This is the full transcript for Episode #286 of the Wild Business Growth podcast featuring Erika De Santi – Group Travel Adventurer, Co-Founder of WeRoad. You can listen to the interview and learn more here. Please note: this transcript is not 100% accurate.
Erika De Santi 0:00
Always have a Plan B, and trust me the Plan B is going to be the best.
Max Branstetter 0:18
Plan B it is. Welcome back to the Wild Business Growth podcast. This is your place to hear from a new entrepreneur every single Wednesday morning who’s turning Wild ideas into Wild growth. I’m your host, Max Branstetter, Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting. And you can email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast. This is episode 286. And today’s guest is Erika De Santi, which I’m still not sure if I said correctly. But Erika is co-founder of WeRoad, one of the most thrilling group travel group adventure companies started for millennials out of Italy and as expanded from country to country. It is one of the coolest companies out there for going on the trips of the lifetime and making friends of a lifetime and lifetimes. In this episode, we talk her passion for maps and travel and where WeRoad came from, which is a bit of a tongue-twister, how to design the perfect trip or the perfect customer experience. And fittingly, as I’ve already demonstrated the most challenging words to say in Italian as a native English speaker. It is E shout out Verne Troyer eeeeeee Enjoyyyyy the showwwwwww! Aaaaalrightyyyyy we’re here with Erika De Santi I already messed it up. We’re gonna keep that in. Erika De Santi we’ll call you Erika, who is the Co-Founder of WeRoad, one of the coolest most disruptive travel companies in Europe and beyond. And so excited to talk all things travel, travel companies group travel, how to correctly pronounce your last name all these things but Erika, so excited to have you on thanks for joining How you doing today?
Erika De Santi 2:28
I’m great. Thanks a million Max. Really excited, super thrilled to be here. And I hope I got your name right though.
Max Branstetter 2:36
A million Max. I like it. That’s, that’s perfect. People typically go with like a billion max or a trillion maximum like Guys, guys, guys, come on. No, no. So what we’ll we’ll go through pronunciation all around in this. And actually, before we started recording, when we were talking about names, you mentioned that your husband’s name is Max as well. Massimiliano. So, you know, twins here, I mean, we’re in good company with all we’re going to take this to the max, as they say, obviously, we will. Before we get to WeRoad I would love to know about your passions for travel. In general, can you share just from your entire life? Is there one vacation or holiday that sticks out is like wow, that was the coolest travel experience I’ve ever had.
Erika De Santi 3:26
Oh, my god, yes. I mean, I have plenty of travel experiences, to share. But I think the one that literally hit me was the one to Peru in 2018 19. Because I love doing like this trips across New Year’s Eve, you know, and that experience was definitely definitely mind blowing. But I was already kind of a grown up when I went to went to Peru. I think that the whole passion for travel actually started not when I was growing up. But like more as a kiddo. I would say when I had at home I was like, fond of maps, which could be quite awkward, but actually was nuts and mental about maps. So I always traveled through maps and books that these ancient thing that for nowadays, nobody uses anymore. And also in my first internship, so something very, very peculiar for us. Let’s say when we are teenage. I did one at the travel agent. And I realized I was like, Oh my god, all these catalogs explaining amazing places around the world. I’ve never seen any of these things. I want to make this my career somehow. I didn’t know how. But it was literally working and sleeping amongst the catalogs of amazing trips across the globe. And there was the moment when I realized that that was my pasta for the future. What
Max Branstetter 4:50
did you do on that trip to Peru that opened your eyes to this is quite the world out there? Yeah,
Erika De Santi 4:57
well, actually, I think that they had a great Then come through with both culture and nature. Because the trip was super comprehensive, you went from desert landscapes to tropical ones to like the ocean to the biggest mountains in the world. So I realized how cool and mesmerizing the world the world could be in such a in such an app shell, which is a country, right? whereas before maybe the trips, or the experiences that I’ve done, were kind of very vertical in a way in terms of natural experience that you actually were doing. Secondly, on the culture side, I thought the Peruvian population was incredible, in terms of sharing in terms of literally getting you below what normal tourists could experience bringing in their homes, letting you fully encounter with their daily lives. And we did some, I mean, it was a we road trip. So we had contacts with the local communities. And we had the chance to, you know, share their apartments, their houses, their rooms at the end of the day, because there was no electricity, no nothing, right. So and that was extremely touching to see how different cultures could be. And that was the first time they experienced something so strong, both from a personal and cultural perspective. So these were the two aspects that literally blew my mind in that trip.
Max Branstetter 6:26
It makes it all that much more special. When you don’t feel like a tourist. Like when you can go into someone’s home, we can do local experiences like that, which which we’ll get to in a bit. But did you go to I pronounce this wrong all the time. Did you go to Machu Picchu when you were on that trip?
Erika De Santi 6:42
That was pronounced perfect. Do you think?
Max Branstetter 6:44
Thank you, I put that disclaimer in front of everything I say.
Erika De Santi 6:49
No worries, no worries. Yes. We went with with a whole lot that say we were like 15 People like intergroup, more or less? Yes. Even if it could seem like a tourist experience, I think we tried to find the way to do it in a way that it was quite unique in the sense that we went there like First, listen, don’t. And so we had the chance to get into the site before anybody else. And we ventured ourself on to the why not be to that in the econo graphic, let’s say picture of Machu Picchu, it’s basically the mountain that you see just behind the ruins, right. And it’s literally like that. So climbing it, so it’s literally climbing on top of your head to go up that hill. at that height. It’s like super intense. So it was like super challenging and intense, striking experience. But it definitely was mind blowing as well. Right? So even if you have loads of tourists there, it’s an experience that not all tourists can do, because it’s like limited to keep the site also sustainable in terms of accesses. Right. So I think there’s just 400 people a day that can access, why not be true. So and this makes it all worth, you know, leaving and authentic and tiring. The same time but definitely in worth living and experiencing.
Max Branstetter 8:14
Yeah, that’s that’s once in a lifetime. So my brother Andrew, when he was younger, he did um, lived studied, I think there was a charity aspect as well, in Peru for a little bit. And he he did not get to go to Machu Picchu, which the problem is if you go to Peru, and don’t go there, everybody, like I just did to U. S, oh, how was Machu Picchu. And when he didn’t go as part of it, so we’re kind of we’re kind of joking that like everybody, you know, he’s the only person in the world that struggled to prove a knock on there. But actually, in reality, there’s so much more that the country has to offer. So yes, definitely beyond that he was in a totally different part, as well. But yeah, that’s inspiring. And in itself. You mentioned earlier that you love maps, and probably still love maps. And I’m a huge fan as well. I mean, now, you know, I haven’t used the big printout atlases in a while or the triptychs while you’re driving on a road trip. But if I need to Google Map something, I get lost in Google Maps. Like I zoom out, I look at the countries I look at the landscapes I go to these different parts. So I love doing that as well, for you growing up like, what did that actually look like? What like what does your passion for maps look like?
Erika De Santi 9:24
Well, that’s a good point, I just leave into Google Maps as well. So let’s say that’s a pattern. I see a pattern here, obviously, I think, especially when designing trips, right. So creating them from scratch, the approach that we try to adopt, obviously, it’s something that we bring as founders instead of going off the beaten track. And not just Google, right, where to go the router finding out ourselves and the starting point is the research on the ground, right both like live but also on on Google Maps. Because on Google Maps, you can actually To the Explorer, and see places that maybe aren’t, like mapped there. And if you imagine also talking about Peru, Rainbow Mountains worrying, I think up until a few years ago, but then thanks to I would say, pictures, Instagram, Google Maps, they suddenly became like, wow, an amazing place where to go. And right now I think they’re the second after Machu Picchu in terms of visits of places in, in Peru, but
Max Branstetter 10:26
nice pronunciation, but I’m just gonna.
Erika De Santi 10:31
But also, you know, once once I went there, and I explored, like, on Google maps where these were, I was like, Oh, my God, but around these rainbow mountains, there’s an amazing Valley, what is this valley. And then when I went there, we had the chance to go down the, let’s say, unusual way to climb up the rainbow mountains. That is the Valley area. And that was the best. I think I’m most incredible places I’ve seen in my whole life, not even expecting that. And it was completely off the beaten track, not for everybody, especially because need to be a little bit more trained to go there. So I think that the evolution from maps to Google Maps was quite continuous. In our, in our generation, you don’t know how many pins I have in my Google map, you know, so it’s like, the whole word governing beans, both for word but also for, you know, my personal personal passion. So I think that that’s for sure. Something that I right now use every day in my life.
Max Branstetter 11:30
More pins than a bowling alley? Very, yeah. Definitely.
Erika De Santi 11:35
And also for all our team members. And you know, the the travel coordinator like to guide and accompany people around the world. That’s the tool they use also, to go off the beaten track, knowing where they’re going.
Max Branstetter 11:51
So you never know what you can find exploring on maps, and you never know what sort of business you’re going to start as well. So let’s get to the road. Obviously, it makes sense with your background even hinted to the fact that you were a travel agent before this. What’s what’s the what’s the term in Italian? I saw it looks like Agente Di Viaggio. I don’t know I pronounced it.
Erika De Santi 12:16
I didn’t see any viaggia the least. Okay, I’ve seen a lot.
