...]
The changing face of start-ups in APAC
The fourth annual WIT Bootcamp was so overflowing they had to change venues at the last minute to accommodate the additional people attending. As WIT is now celebrating its 10th birthday it is relevant to reflect on the changing face of start-ups in travel in Asia.Speaking with several of the attend [...]
Eight best quotes by Gareth Williams, CEO, Skyscanner
With the WIT Bootcamp, APAC's only travel start-up event just a week away, some gems of wisdom worth sharing from Gareth Williams, CEO and co-founder of Skyscanner, found in this article on it being hailed “one of the best technology companies to come out of Europe”.1. On funding: "I view fundin [...]
Expect CUTE, new ideas at WIT Bootcamp: Eight start-ups selected to pitch
Just returned from a meeting with the National University of Singapore Department of Communications and New Media and their CUTE centre (which stands for Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments) – I think I prefer CUTE.Seems both units are getting pretty interested in travel and the CUTE [...]
WITNext: To all startups, first impressions count, get your story right
What do investors look out for in start-ups seeking funding?In the second discussion on Startup Skills at Echelon 2011, investors – (2nd from left) Tuff Yen of Seraph Group (USA), James Chan of Neoteny Labs (Singapore), Willson Cuaca of East Ventures (Indonesia) and William Kilppgen of Tigr [...]
