NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK


as Brexit looms. Speakers warned there are now “grave concerns” about a future skills shortage. Travelport regional managing


director Paul Broughton said: “The talent pool here [in the UK] is running out. “We get calls from agencies


that want to move online and more often than not the developers are outside the UK. It’s down to a lack of resource.” Baird warned that investors


were increasingly looking outside the UK to open new businesses. He said: “We live on a rainy island; this should be a highly successful sector for us. We have grave concerns. “I think there is a massive


skills shortage that will take people out of the UK; it is a Brexit ‘thing’ and it’s only going to go downhill from now.” Baird said start-up businesses as a rule were either pioneers or looking to solve a problem. Stone Ventures, which is on the lookout for travel businesses to invest in, sought out management teams with the right “vision”. Baird said: “What we want to know is if they have that spark of inspiration or talent – and can recognise what they are good at.” He said TV programmes


such as Dragons’ Den had not been helpful because they encouraged entrepreneurs to approach investors in a “combative” way rather than thinking of finance companies as partners. Lesné of Cambon Partners,


which specialises in advice on travel mergers and acquisitions, said entrepreneurs in the sector needed a mix of luck, energy and ambition to succeed. He added: “They need to


be naive to start their own business; there are so many reasons why you should not do things. Are you going to have more energy than competitors?”


Travolution Start-up Summit 2018: More than 100 delegates gathe


‘Female-led ventures will combat male investor bias’


The investment community is still dominated by men and predominantly funds male-led businesses, according to the female founder of a travel start-up.


Merilee Karr, founder and chief


executive of home letting specialist Under The Doormat, said she had not personally experienced a funding bias but claimed only around 6% to 10% of European funding was going into female-led businesses. She said: “I cannot say I have


ever felt an investor was not choosing to invest in my company because I was female but, like anything in this world, there is a lot of unconscious bias. The reality is that the investment community is predominantly male and they are investing in predominantly male-led businesses.” She is hopeful of change as


more women set up their own businesses. Karr added: “The statistics don’t look good and I hope some of the female-led


Small firms’ lack of use of tech is ‘astounding’


Start-up businesses have been urged to embrace new technology such as artificial intelligence. Stewart Baird, chief executive


of early-stage investment firm Stone Ventures, said the lack of technology used by small travel businesses was “astounding”. Baird told the summit that consumers today wanted same- day suggestions for complicated, tailor-made enquiries.


62 travelweekly.co.uk 12 July 2018


businesses will change that.” Under The Doormat was set up


three years ago and offers visitors to London stays in premium homes. Karr was one of two female


entrepreneurs running new travel businesses who presented at Travolution’s Start-Up Summit. The other, Valerie Lopez, is


co-founder and chief executive of Shoot My Travel, which pairs travellers with local professional photographers to capture special


He said: “I am still astounded in the travel sector by the lack of technology available to the smaller businesses. When we look, as consumers, we want to see availability on the same day. “When you want to book a safari


or a complex tailor-made holiday, you can wait three days – but I want that quote now.” He claimed artificial intelligence could help change that. Travelport regional managing


director Paul Broughton agreed. He said: “Investing in this type of technology for us is important in driving that immediacy and personalisation for start-ups.”


BAIRD: ‘Consumers want same-day quotes for enquiries’


KARR: ‘The investment community is predominantly male and they are investing in predominantly male-led businesses’


holidaymaker memories. Meanwhile, Sn-ap founder Thomas Ableman said the most time-consuming aspect of setting up a business was securing funding. But he said having investors


involved was invaluable. “The process of having investors has made my business better and made me better at running it,” he said. Sn-ap matches travellers who want to make long-distance trips with family-owned coach operators.


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