Max Branstetter 12:21
Let’s say no, that’s great. That’s I would argue that your Italian pronunciation is better than mine. So we’ll give that to you. No, actually my favorite, because we did our honeymoon in Italy, which is awesome. And now I just bring up in every episode, but my favorite Italian word I think is spiaggia. They say that right? Yeah.
Erika De Santi 12:42
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, perfect pronunciation.
Max Branstetter 12:45
It sounds awesome. And it’s the beach. What’s What can’t go wrong there. But anyway, so you’re you were one of those agents of travel. You had an interest in this from an early age. But what was the point for you that the idea hit that we could actually create like a group travel business ourselves?
Erika De Santi 13:04
Well, actually, when when I met my other founder, Paulo, and Fabio at the time, all of us were millennials. So in our 30s, I mean, family is a little bit older, but let’s, let’s keep it for us.
Max Branstetter 13:19
You said we’re Millennials once a millennial is a millennial. So still, yeah, maybe.
Erika De Santi 13:27
That’s another story. But definitely, we had to say all of us had the same need of, you know, getting out there exploring the world we had, we were young professionals, so we had the economic power to go to start going long goal and travel to different destinations. But at the same time, our friends when we were younger, were in definitely there exactly. When we could go on our trips, right. So there was the need of okay, I want to explore the world but I don’t want to do it alone. But at the same time, I don’t want to do it with a herd of people like 200 people or like you know, in a boss or something like that. So our our objective was that of like, you know, leaving authentic off the beaten track backpacking experiences, but not alone. So with a certain component related to, to getting to know new people during these, these incredible experiences. So we had a look at who was in the market doing this. And definitely, there were operators, international operators, like Contiki joint ventures, the big ones, right? That have always done group travels. And both my co founders went on a trip with one of them, one to New Zealand, the other one to Vietnam. And when they got back, it was I think, December 2016, January 2017. what they realized was that their experiences Okay, amazing what was group traveling, but what the component that was missing there was exactly the group components. So the group was seen more as a means to an end that was getting better deals to get out on the other side of the world. Full stop, right? Whereas what we thought was that no, guys, we are losing the biggest part of the experience, which is getting to know the people you’re with getting becoming friends, maybe afterwards, because at the end of the day, the majority of us millennials, as we said, before, are learned maybe we move to another city. So our friends, when we were teenage, don’t leave close to us anymore, we won’t be able to meet because they change life, got married, got a family, whatever. So we say, okay, let’s create this format, and adapted to these needs in Italy, in Italy, where we all started like the business. So there was no such thing as group travel for millennials. Not at all. So we had the concept of, as you said, maybe in troubles, like, so big, Spring Break kind of events for teenagers after the high school or things like that, that were working pretty well. And actually, Paulo is the owner of a company that is called to swell. And that does that, right? So you really had that kind of knowledge. But there was no such a thing for young professional in smaller groups. So eight to 15 people’s maps. So no, not a big boss of 50 people, bubbly people, it is a nightmare. Nightmare. So that was that was it. And we said, Okay, let’s do it from scratch, let’s put together people that are in the same age range. So between 25 and 49 years old, more or less. Why this because we thought, okay, if we’re going to bring these people around the globe, at the end of the day, they’re gonna come back home and become friends. And this, this is going to be the key component for our trip. So having them as a transformative experiential activity, that not only makes you explored local culture, as in the case of Peru that I was mentioning before, but also that enables you to get to meet other people during the trip. And I can tell you that in my trip to Peru, I met several people that I still, I’m in talks with the I Chapter One has become an electrician, the other one is under and I’m working with so for so definitely people connector experience. And so that’s where the let’s say the the need turned into into a business. And the the initial outcome was was incredible because definitely we were kind of interpreting a need that was there and nobody took care of in Italy at the time. So that’s how it all started.
