The founder journey.
No polished PR. Just honest weekly progress, real milestones and the story of how we got here.
A world where solo travelers never travel alone unless they choose to.
Build the trusted social layer connecting every part of the travel journey — safely, calmly, together.
A billion solo travelers, six fragmented apps, and zero of them designed for trust. It's time.
It started on a napkin in Hoi An.
I'd been solo travelling for six weeks — Vietnam, then Cambodia, then Thailand. And every night I found myself doing the same dance: open Airbnb, open TripAdvisor, open Google Maps, open ChatGPT, open WhatsApp to text a stranger from a hostel about tomorrow's plans.
I loved the freedom. But the loneliness of the logistics — the six apps, the safety worry, the "who am I going to eat with tonight" — that never got easier. And I kept meeting other travelers who felt exactly the same.
Your Travel Pals started on a napkin in a Hoi An café, in October 2024. The vision was simple: what if all of this lived in one trusted place, built by travelers, for travelers?
Milestones, honestly.
- Oct 202401
The idea that wouldn't leave
After a solo trip through Vietnam, our founder scribbled the first sketch of a trusted social travel layer on a Hoi An café napkin.
- Jan 202502
First prototype
A 12-screen Figma prototype tested with 40 solo travelers across four continents. Signal was loud: 'I've wanted this for years.'
- Mar 202503
Waitlist launch
1,200 sign-ups in the first week. Zero paid ads.
- Jun 202504
Founding traveler cohort
150 verified travelers helping shape the product every week.
- Sep 202505
Safety-first architecture
Verification pipeline, live location sharing, and Emergency SOS enter design review.
- Dec 202506
Private Beta
First closed beta with 500 travelers across 26 launch cities.
- 202607
Public launch
The world's first trusted social travel platform, open to everyone.
What we hold to.
Human first
We build for real solo travelers, not personas. Every feature is co-designed with our founding cohort.
Safety, always
Safety isn't a setting. It's the foundation. Verified profiles, live location, SOS — by default.
Calm technology
No dark patterns. No engagement traps. A tool that gets out of your way so the trip stays yours.
Community owned
Founding travelers get lifetime perks and a real say in what we build next.
Building in public.
- Week 42
Shipped the AI planner v0.6 — down to 12s median generation. Added weather-aware packing.
- Week 41
Onboarded 32 verified travelers in Lisbon, Bali and Kyoto. First cross-city meetup happening this weekend.
- Week 40
Women First Safety board formed with 9 advisors across 5 continents. First policy doc landing next week.
- Week 39
Companion matching prototype crossed 92% compatibility accuracy in closed testing.