The place others see unhealthy visitors and chaos, this entrepreneur sees
alternatives. It was with this pondering that Fritz Demopoulus fearlessly
co-founded the primary journey metasearch firm in China in 2005, Qunar, which
is now a part of the Journey.com Group.
Since his exit, he’s been retaining a watchful eye on journey tech funding
alternatives – he’s an early investor in GetYourGuide, the excursions and
actions unicorn. Aside from venturing into new frontiers in journey, he’s
additionally interested by different worlds – he’s on the board of SETI Institute (Search
for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). On this one-on-one at WiT Africa, we discover
out how he’s interested by investments and startups, the stability between
people and AI in the way forward for journey and past.
You had been a giant believer in metasearch, beginning Qunar in 2005,
exiting in 2021 to Baidu. What do you consider how the entire house has developed
– the blurring of strains between meta and on-line journey businesses, the dominance
of Google. What’s the way forward for metasearch?
Prospects don’t care about enterprise fashions. They solely wish to
meet their wants, i.e. discovering and reserving journey companies. If it means
doing extra within the worth chain, i.e. transfer past the enterprise mannequin, so be it.
That’s why we see a blurring.
It’s true that some enterprise fashions are higher at scaling,
others at assembly buyer wants, and others at producing extra favorable
margins. Meta search is effectively suited to assembly buyer wants and scaling.
Would you advise anybody now to do a metasearch in China? Or
certainly, every other on-line journey enterprise there?
China presents alternatives, for certain. However we’ll must be
extra considerate.
In any alternative, we have to think about how massive it’s, how
tough it’s, and the way crowded it’s. Throughout the newest go-go interval,
China was massive, nevertheless it was very tough and really crowded. As we speak, China is
nonetheless massive however has slowed, its elevated sophistication has made it much less
tough, and it’s much less crowded. So total, it may very well be fascinating for the
proper entrepreneur or investor.
You had been additionally a giant believer in excursions and actions, one
of the early buyers in GetYourGuide again in 2009. That entire house is now on
hearth, and is alleged to be a $250 billion market. What did you see that others did
not?
I want I may say I had some strategic perception. That’s what
we’re presupposed to say at conferences. The truth is I used to be impressed with the
founding staff – they had been all moral, good and prepared to be taught. That basically
satisfied me.
You had been additionally an early investor in Travelperk, which lately
raised over $100 million for a valuation of $1.3 billion. What did you see in
Avi Meir that you just maybe additionally noticed in Tao Tao and Johannes Reck, co-founders of
GetYourGuide?
They’re at all times curious, at all times asking questions. I keep in mind
assembly Brian Chesky [Airbnb co-founder and CEO] for the primary time and he had
an entire listing of inquiries to ask me.
How do you see the excursions and actions house evolving?
Will it’s like OTAs the place there are two to a few B2C giants – who will they be
– numerous B2B gamers and plenty extra area of interest websites within the longtail?
We’ll have just a few mega-scale platforms that combination
a number of provide and demand markets. GetYourGuide shall be one among them. It’s
arduous to do.
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Nonetheless, we’ll see many native gamers aggregating native provide
for their very own demand market. That offer will embrace all kinds of companies,
together with journey.
As an investor now, do you continue to like markets with unhealthy
visitors and chaos? What are you invested in, and what are you retaining your eye
on?
I like schooling and the way forward for work. In fact, I’m invested
in numerous journey firms.
Which is your finest funding? The worst?
The very best funding of my time was shifting to China, getting
concerned in startups and specializing in journey and tourism. The very best funding of
my cash was GetYourGuide.
You had time after Qunar to get into different pursuits,
beginning a science fiction occasion in Hong Kong, Melon, for a number of years. It’s an
superb occasion that brings collectively scientists with artists, making a magic
mixture of pondering energy.
One of many privileges of success is you get to revisit what you
had been enthusiastic about as a 9-year-old. I assume I’m revisiting these.
Isacc Asimov had “Three Legal guidelines of Robotics.” A robotic
could not injure a human being or, by inaction, permit a human being to return
to hurt. A robotic should obey orders given it by human beings besides the place such
orders would battle with the First Legislation. A robotic should shield its personal
existence so long as such safety doesn’t battle with the First or Second
Legislation. Do you suppose AI will change these legal guidelines?
Some argue AI is an amplification of our values. We as people
have a historical past of not being good to one another. I’d be nervous that AI embeds
these detrimental values.
Area tourism. Now we have Area Perspective providing
house balloon flights, six hours to the sting of house at 100,000 ft, to date 1,650
individuals have bought tickets priced at $125,000 every. First flight presumably at
the tip of 2024. And Virgin Galactic sub-orbital flights at $450,000 every,
presumably 2026. What are your ideas?
Some alternatives are massive, some are cool and a few are cool and
massive. Metasearch is massive. Area journey is cool, nevertheless it isn’t massive. I’m a mass
market sort of man.
You sit on the board of SETI – Seek for Further Terrestrial
Intelligence. Inform us one thing we don’t find out about life on the market.
That is the very best time to be a SETI researcher. Now we have extra
superior devices, similar to James Webb and the VLA [Very Large Array
telescope]. There’s numerous funding. As we speak, there are roughly 8,000 full-time
astronomers. In 10 years, we should always know if we’re alone within the universe, or if
it’s stuffed with all kinds of sentient beings.
If AI amplifies our values, how do you pondering discovering different
life on the market will assist that?
Nicely, maybe if we discover out we’re not alone, we could be
humbler and nicer.
Aside from journey, tech, sci-fi, SETI – what else makes your
coronary heart sing?
In fact, seeing my children develop and develop.
*This text initially appeared in WebinTravel.