Max Branstetter 17:44
It’s it’s a cool pinch me moment how it’s gone from initial insight to full fledge business and expansion. And there’s so many experiences across the world. Speaking of those experiences, so the audience can get an idea, what are some examples of the types of experiences you can expect on the road, taking
Erika De Santi 18:01
the example of Peru, what we do is creating an experience that is as comprehensive as possible to let people fully understand the local culture, but at the same time, have the freedom to personalize it in few ways. So to give you to give you an example, one key component of our group travel experiences is the role and the person of the travel coordinator, which is not to be thought as the local tour guide, as maybe other operators have, or the tour leader that accompanies the group, full stop, but it’s more as we define it, that travel companion or travel buddy. The key aspect is that this person also comes from the country of origin of the group. So imagine a bunch of Italians traveling with an Italian travel coordinator. That is not a tour guide, but it’s a person that wants to share this experience for the first time with the group itself. And we have so many different profiles diverse, it’s a such a diverse community of travel coordinators, right now. We have more than 2500 people coming from our source markets. So Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Spain. And they do the most of those jobs. So you get from content creators to doctors, to nurses that to whatever we have a pharmacist, I don’t know, whatever we have it and they do it as a passion in their in the free time they do it one or two times a year that they guide our groups around the world. This gives us literally an outstanding advantage over anybody out there because imagining a person like going to Machu Picchu for the first time along with the group. For some people, it could be daunting. It’s like oh my god, my travel coordinator doesn’t even know where to go because it’s his first time here. On the other side. It’s not that this person takes the role of the tour guide because we We obviously have a local tour guide helping us climbing the mountain too, it enables us to get in contact with the local tour guide, it creates the atmosphere in the group. So as I said before, group component is key. So we basically have a person that isn’t in charge of group dynamics in building, being empathetic, putting them in the mindset of connecting with the local culture. So not just like a high school trip, where you like remain on the surface, but literally helps you to go deeper than the emotional experience. And at the same time enjoying themselves, right, because imagine, like being the tour guide that guides every day, a group on top of the Machu Picchu, come on the last day, you don’t even turn because you already know the runes are by heart stone by stone, right? So instead, you get a person that is so thrilled to go there, or so thrilled to reach the top of the Rainbow Mountain that if a person is like, out of breath a little bit behind the group is like, okay, we can do it all together, let’s go. And that that experience is going to become memorable for not just for the group, but also for, for these, this person, right? And the power you get out of our community of 2,500 people is insane, because they become spontaneous ambassadors of your spread across across all Europe. And that’s for sure. reverting back to your to your questions, what makes us different and what you can actually expect out of our we road trip that is completely different from from anybody else.
Max Branstetter 21:33
That’s a brilliant insight. I’ve always thought that of certain tours, there are certain places throughout the world, like it’d be really fun to be a tour guide, you get to walk around, see beautiful places, you know, meet people talk with history, talk, talk with history, you’ll talk with history and talk about history. But I’ve also thought that in the back of my mind of like, wow, like, a lot of tour guides must get so tired of doing the same thing over and over and over again, like hopefully, you’re able to mix it up a lot. So that’s just brilliant that your group leaders, group coordinators, whatever the official name is, they have that same excitement that anybody experiencing something for like the first or second time would have. So that’s that’s a really great insight. What about in terms of overall, like finding those experiences? How What’s that process, especially now you’ve grown and grown and grown? You have so many people so many different experiences? What’s the process for selecting and curating a type of experience where you’re like I this is we roadworthy.
Erika De Santi 22:33
In this our travel coordinator help the property it was help because we have, I think right now more than 300 different destinations covered and I don’t know how many how many itineraries, and some of them, they’ve been like with us since day one. So our itineraries that we have optimized across the years, but I would say that the secret recipe that we have to make them rolling away that is, like we wrote, marked and trademarked somehow, is basically a sort of emotional cure that we try to design within every single itinerary. So even here, we design a trip, not just to, okay, I need to get to see the master see of the country, looking at the Google map map, right? But it’s more, okay, I need to get this bunch of people get to know each other, go through this journey and come back home. Different, hopefully better. Right? So this is the social impact we have as a company, right? So what we do is I’ll give an example and Indonesia free 68 scenery, right? So we normally try to start the itinerary in a city so that it’s easy for everybody to get to because our trips do not include the flight so people can meet there maybe can go there a little bit before leave a little bit later flexibility to us escape. So you have everybody in the city super easy to reach, but you don’t stay in the city in the first days. Why? Because imagine a bunch of 15 strangers that don’t know each other in a city like Bangkok or Jakarta full of possibilities and things to do. So you already start feeling awkward because oh my god, I would love to go there but that person that I don’t know, the first time I speak to that person wants to go and get her side you start you know, oh my god I’ve been ventilating and saying okay, this is not gonna work group tribe is not for me, right? So what we do is try instead to put everybody maybe not transfer and have them like go and start the adventure super soon because imagine on the other side, okay, I want to six hour transfer to these incredible places in the middle of nature. I definitely need to talk to the person sitting next to me, right? Because otherwise it could become daunting and it could be awkward. So in this way, you break the ice you have a moment for the group to be shaped and start getting to know each other in the trip since day one right without grading that source of stress that could be like