🦥 #5 Transforming Travel with AI

Hey Antwerpreneurs! 🦥 

Welcome to the 2 new subscribers who’ve joined since our last issue!

Once a month, we bring you inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and business owners in Antwerp.

Subscribe below to join other readers 👇️ 

Read time: 5 minutes

Swinging Into Today:

• 🦥 Scoop of the Month: The Joy Generator

• ✋ Antwerpreneur: Meet Joris Vanherp

• 💎Quiz Question: Most visited country in 2023

• 🌴 Words of Wisdom: Quote from Anthony Bourdain

🦥 Scoop of the Month 

Want to feel happier? The Joy Generator from NPR gives you little bits of joy to make your day better, whether you're feeling down or just need a quick boost. Take a few minutes to enjoy it!

And now, let's move on to our Antwerpreneur!

✋ Antwerpreneur: Meet Joris Vanherp

Let me introduce you to Joris, a husband, father of two, and entrepreneur reshaping the travel tech industry through his companies, Live The World and Maya Travel.

A Day in the Life

He’s up and running twice a week in the mornings, making sure he’s back in time for breakfast with his kids, because family comes first. The rest of his day? It’s all about bridging the gap between engineers and clients, driving product development, and gathering feedback to make things better. “I often reserve my evenings for strategic planning and focused work,” he shares.

Travel Stories and Unconventional Companions

If he could choose any animal to tag along on his hikes that is not a dog or a cat, he’d go for a donkey. Yes, a donkey. “I enjoy hiking in the mountains, and a donkey would make those journeys easier,” he says with a laugh. His favorite adventure? A four-month trip around South America with his wife, highlighting the stunning hikes in Patagonia.

The Birth and Growth of Live The World

Joris was fed up with the tedious process of trip planning—you know, juggling multiple websites, blogs, and a million open tabs. Realizing consulting wasn't his calling, he decided to create Live The World during the COVID-19 pandemic, a platform that simplifies trip planning and helps people find those hidden gems you don’t see in standard travel sites.

Starting with a focus on local travel in Belgium, they expanded to the Netherlands and eventually other countries. With a global team working remotely, they used their insider knowledge to offer authentic travel experiences and leaned on trusted communities of locals when they needed more insights. But let’s be real—the early years weren’t a walk in the park. Monetization and keeping people engaged when they only travel a couple of times a year? Tough, but through advertisement and affiliates they managed to create a sustainable model.

Embracing the AI Revolution: The Pivot to Maya Travel

In early 2023, Joris pivoted from Live The World to Maya Travel, recognizing the potential of AI. Maya is a subscription-based AI assistant designed for travel companies, integrating seamlessly with agency systems to provide visually appealing and personalized recommendations, unlike generic chatbots. Maya currently serves 15 clients.

The onboarding process involves a deep dive into each client’s needs, training Maya on their specific website content, and embedding the Maya widget into the client’s site. Regular feedback sessions help refine its responses, and Maya continually improves through self-learning. This process improves the user experience and drives more successful trip bookings for travel companies.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Maya and Travel Planning

Joris has big plans for Maya. He envisions it becoming the go-to assistant for travel companies worldwide, supporting users throughout their entire travel journey—from planning and quotes to content creation and real-time support. “We want to support users throughout their entire travel journey,” he says.

While big tech companies dominate the mass market and flight booking space, Joris believes niche travel operators will continue to offer unique experiences that large tech firms can't match. AI technology will empower these operators, enhancing customer relationships and service quality.

Lessons in Entrepreneurship and the Role of Antwerp

Looking back, Joris shared that one of the most important lessons he has learned is the value of perseverance. “The journey has been filled with ups and downs but daring to pivot and adapt has been crucial to our success,” he explains.

Since 2020, Joris and his team have raised €650,000 and are exploring strategic partnerships to drive their next growth phase. They aim to grow their client base, but their priority right now is to collaborate with a select group of innovators to further refine the product. They’re also looking to expand their team in engineering, product management, and sales.

Throughout his journey, Antwerp has played a significant role by providing a supportive network of entrepreneurs who offered valuable guidance and collaboration.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

For those looking to enter the travel tech industry, his advice is clear: Understand why it hasn’t been done before and why previous attempts may have failed. Learn from those experiences and do it better.”

Joris’s journey showcases the power of innovation and adaptability, proving how fresh thinking can drive change. We’re eager to see how Joris and Maya Travel will continue to transform the travel tech landscape!

Guest Question for Joris: If you were given a second chance in life, would you do exactly the same thing?

If Joris could hit the reset button, he’d do things differently. “I built some websites when I was 12 for friends of my parents, but then I stopped,” he says. “I didn’t realize that I could have made a huge business out of this; I shouldn’t have given up.” He also believes that working in a scale-up could have equipped him with valuable skills that he ended up learning the hard way on his own.

Joris Recommendations

• Podcast: Acquired

• Favorite Spots in Antwerp: As a parent, he loves spots like Nives and Café Kamiel that have playgrounds for kids in front

Connect with Joris

Want to connect with Joris? Check him out on LinkedIn.

Joris's Question for Our Next Guest:

What’s the biggest challenge you have faced and what did you learn from it?

💎 Quiz Question

Which of the following countries was the most visited in 2023?

A) United States
B) Spain
C) France
D) Italy

_{You can find the answer at the end!}

🌴 Jungle Wisdom 

Pura Vida! 🦥 

Jose

P.S. Do you have an Antwerpreneur you'd like to see featured in a future issue? Reply to this email and let us know!

Answer: C) France

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