Building the Platform to Help the Next Billion Travel - Looking for Technical Co-Founder
I'm an Indian. I have an Indian passport.
Indians need a visa to travel anywhere, almost any country in the world. Turns out that people from other countries like the US/Singapore/Canada do not need a visa for many countries and can just book a flight and walk in.
With growing middle class incomes and increased disposable incomes, India is the place with the highest growth in travellers going abroad.
The entire visa situation is dismal though.
I'm building a platform which will make getting a visa as easy as getting a plane ticket.
I'm from a sales and marketing background and I've also spent some time in process optimization.
I'm looking for a technical co-founder who can help build this and take it forward.
Interested? Reply below or email me prk@prkspeaks.com
P.S. This is not something limited to Indians, we will be serving all countries eventually.
I am from here, have a similar experience - but have no tech experience :) Is definitely a pain point - and there is really less awareness around this.
Monumental challenge -- if you can make this happen, that would be amazing. What's your plan?
This is a solvable problem, not easy though. The first step is to increase transparency which will enable access of info to all. There is so much of a grey area that most people would rather not get into it at all.
The final goal would definitely take time but it would be step by step.
What is the airport parking situation for most India airports?
Have you come across VFS global (https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/index.html)? How is your proposition different from theirs? I had a hassle free experience with them.
After deeply researching through almost everything out there, I've uncovered this need. There is nothing like this available at all.
In response to your point, VFS is an agent. They have tied up with several governments around the world and help people get a visa. Also, They are not tied up with all countries.
In comparison, this serves a deeper need starting from the thought of travel till they come back from the trip.
Thanks!
How will you use tech to make that possible? Do you have access to government and decision makers?
It is a multi stage process, takes time as well. But at the end of the day, all any country wants is that a person who is a tourist spends money in their country and returns back home at the end of the visa duration. We'll make it more likely that it happens.
I like the fact that you’ve whittled it down to just one country to start with - assuming you have a better understanding on the market.
It’s a valid use-case and I am sure there will be a lot of legitimate travellers who will be happy to sign up for this. It’s definitely off putting when you have to plan your travels around visas and on the other hand it will be a plus for countries granting visas.
How will you ensure that a tourist is a legitimate tourist and will not end up overstaying and even if they do, will that be your (proposed company/org) responsibility? Will require utmost vetting of any individual signing up, yes?