managing a group in a city for first day. And also for the travel coordinator, it’s a good opportunity for team building. Right, so everybody met before the trip on a WhatsApp group. So we can be very informal. But the WhatsApp group is also the first let’s say format of social let’s say exchange. And so in the first the transfer you probably have the chance also to relate to something that you’ve discussed in the in the WhatsApp group. The given examples I’m trouble coordinators in the WhatsApp group say, Okay, let’s click create the playlist of the trip, right. And then in the first transferred into the sort of game where, okay, this song Who, who said it, and so they’re like, games like these that go all over the place, which enable people to get to know each other and and break the ice. Then after that, during the trip design, we always have something that is memorable, as we quoted, like wow experience, so that you can immediately imprint an experience worth leaving and sharing that is in our, in our in our mission also as a company, and that everybody can relate to it could be climbing up the peak. The beginning, SriLanka I don’t know, it could be like the rainbow mountain climbing, right? So things like that. And then you know, all of the experiences waking up early in the in the morning. So going through things that literally put people outside of their comfort zone, to then finish with a lower rhythm. Normally by the beach, maybe if you’re in Indonesia, I could you could end up in Gili Islands, right. So at the end of the trip, so to chill. And at that point, at that stage, the people in the group already know each other. So there is no, let’s say, social pressure in doing something that is different from each other. You got to know Max, and Max is an expert of surfing. And he’s in I don’t know, in Indonesia, he can’t back go surfing, because otherwise, it’s 10 days that talks about surfing, so you better go. But I’m like fond of souvenir shopping, I don’t know. So I can go and do my stuff without putting anybody into into social pressure for not coming with me. Or you have the confidence of say like, come on, come with me. Right. So these travel design strategy, it’s intertwined in all, in all our travel itineraries, and the travel coordinator is trained to go through this emotional, emotional journey and manage the freedom that comes with it. Because if you think about our trips them there, and maybe the majority of group travel experiences, they’re not, let’s say, packed every single minute, but we keep a bunch of moments of flexibility, where the travel coordinator is trained to facilitate these sorts of experiences that go beyond the normal trip. So this makes us different than anybody else, but also makes every single trip in our destination different than the other. Because there must be obviously must seen and must do things. But also, there are groups and groups, you have a more party oriented group, you have a more history and culture oriented group, you have a lazy one, you have a fast paced one. So these things could be literally managed and tailor made live by our travel coordinators. So there is where they come as the best partners in crime.
Max Branstetter 28:31
It’s crazy. You mentioned Max and surfing because I used to actually be in the surfing world championship. And so I I’m just kidding. I’ve never surfed in my life, I just might not know, but just
Erika De Santi 28:47
say yes, you know,
Max Branstetter 28:49
thank you Cowabunga. But no, I experiences like that are off the charts. But I really appreciate you taking us through that. Because you can just feel that like the fine tuning of every part of the experience is so crucial and such a differentiator. And you’re right, like I can imagine, with a group travel, like if you don’t break the ice, then all of a sudden, you know, it’s like, if you’re in a group traveling and you don’t get along or like those people in the group then it can become a horrible trip. So whatever you can do to break the ice and have people create memories and inside jokes right from the beginning is awesome. And then it’s like a natural story arc of like experiences throughout and then a soft landing at the end. Really brilliant architecture there. How about on the in terms of growing the company overall? So of course you need more and more experiences. You also need more and more millennials and people interested in doing this sort of group travel like this. How have you best over the year has been able to attract people to actually sign up and become we rotors as they call.
Erika De Santi 29:54
So I think that the key the key pillar for us in building this was build mean our community? First of all, I would say that from a business model perspective with our tour operator, right, so we create amazing experiences, we craft them, and we sell them to the wider public, let’s say directly, so without relying on intermediaries, etc. So it’s very easy, let’s say in that sense, but what is disruptive is that in while doing it, we are building our community, we are a direct to consumer business, which is something sometimes awkward for tour operators that rely on intermediaries like travel agents, or OTAs to sell their product whereas what we do is invest every single let’s say, Euro, we have in building these solid travelers community worldwide and starting obviously, from Europe, and how do we do that we do that in different ways. First, by building a brand that is recognizable by our generation, this means not only talking about trips, but also talking the language using the same tone of voice of our our generation. So, if you have a look at our social media, those are our acquisition channel, but also inspiration channels, for our we Roaders, and our objective there is always creating content not add, so content that is top notch that is engaging and that can inspire and also make a little bit of company to our lonely generation during the their their daily lives, right. So not just when, when during that trip or when they’re dreaming about Sri Lanka, but also when they’re discussing what the Kardashians did last week, right? So we do it in a way with memes and stuff that relate to our trips like networking, and ironic and very daring ways sometimes, right? So. And this led us to become, I think one of the biggest, the biggest brands out there on socials with 2.5 million users across Instagram and TikTok. In, in our markets. And this literally is a share of voice right on in the sector for us. So that’s the basics, right. So keep them engaged all year long with uncredible incredible content. And then second, I would say building on to the we rotors and travel coordinators, as the real ambassadors. So the fact that we have 2.5k. So 2500 Travel coordinators out there is like having up to 2500 promoters, it’s spontaneous ambassadors that always pitch your brand, without adding being asked to do so but spontaneously, because they think that it’s, it’s worth doing. And it’s worth, you know, having more and more people joining these describe this, this group, this bunch of