Philip Wolf scholarship winners PlacesToGo, GuestOS on their journey as founders

Founding a startup requires innovation and grit — two qualities with which founders Jessie Fischer, founder and CEO of GuestOS, and Arielle Warren, CEO of PlacesToGo, are acquainted.

Fischer and Warren are the 2024 recipients of the Philip C. Wolf Memorial Scholarship. By the scholarship, the 2 attended The Phocuswright Convention 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona, which included a 3 night time keep and participation in a mentorship program of every founder’s selection.

In the course of the convention, Fischer and Warren stopped by the PhocusWire Studio to debate their journeys as journey startup founders.

They shared a bit in regards to the inspiration for every of their firms.

Fischer, whose GuestOS is a man-made intelligence-based concierge platform for motels, mentioned the spark for her firm got here from her childhood.

“I grew up within the trade, so after I observed I used to be nonetheless answering the identical questions that I answered after I was, like, 12 years previous, I assumed, we are able to automate this now and provides people extra significant duties,” Fischer mentioned.

Warren took inspiration from her personal life, too.

“I am constructing PlacesToGo, which is a cellular app that helps Gen Z mates plan, guide and pay for group journey,” Warren mentioned. “It additionally got here from a private expertise of reserving over 20 journeys for my mates, whether or not celebrating graduations or bachelorette events. There simply needed to be a technique to streamline that course of.”

Throughout a wide-ranging interview, the 2 additionally delved into the state of funding for feminine founders, challenges they face as startup founders, their objectives for 2025 and extra.

Watch the total interview with PhocusWire senior reporter Morgan Hines beneath: