6B. Naren Shaam of Omio... on the right timing
It took a fairly long time, at least in internet years, for the next wave of travel tools to hit the market.
There is a lot more to a trip than a flight and a hotel, especially when an entire trip is considered, yet the established online travel agencies and metasearch engines steered away from trying to connect all the elements of a journey.
Getting reliable, technical access to inventory from rail and bus services may have been the trigger in the late-2000s, when the first brands emerged that attempted to connect the dots.
Door-to-door, multi-modal - a number of terms have been used over the years since.
One of the brands that has emerged through the startup landscape in this area is Omio, which was formed in 2012 under its original name of GoEuro.
Under its founder and CEO Naran Shaam, Omio has quietly grown from its base in Germany to become the largest-funded of the multi-modal online travel brands.
Almost $300 million in investment has given it the chance to make some major strategic decisions at the right time, including switching to an online travel agency model and go all in on mobile.
Shaam joins us for episode six of How I Got Here.
HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.
Other episodes: on PhocusWire and Mozio.