passionate passionate travelers, and we take a lot care of not only the trip component, but also the offline event, and spontaneous events creation in the markets where we actually operate. So to give an example, right now, since we were born, we brought around the world 100,000, we rotors, and this year in terms of growth, just one year, we probably hit 100,000, we rotors, so we’re growing like nuts, but we already have 100,000 people out there that have traveled with us. In Italy, which is the first market that we launched them, obviously, we have the biggest community. And up until now we have more than 440 more or less 40 events per month spontaneously created by our community. And so it’s like meetups like to go hiking them on this mountain to go kayaking there to add our drink together by I don’t know which Lake whatever. So and these these events, we kind of tried to, you know, help travel coordinators to organize but very much spontaneously pushed. And that’s where the value is literally heat. Because if you think about the competition, so normal tour operators that don’t take care about these these components for us, instead, it’s insanely important. So also as a marketing strategy, we always strive to be there in events where our target recognize itself and partner with brands that are like talking to our generation like Vance, like they have to learn like am 26. So Oh, like talking to the same target, sponsoring festivals, things like that. Right? So that’s I think the key to make it
Max Branstetter 34:34
work congrats on all those milestones and numbers. I mean, I have like a warm fuzzy feeling, hearing about just how much the community has grown and you’re right, you’ve built the business that intrinsically anybody who becomes a part of it becomes an ambassador and becomes a Yeah, a word a word of mouth or because if you have everybody knows it just in general, if you go on vacation, have a great vacation. You’re gonna tell everybody you No on the planet in history alive or dead about it. But also, if it’s through a really, really cool company, like we wrote, it’s kind of like a badge of honor of like, Hey, check this company out. So So I’ve done a really nice job there. Travel is kinda like having a YouTube channel, once you do it, you want to tell the entire world about it. And this, following these following seconds are no different if you enjoy the audio version of the Wild Business Growth podcast, but you’re a little curious as well, about what it actually looks like, and just how often the guests roll their eyes at whatever the hell comes out of my mouth, then you would love to the YouTube channel for the podcast, which is @MaxBranstetter on YouTube. And make sure to Subscribe, and you can check out the full length video interviews there. So that’s YouTube, and the handle is @MaxBranstetter. Now let’s do a little dive in. I’d love to dive in a little bit more to that aspect of of group travel. Because I think it’s so fascinating because there’s so many different ways to travel out there. But group is one that you’ve really zeroed in on as a group, obviously, but what would you say like the biggest benefit of group travel is
Erika De Santi 36:23
there was actually a long discussion around this topic in the group travel, like, let’s say world, the biggest impact we have is like fighting loneliness. I had a chat with the fellow, you know, founders in the group travel world, but it was it was an event in Vienna, taken by to Raider as well, where we talked about the importance of our job in terms of fighting loneliness, but definitely it is. So I think that if compared to the pastor, what do we realize them as business and as an industry is that the people experience that the group dynamics, the impact the social impact we have? It’s bigger than any other impact we could we could have, right? Especially because it’s so so difficult, I think, nowadays, to get to know people in a meaningful way. And to spend time, so invest time in getting in really getting to know people. And with group travel, you can do that. Because imagine like how we socialized as human beings nowadays, right? So if you’re new to New York, right, and you want to, you got a new job, and you’re like a newbie in town, you feel quite lost. And so the people, you probably become friends with either or your colleagues. But if your colleagues are like, no, go, you go to the gym and hope somebody will be as fit as you to get on well with or to the bar. But maybe there you have like, oh, much one hour, 15 minutes to get to know them and understanding like 15 minutes. It depends
Max Branstetter 37:57
on what bar but yeah, or
Erika De Santi 37:59
Yeah. Or what level of fit you are. That’s why exactly. I can’t go more. But yeah, jokes apart. I think that in a trip, you definitely need to spend at least 710 days with a person, right? So you can literally go beyond what is the first impression, which is a luxury that nowadays hectic life, you know, isn’t affordable for anybody, for everybody? Right? So I think that that is the biggest, the biggest impact, right? And it’s not obviously for everybody, because there are people that instead want an experience where there is no compromise. And I think in a group travel, obviously, you have to put together 59 Different ideas sometimes right or you have to get to a solution that it probably is not the one you want, but maybe the best for the group. Or, you know, you need to you need to share spaces, which is also something that we’re not used to anymore apart from like, you know, you know, friends flatmates that we grown up with, but still, you have maybe to share transverse rooms, experiences with others. And so it’s definitely something that not everybody is up for. So, but yeah, so this, I think is like, the biggest impact we have as our industry. It’s
Max Branstetter 39:21
a really strong mission behind it. And I’m kind of fantasizing about it, like as you were talking about going on a trip with a bunch of people, like one of my favorite aspects of going on vacation is like, you know, of course I still use my phone some but like I tried to unplug as much as possible. And when you’re in an environment when you’re with new people, meeting people from all around the world, you know, creating new friends, you’re really able to unplug and you’re able to have those like, you know, human to human connection that like we’re kind of, I don’t know the right way to say it that we’re like meant to have really, and you know before technology You kind of came to where it was. And so it’s really nice that you kind of you create those opportunities to do that and create new connections and friends that way. So really, really powerful. You mentioned that there’s there’s compromise, like there’s, it’s a little bit different. It’s not for everybody, what are some kind of things that you need to know going in? Like, if you’re like, Alright, I’m signing up for we wrote, I’m doing a trip, what’s something that you need to do just kind of like mentally to make sure that you have the best group travel experience possible?
