Tell us a bit about yourself and your background

I’ve been working in the advertising technology space for over a decade. Most of that time has been in London and Singapore, working across regional commercial and operational roles. I’m passionate about technology, specifically how we can utilize it to improve the way we work and live. Outside of work I spend my time travelling the globe, scuba diving, hiking, and exploring new places.

Tell us about your experience in blockchain and cryptocurrencies

I started trading cryptocurrencies in late 2014 and viewed it mainly as an investment tool. However, as a tech enthusiast I’m always keen to understand and learn more about new technology, so shortly after opening up my trading account I began diving deeper into blockchain. I signed up to a few blockchain courses, started to develop my knowledge and understanding of the technology behind it, and essentially went from there.

What was your introduction to GOeureka?

Manraj (CEO) and I have known each other for years; we practically grew up together. When he came up with the initial blueprint for GOeureka I understood its potential immediately (as an avid traveller I’ve experienced first-hand the challenges of the current ecosystem, and having handled a portfolio of clients from the hotel and OTA sector I understood the difficulties from their side as well). Knowing my career history, notably my experience with start-ups and launching businesses, Manraj wanted my help in developing a go-to-market launch and marketing strategy. From there it didn’t take long for me to get involved in other aspects of the business as well, such as working together to refine the business model. Since then it’s just kept growing.

What are you responsible for at GOeureka?

At the moment we’re a small team and get stuck in wherever we can! That said, my core focus is on GOeureka’s marketing and growth efforts. This means overseeing all our marketing and working with our partner agencies across a range of activities such as media buying, community management, public relations, content publication and brand positioning. My current and immediate focus is on our initial coin offering (ICO) marketing efforts, building up the GOeureka communities and brand equity. I’m also developing our go-to-market launch strategy, which will have a heavy focus on our user adoption growth plan.

What is your favourite part of the GOeureka solution? What has you most excited?

The part I am most excited about is the next-gen loyalty program! In particular, I love that consumers are able to collect loyalty points across our single platform and that these points are interoperable across different hotel loyalty programs and beyond. This feature will drive intrinsic value for travellers and hoteliers alike and I believe it’s a real game changer.

Going up against competitors such as Expedia and Priceline, what’s your strategy?

We’re going to focus on our core vision, to create a more transparent and collaborative travel ecosystem which is commissions free. We believe this is the key to unlocking better value for travellers and service providers around the world. By delivering this, as well as working closely with our hotel partners so as to roll-out our platform’s other unique features, we’ll differentiate ourselves from other OTAs and really stand out.

Have you made any interesting partnerships? Anything in the pipeline you can give us a hint at?

We can’t discuss much yet, but one I am excited by and can give a little insight into is with a company called HealthFX. They’re one of the biggest medical tourism companies in Singapore and there are a lot of potential synergies for us, so we are all really looking forward to seeing how this partnership develops.

Beyond that, we have a number of other partnerships in the pipeline, all with companies that will add value and help make travel a lot more convenient for GOeureka users. We’ll announce when we can!

Where do you see the future of the travel industry headed? How do you see it evolving?

I believe we’ll see a massive growth in the travel industry in the years to come. Travel has been made so much more accessible and affordable with the internet, low-cost airlines, home sharing and so on, and there’s huge potential. The internet changed the way we travel and the next wave of change will be fuelled by blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI). We are already starting to see these tools being adopted more and more, and the opportunities seem to be endless.

About GOeureka

GOeureka is a travel tech company utilising blockchain technology to build a hotel booking platform. Their mission is to decentralise the hotel booking sector and deliver greater transparency by allowing hotels to directly connect with their customers. As a technology partner to hotels, GO aims to provide a dynamic digital experience to users and eradicate the high commission structures imposed by online travel agents. By reducing the financial commitments of hotels to third-party booking platforms, GO’s vision is to enable hotels to focus more resources on providing better intrinsic value and services to travellers around the globe.

To learn more, visit https://goeureka.io