Travel is one of the most hectic activities, despite most of us doing it to help us relax during vacations. The hardest part is in booking ways to find our way around in various cities, something many American apps continue to solve. In Latin America, however, finding modes of transportation for visitors is a major challenge.
Thanks to entrepreneur Jake Moskowitz and his company Voyhoy, he's changed the way people book flights and other means of transportation when visiting places like Chile.
As a Graduate of our Santiago Founder Institute, we're proud to present another winning business idea that's quickly expanding through numerous exciting opportunities.
Voyhoy Presenting to Cruise Leaders
One of the sure signs of Voyhoy's growth is their recent announcement of presenting to cruise leaders at the prestigious Seatrade Cruise Global event. The event is going to occur in March at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center.
This is a great development and a major opportunity for Jake and Voyhoy, particularly because they'll be able to connect with top-level investors, technology experts, and fellow entrepreneurs. More so, they'll have a forum where they can expose their business to travel industry leaders who may want to use their platform.
It's certainly needed in Latin America where tourists have had a hard time for years trying to find their way around.
Fixing Transportation Bookings in Latin America
Solving transportation problems in places like Chile all came from Jake's own travel experiences there with his co-founders, Roger Robinson and Ignacio Vial. When spending time in Santiago together, Jake ran a tourism company that required finding ways for his clients to find efficient transportation in the city.
Unfortunately, it was usually a mess of confusion, despite providing multiple options of travel. The problem was much of Latin America didn't have proper organization in ticket offices, let alone much travel information online.
In most cases, these regions were ignored through online travel sites. Tourists and locals had to rely on visiting ticket offices in person just to find out the best transportation methods.
Jake and his co-partners started Voyhoy with a free version for proof of concept. With the Chilean government putting up funding, it took off immediately.
How Voyhoy Works
The beauty of Voyhoy is in its simplicity. While platforms like this always do well when designed simply, Jake makes it clear just how simple it is when you see their main page.
They provide a five-step search engine that takes seconds to fill out. First, choose your origin, your destination, the date you want to travel, when you'll return, and how many people. Click "Search", and you'll have a thoroughly sorted list of options.
They've designed the search engine so it finds the best possible deal for you to save the most money. Plus, you can use international cards or PayPal as payment methods.
You'll be able to find tickets for either bus, flights, or trains in every Latin American city from Chile to Peru.
More Accolades and the Future of Voyhoy
This last February, Voyhoy was selected as one of the ten most disruptive startups to pitch at the first annual Future of Travel summit. The selection occurred through LAB Miami Ventures, a company that designs and launches new digital businesses.
It was another example of the prestige Jake's company continues to enjoy. Thanks to $500,000 pre-seed investments from Chilean angel investors when first launching, they're still growing on a financial level.
Last June, they won $100,000 in the eMerge America's Startup Showcase, and they also relocated their headquarters to Miami.
The thought of them taking their service to America is a huge prospect. Despite many similar apps available here, the simplicity of Voyhoy's platform may soon make them a leader in U.S. travel as well.