Erika De Santi 40:29
I think it’s a great question. And actually, in order to expanding also we, we kind of written down that we wrote her manifesto, right. So I’m gonna be Rotary, right? That expresses also also our values, right, we think that we wrote is the right trip for you, if you’re open minded, right, so you’re open to people’s opinions, because respect for us is at the bases. And it’s not just respect for the the environment and for the local country, which is something that could come like as a first thing, when you travel abroad, but especially is for the people traveling with you, because they might be different, right. And so maybe it’s also the first time that you encounter somebody that you wouldn’t have been able to encounter in your in your daily life. So respect for short, then, for us, it’s also passion and discovery, right. So the need to go beyond your comfort zone, but also beyond what you’re used to do. Because for example, I can tell you that a trip to Southeast Asia is very much different than a trip to Latin America, in terms of rhythm, in terms of things that you can actually expect. So there is no sweets deficiency in Southeast Asia, right? So you need to take it slowly or, or there is no such a thing as delay in Iceland, I don’t know. So these these things, literally are very much intertwined to the local cultures. And if you don’t have the mindset of discovery, it literally could could crash and and prevent people from enjoying the experience and also go with the flow. And also enjoy the problem solving that comes along the way because as we normally say, I think that problem solving or things that go wrong in trips are normally the ones that are forgotten, remembered the most and cooler to be storytelling afterwards. Like imagine being locked in a hotel, in in Japan, because there is a storm outside that blocks the whole country for four days, that happens but how you spend those three days in that hotel with the rest of the group can become the best experience in your life. Right. So that’s the right, the right mindset that we try to convey to people to others. And also channel coordinators always have a plan B. And trust me the plan B is going to be the best. So because this is also another another another cool thing. And then I think the other one for we road is venturing to a we road if you want to become part of our community. So if you want to be also involved afterwards, or if you are looking for people that are also looking for a connection afterwards, right? So if you’re the kind of person that I don’t give ash funk, let’s say the people I’m traveling with, right, I just wanted to go to to Machu Picchu full stop, right? Maybe we’re not the right partner for you. But if you say okay, maybe I want to have friends along the way the people traveling with you will want the same thing. So the social component, I think we shout so much that we hope we’re able to gather the same type of people that want that thing.
Max Branstetter 43:37
Your story about the storm coming hits close to home because on our honeymoon. So my wife Dana and I when we were in Rome, we did we went to the Vatican and then we found out that you can walk up to the top of the cupola cupola, the top of the dome at St. Peter’s and we did it and we did the stairs and then we realize oh my god this is the smallest windy a staircase over a lot of steps the entire time. And so Dana starts getting claustrophobic and like, Oh my God, I don’t want to do this. We keep we keep powering on. And then once you’re up there, it’s like, most beautiful view you see everything and it’s just like wow, this is really really cool. But also Dana’s like a little dizzy. We’re like, you know, we don’t want to spend too much time up here and then we look off to the whatever direction was and we see giant thunderstorm clouds like coming our way and we can see like the rain starting so we’re up there at the top at the top of the world basically for two minutes before the rain started and we’re like oh my god after all this like claustrophobic stare wind experience, we get to the top and we’re getting rained on and then by the time we’re at the bottom, and we had ran across the roof. We just ran for it in the pouring rain and we were drenched in their selfies of us and soaking wet but anyway, the point of all that is that yes, it was a bit tramatic in the middle of that, but for the rest of our lives will look fondly back at that moment. And like you never know if it’s like a weather thing, or just like a fluke mishap, like those are the moments that makes trouble really special. So it’s nice that that we wrote can can create opportunities like that. Let’s wrap up with some rapid fire q&a, you’re ready for it?
