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Episode 286: Erika De Santi – Group Travel Adventurer, Co-Founder of WeRoad

Erika De Santi, Co-Founder of WeRoad, joins the show to share her journey from a life-changing trip to Peru to creating the group travel and adventure company used by hundreds of thousands of Millennials. Hear how to design the trip of a lifetime, build a community, embrace Plan B, the most unique trips on WeRoad, and the hardest Italian words to pronounce. This episode covers everything from the Rainbow Mountains to the Gili islands. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• Did Erika go to Machu Picchu
• What does she love about maps
• When did she realize she could create a group travel business
• What travel experiences are on WeRoad
• Surfing Max!
• How do you have the best group travel experience
• Views from the Cupola
• Bubbly & Italian!

Connect with Erika at WeRoad.com and on LinkedIn.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Favorite Vacations
  • [0:29] Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:37] Connect with Erika at WeRoad.com and on LinkedIn
  • [1:56] Womp womp
  • [2:28] Max-a-million!
  • [2:51] Shoutout, Massimiliano!
  • [3:14] What’s the best vacation Erika’s ever been on
  • [3:37] Peru
  • [4:18] Internship
  • [4:50] What did Erika do on her trip to Peru
  • [6:34] Did she go to Machu Picchu
  • [7:20] Huayna Picchu
  • [8:17] Shoutout, Andrew!
  • [9:08] Google Maps
  • [9:19] What does Erika love about maps
  • [9:47] Google
  • [10:08] Rainbow Mountains, Instagram
  • [10:26] Bazinga
  • [10:50] Valle Rojo
  • [11:12] Google Maps Pins

• The WeRoad Story
  • [12:08] Agente di viaggio aka travel agent
  • [12:38] Spiaggia aka the beach
  • [12:55] When did Erika realize she could create a group travel business
  • [13:04] Shoutout, Paolo & Fabio!
  • [13:08] Millennials
  • [13:35] Young Professionals
  • [16:16] Max!
  • [17:55] What travel experiences are on WeRoad
  • [18:04] Peru 360°: Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain and Lake Titicaca
  • [18:26] Travel Coordinator
  • [21:41] Talk with history
  • [22:25] How do you design the trip of a lifetime
  • [23:39] Indonesia 360°: Java, Bali and the Gili islands
  • [24:10] Bangkok, Jakarta
  • [25:12] WhatsApp
  • [26:11] Sri Lanka 360°
  • [26:35] Gili islands
  • [26:51] Surfing Max!
  • [28:31] True story
  • [28:48] Cowabunga
  • [29:21] Inside Jokes
  • [29:46] How do you build a community
  • [30:25] Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)
    [30:32] OTA (Online Travel Agency)
  • [31:35] Kardashians
  • [31:57] Instagram @WeRoad_Travel, TikTok @WeRoad_Travel
  • [34:19] Vans, Decathlon, N26
  • [34:51] Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOM)
  • [35:14] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Erika
  • [36:02] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • [36:03] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23

• Inspiration & Creativity: Group Travel
  • [36:17] What’s the biggest benefit of group travel
  • [39:21] Nice voice, Max
  • [39:58] Technology (Tech)
  • [40:16] How do you have the best group travel experience
  • [40:35] WeRoad Culture Manifesto
  • [41:19] Comfort Zone
  • [43:09] Haha!
  • [43:42] Views from the Cupola
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [45:21] Whoa!
  • [45:37] What’s a quirk Erika has
  • [46:10] Bubbly & Italian!
  • [46:15] Is Erika still based in Milan
  • [46:56] Why should you visit Milan
  • [47:08] Veneto
  • [48:14] Circense
  • [48:39] Connect with Erika at WeRoad.com and on LinkedIn
  • [49:28] What are Erika’s Final Thoughts
  • [49:32] Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
  • [50:02] Follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [50:12] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Erika
  • [50:19] Check out the Wild Business Growth podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [50:20] Connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and Threads @MaxBranstetter and TikTok @WildBusinessGrowth
  • [50:23] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [50:28] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at max@maxpodcasting.com to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Erika De Santi on the Wild Business Growth podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about it. And become WeRoaders with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!