FinTech and SaaS platform built for the multi-day travel industry.
WeTravel Data
Privately held: Series B Funding $27 million USD in 2023; total funding $34 million USD
150+ global employees
Employees work from five continents, excluding Australia and Antarctica
Headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and California, The United States
Product and DevOps office in Baku, Azerbaijan
Nearly 50 percent of employees identify as women
WeTravel is the only integrated, multi-solution platform built for all multi-day travel companies to manage their administration, marketing and payments -- in one place.
WeTravel's Humble Beginnings...
WeTravel began in 2016, with three Co-Founders—Johannes Koeppel (CPO), Garib Mehdiyvev (CTO) and Zaky Prabowo (CMO)—who had a similar passion for a local style of immersive travel, hailing from Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Indonesia respectively, and a fascination with technology.
The initial idea for the platform sparked from Koeppel’s time working for The Red Cross—with small communities and local travel businesses around the world—he experienced how disjointed the booking and payment process was for multi-day travel businesses; the payment system was archaic, causing missed and delayed payments (often sent by cheque) to vendors and confusing itineraries for customers. He believed technology could better the system and help local businesses and communities increase revenue and drive traffic to their trips.
In 2014, WeTravel's MVP was launched for student group travel organizers. In its prototype, the platform processed more than $600k USD in transactions. Noting the platform's demand within the student travel segment of the multi-day travel industry, the business expanded its offerings in the wellness segment. Finding similar success, WeTravel expanded into all segments within the multi-day travel industry, evolving its product to be built as a vertical SaaS for the multi-day travel industry.
WeTravel Now
Empower all multi-day travel businesses to grow through technology
All-in-one technology platform for multi-day travel businesses
1,000+ tour operators, 3,000+ group organizers, more than 500,000 travelers globally
Hundreds of millions USD in annual transactions
Payment solutions: Automated payment processing and billing, Supplier Transfer networks, Instant Payout options, WeTravel virtual credit cards, customizable payment options
Marketing features: Trip Builder, Google Analytics integration, Zapier or WeTravel API integration, automated email marketing, custom branding, lead generation tools including Download Brochure and Waitlist, and more
Administration solutions: Payment analytics and tracking dashboards, waitlist functions, team chat functions, booking management tools
Free subscription for non-profit businesses and student group travel
WeTravel Basic, Pro and Enterprise subscription models fit for all business types
Why WeTravel?
WeTravel makes the booking process--from itinerary building to trip management--accessible and easy for all travel businesses. Its evolving solutions include instant payment, supplier transfers and WeTravel Cards, at the industry's lowest processing fees.
For the multi-day travel industry—which is often made up of small- to medium-sized businesses thatlack proper technology—the platform creates opportunities to increase revenue and customer satisfaction (recurring revenue potential), allowing for all businesses to easily transact with travelers, vendors and suppliers.
Although used by all business sizes, WeTravel began and continues with a heart for helping increase revenue for local business owners—so that money can be funneled back into communities, businesses and people, becoming a solution that has economic and social impact.
WeTravel's Executive Team
TED CLEMENTS, HE/HIM
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
As WeTravel’s CEO, Ted Clements brings a customer-centric approach to fintech and B2B SaaS, with a focus on the absolving operational pain-points in the travel industry. He brings decades' worth of experience selling technology services to travel businesses to help them generate revenue -- and operate successfully. He joined WeTravel in January 2023, assuming the role of CEO. In his current role, he manages the key functions that make WeTravel successful, including: Product, Technology, Operations, Marketing and Sales. He's based in Amsterdam with his family, originally hailing from The United States.
JOHANNES KOEPPEL, HE/HIM
Co-founder and Chief Product Officer
During Johannes' time working for Doctors Without Borders and The Red Cross, he occasionally organized tours for Europeans and met with many tour organizers, who all agreed on a common pain-point: Booking trips and collecting payments was muddied and challenging. From there, the idea sparked for WeTravel. Packing his idea (and his luggage), Johannes received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue U.C. Berkeley’s MBA. Heading to every competition and pitch event known to him, Johannes and fellow Berkeley classmate, Garib, launched WeTravel’s first prototype. In January 2023, he moved from the business's CEO to CPO, managing the strategic direction of the platform's development.
GARIB MEHDIYEV, HE/HIM
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer
With an impressive fintech background, Garib’s passion for finance and technology has strung together his life’s experiences. Before founding WeTravel in 2016, Garib held roles as CTO of UniBank, Azerbaijan’s largest bank, Engineer at Fuze and the Co-Founder of TFI Fellowships and MPS, which he officially exited. Getting introduced through a startup pitch night at UC Berkeley, Garib and Johannes found commonality in creating a technology platform that had an unparalleled ability to help multi-day travel businesses succeed. From there, Johannes and Garib set-out to create WeTravel’s platform, enlisting the help of fellow classmate, Zaky, to launch and market the business. Now, Garib leads WeTravel’s engineering team, relying on his Software and DevOps engineering background to steer the company’s technical direction.
ZAKY PRABOWO, HE/HIM
Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer
Zaky, born in Indonesia, spent time after university as an aide to Indonesia’s President, where he, too, saw the technical issues in booking and paying for international travel. He co-founded Indorelawan, the largest marketplace for volunteers and NGOs in Indonesia, and worked in Customer Acquisition at EatWith and McKinsey before heading to America for an MBA from U.C. Berkeley. As the final founder to join WeTravel, Zaky’s marketing experience made him the perfect fit for commercializing WeTravel’s business, launching it from its prototype for student group organizers into the multi-day travel industry. He now manages the company's operations, including payment operations, customer support and public relations.
Read More About WeTravel
WeTravel Press Contact
For all press inquiries, email press@wetravel.com to speak with Kasi McGurk, WeTravel’s Global PR Manager. She aims to respond within two business days.