Erika De Santi 45:21
Well, that’s cool.
Max Branstetter 45:23
All right, well, let’s do it. Let’s get wild. All right. You mentioned at the start, you mentioned off record that okay, I’ll just be bubbly in Italian. What’s an aspect? Yeah, of course, what’s an aspect of besides being bubbly in Italian, what’s an aspect of your personality that your husband, Team friends, somebody calls you out for but it’s just who you are. Maybe it’s a little bit quirky, but it’s part of the personality.
Erika De Santi 45:49
I think I’m, I’m passionate about what I do. And I can’t but do something that I’m passionate about. And you can tell, because I tried to put a lot of, I mean, I try I always put a lot of energy and in what I do, and I think that comes out very bubbly, but at the same time convincing, I hope, at least
Max Branstetter 46:10
perfect, passionate bubbly in Italian, the Erika story. Exactly. Are you still based in Milan?
Erika De Santi 46:18
Yes, I toured the, I think, in the last five years around Europe to launch its market. Because when we started launching market in 2019, I was the one amongst the founders to pack my backpack, literally and go. So I launched first Spain, then the UK, and last year, France and Germany. And this implies a lot of traveling and also leaving in some of these countries for awhile to launch the business there. But now I’m back back to Milan. So back to HQ right now.
Max Branstetter 46:52
Perfect. And so what is because we didn’t get to Milan, but I know it’s really cool city. What’s your, you know, one line sales pitch for anybody why they should visit Milan while they’re in Italy? Or even when they’re not in Italy? Why they should go to Milan? Yeah.
Erika De Santi 47:06
Yeah, so I’m actually not originally from Milan, but from Veneto, which is the region of wine. There had a lot of tourists the beach right. But from Milan perspective, having lived in cities like London, for example. I think it’s the most international city in Italy. So if somebody’s looking not for the touristy experience, but rather a real life real business also experienced Milan is the is the place where things happen in Italy. That’s
Max Branstetter 47:36
perfect. And then last one, I have one more Italian question for you made it happen with the bubbly and one of another one of our favorite Italian words that we learned on the honeymoon is Skia chapter. Because of course we went to Yeah, there we go. That’s close enough. Because, you know, Florence, Tuscany. Everything in there was amazing. What’s an Italian word that you think non native Italian speakers would struggle with the most?
Erika De Santi 48:05
Oh, my god. Circense. And I challenge you. Sorry, can you say it one more time? Circense.
Max Branstetter 48:16
And what’s that mean?
Erika De Santi 48:18
It means relating to the circus. I don’t know why I came up with this word. I was thinking about something with cheese. But that is intense. That could be tough.
Max Branstetter 48:30
Well, cheers to that. Erika. Thank you so much. What a Circus circus note to end on. Thank you so much. I just love what you do with we wrote and beyond. Where’s the best place for people to try out? We wrote if they’re interested,
Erika De Santi 48:43
well connected, we wrote up, come and browse around because there is a million of incredible experiences. To audible can just drop a line if you want to know to get to know more
Max Branstetter 48:54
about it. Perfect. And is there a place for people to connect with you online as well? Yep.
Erika De Santi 49:00
Just LinkedIn me. So Erika De Santi on LinkedIn, and if you send a request or friendship, just add the note. And I’ll I’ll connect to super, super easy.
Max Branstetter 49:16
Awesome, super easy. We’re at the circus here. Last thing, Final Thoughts. It could be a quote a line just one one kind of word of wisdom would a word of advice to leave us here with take us home?
Erika De Santi 49:28
I think one of the books that I’ve read in fiber gifted me in the early days of we rode was Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos.com. It’s a great book to read. But I think that the message there of delivering happiness with the business that you do to people, it’s something that is worth fighting and working for. Definitely.
Max Branstetter 49:54
Definitely all around the world. Thank you so much, Erika, for coming on the podcast, sharing your wonderful WeRoad story. And thank you, Wild Listeners, for tuning in to another episode. If you want to hear more Wild stories like this one, make sure to Follow or hit Subscribe on the Wild Business Growth podcast on your favorite podcast app, as well as on YouTube, where you can check out the video versions. YouTube is @MaxBranstetter. You can also find us on Goodpods, where there are good podcasts and podcasts recommendations. And for any help with podcast production, you can learn more at MaxPodcasting.com and sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter – that is where podcasting meets entrepreneurship and the worst puns known to all parts of the world. And you can sign up and you can subscribe at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter. Until next time, let your business Run around the world Wild…Bring on the Bongos!!
