Triptalker: Building a Community-Driven Travel App

Situation

Triptalker was a pre-revenue startup developing a socially-driven travel community aimed at connecting travelers through user-generated content (UGC). The platform’s vision was to inspire users with curated travel stories and eventually enable trip bookings through a seamless backend integration. The initial focus was on the US market, with plans to expand globally.

Task

To seed the platform’s NLP and ML algorithms, we needed to acquire high-quality, diverse UGC from current travelers. My role involved building a scalable framework for content acquisition, ensuring compliance with legal requirements, and aligning with the company’s overall go-to-market strategy.

Action

• Collaborated cross-functionally with product, engineering, and the social media manager to define the platform’s content needs and create a roadmap for the MVP.
• Developed and managed the content acquisition budget, ensuring efficient resource allocation while meeting strategic goals.
• Partnered with leadership and legal to design a content submission process that ensured perpetual usage rights while fostering trust and transparency with contributors.
• Strategized content campaigns on social media to attract engaged travelers and build a community passionate about sharing their journeys.

Result

• Successfully acquired a robust library of UGC, fueling the platform’s algorithms and preparing the MVP for launch.
• Cultivated an enthusiastic travel community with diverse interests, creating excitement and momentum around the app’s potential.
• Although the planned launch in March 2020 was disrupted by the pandemic lockdowns, the project provided a strong foundation for future iterations.
• Post-pandemic, I transitioned to supporting the company’s sister OTAs by managing and optimizing paid social, paid search, lifecycle communications, and on-site merchandising, driving measurable improvements in performance across US and Canadian markets.

TripTalker was designed as a socially-driven travel platform leveraging community and influencer-generated content to create authentic travel recommendations. My role included developing social engagement strategies, working with influencers via Influence.co, and ensuring content aligned with audience intent to drive both organic and paid engagement. This project reinforced my passion for creating community-driven platforms that inspire connection and exploration—a vision I still keep alive through my travel experiences.