Startup Model – Personal Travel Assistant

The Model: A service for users where they can sms their flight needs through the app and get the options based on your preferences. The model is similar to a travel aggregator model, with a different delivery of the service (via SMS).

Startup Doing It: GoButler (German startup)

What I Like:

Core Idea – Sorting through travel websites to get the best deals is the problem this app solves. Also using SMS is much more convenient for a user than having to browse through a website.

Delivery of Service – As mentioned above, sending an SMS is the simplest thing to do for a user.

Novelty – Starting with flights, the novelty of the concept can be used to extend to different services.

Personal Touch – Sending and receiving messages adds a personal touch to the interaction between the user and the startup. This will ensure better communication and probably better user satisfaction as well.

My Concerns:

Scaling – Using SMS will impact scaling potential of the venture as the more requests, the more butlers need to engaged. Using technology at the backend can lead to errors, thereby impacting user experience.

Profitability – Having a human touch definitely adds to the user experience, but tends to impact profitability. Unit economics will need to be worked out well to ensure that a healthy margin is attainable.