Feasibility Assessment, The Plan and Getting the Market Paper
GUIA Pitch Presentation – Script

COVER/SLIDE 1 – INTRO/THE PROBLEM

Let’s start by taking a quick trip in our minds. Picture this: you’re on vacation in a city you’ve never been to before. It could be Rome, Istanbul, Tokyo, or maybe somewhere a little closer like New York, San Francisco or Charleston.

Now think about two different versions of that trip. In one, you’re packed on to a crowded bus with 40 strangers, with a tour guide spouting scripted facts and figures while your fellow passengers unenthusiastically snap photos of the passing sights.

In the other version, you’re on a private 2-hour tour with just your family and friends, led by a guide who is not only a lifelong local but also has deep knowledge about your specific areas of interest. It might be architecture, history, music, food, pop culture, ghost hauntings, you name it. In this scenario, you’re on a highly customizable, personalized adventure led by a true expert.

I don’t know about you, but I know which one I’d prefer.

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So, what’s the problem? Many travelers want these meaningful experiences based on their interests, but the fact is, they aren’t sure where to begin or if it’s even possible to find such tours.

On the guide side, there’s an even greater opportunity. Tour guides want to share their expertise and knowledge, but many don’t know how to find and book clients.

We believe that we can create a solution to both problems. And in doing so, we can create a platform that facilitates extraordinary experiences for both travelers and tour guides.

SLIDE 2 – OUR VISION

What does this platform look like? We’d like to introduce you to GUIA. Guia is a word that literally means “guide” in Spanish, and evokes feelings of adventure and new experiences.

We have our own vision of what GUIA can mean—a digital platform which connects travelers and guides to create meaningful connections between visitors and locals.

We believe that travel and tourism can be forces for good in the world—and we want to help facilitate that positivity in our own unique way.

Much like Uber connects riders with drivers and Rover connects pet owners with dogwalkers and cat sitters, we envision GUIA as a way to connect travelers with private tour guides based on areas of shared interest and expertise.

Travelers will be able to easily discover highly curated, personalized tours based on their interests, giving them the ultimate insider’s view of a destination.

For tour guides, they gain the ability to easily find clients, schedule tours, and share their knowledge and love of their hometown, all while making money as either a primary form of income or a side hustle.

Ultimately, our vision serves dual purposes: 1. To eliminate the inconvenience and uncertainty of booking private tours, and 2) Helping guides create a sustainable source of income by sharing their knowledge.

SLIDE 4 – GUIA CUSTOMERS

Traveler: When travelers visit a city, they are looking to connect with locals and have a genuine connection with the place they are visiting.

This is Paul. He’s in Washington DC for the first time. While he wants to visit the major tourist destinations, he is more interested in having an authentic Washington DC experience by connecting with locals and visiting their favorite places to immerse himself in the culture. However, he doesn’t know where to start.

Guia is targeting three demographics of guides for the app. Let’s see how those groups could help Paul.

The first demographic are experienced tour guides who are familiar with the industry.

· This is Shreya. She has been giving tours in Washington DC for the past three years and is familiar with the major tourist attractions and local history, but also knows a few off-the-beaten-path destinations.

The second demographic are people with niche knowledge who would like to share their stories and experiences with visitors but don’t know where to start, how to market themselves, or may not have the time and expertise to create a platform.

· This is Soham, a Washington DC local who owns a local-favorite restaurant and is friends with other restaurateurs in the area.

The third targets the Millennial and Gen-Z demographic with particular passions who are looking to share them while also making extra money.

· This is Charlie. He moved to Washington DC a few years ago and fell in love with the city. He loves the nightlife and making new friends and knows all the great hot spots for a night out.

So how do we connect Paul with these locals who can show him the best that Washington DC has to offer? With Guia, our app for building cross-cultural connections.

SLIDE 5 – PRODUCT OVERVIEW

What does Guia, the actual product, look like? As Audrey said, Guia is an app for building cross-cultural connections. Stripped down to the essentials, Guia is a digital platform which connects travelers and tour guides.

On the traveler side, users create a profile with their age, nationality, preferred language, topics of interest, typical group size, budget, etc. These are obviously subject to change based on individual trips, but it helps us capture the general travel experience users look for.

On the guide side, users create a profile too, with information such as their home city or region, languages, areas of expertise, calendar availability, and pricing set by hour or by specific tour. This helps guides quickly and succinctly share their areas of knowledge and advertise their services as local experts.

Much like rideshare apps, both travelers and guides receive ratings and reviews. This helps build trust and confidence and enables a bidirectional flow of information that contributes to creating the Guia community.

From there, the app connects travelers based on areas of interest, availability, price, language and many more data points. The platform can also be used to facilitate messaging, scheduling, payment, referrals and social media engagement, providing a truly unique and helpful experience for both traveler and guide.

SLIDE 6 – COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

There are several areas in which we excel over our competitors.

Both travelers and guides log in to the easy-to-use app to post and book tours.

Bookings can be made in advance per guide availability, or travelers can browse available tours taking place on the day they desire to explore the city they are visiting.

Guia tours have a set traveler minimum to make tours profitable for guides for their time.

Guides fill out an online application and must pass a background check. If they are approved, we meet with the guides via video call to have them walk us through their tour. Where we set ourselves apart from the competition is by providing the guides feedback on creating a perfect tour, then have them take a guide onboarding bootcamp. The bootcamps are provided once a month, and the content is tailored to the three guide demographic levels.

Our algorithm is powered by employees and a 2-way rating system, allowing all guides to get a chance to book tours and ensuring quality experiences for both travelers and guides.

SLIDE 8 – MARKET REACH

We plan to initially launch in three cities: Denver, Washington DC, and Charleston.

Prior to launch, I will be working with a digital marketing consultant to launch a series of social media campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube and partnering with locals who would like to become guides in the beta version of the app. We will document their experiences using Guia for the first time through a webseries that will be published on our social media platforms while simultaneously collecting feedback. We also plan to purchase ad space on Google to optimize search engine hits.

So – why Denver, Washington DC, and Charleston?

· In Washington DC, there is a large demographic of experienced guides, a large pool of tourists, and well-known tourist destinations.

· In Denver, there is a large demographic of millennials and Gen-Zs who have niche passions and interests, such as art, music, craft beer, hiking, and cannabis.

· In Charleston, we hope to partner with members of the Gullah community to launch a series of food and history tours to share their stories and how their culture impacted present-day Southern food.

SLIDE 9 – FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

We are looking for $400,000 at least 30,000 will be funded personally

We are looking for investors to fill out the remaining with 10%equity.

Funding from these investment will be used for:

App development $100,000

Testing and development stage $10,000

Marketing and promotions $152,200

Expansion and continual platform development $20,000