Today we’d like to introduce you to Bo Abrams.
Hi Bo, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I wasn’t planning on starting a business when I applied to business school. In fact, I felt like my career was a bit all over the place — I went to business school to get on track with my career.
I had invested tens of thousands of dollars into GMAT tutors and business school consultants, all in an effort to get into the top schools and earn some scholarship money. So just before I started my first year at UCLA Anderson, I decided to take a trip with my girlfriend at the time to Montana to clear my head and prep for school. There was only one issue — I was broke and could only afford four nights at an Airbnb.
We had used Turo, the car-sharing platform, at the time and I had wondered – “why can’t I rent out my awesome vacant apartment in LA to earn some extra cash while I was on vacation?”. Of course, my lease prohibited subleasing so Airbnb was out of the question, but what if someone in Montana had wanted to go to LA at the same time that I had my trip planned…
I started doing some research and found that there were decent home exchange platforms online, but they typically target and serve older homeowners. We believe that young, cash-strapped travelers are most in need of a swapping platform and that we, as a generation, can find and build trust online (think dating apps) to build out this marketplace. That’s where Swapt was born. We launched a beta and had over 90 sign-ups from 900 unique website visitors in just a few months, but we learned that we didn’t need to start a business, we needed to build a community. Swapping is about trusting the person that you are about to let into your home.
We just relaunched Kommu, a closed, invite-only network where you can swap homes with your friends. If you are accepted, then you can nominate friends to apply. The new website can be found at gokommu.com.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not. For all the victories that we’ve claimed, I can point to 10x the number of losses. Building out a two-sided marketplace is notoriously difficult, let alone trying to build out a two-sided marketplace that is inherently trying to change the way in which we travel and live.
We have a grand vision of what Kommu will become, and we think it is the future of travel. We believe that someone will win this market, and we are determined to make it Kommu, but the differentiator that determines the winner could come down to a few key decisions. And, ultimately, to achieve that grand vision, we need to find ways to make alternative, simpler products now that will serve as steps towards our longer-term goals. Just as our first beta revealed – we have a tremendous amount to learn from our customers as they join this journey with us. They will ultimately be the ones building that final product.
So to even get here, on our new launch, has meant putting ideas out there to customers and getting feedback, quickly implementing that feedback, learning, and trying to build quickly. We weren’t used to that as business school and undergraduate students. We were used to making something perfect before delivering it to a former boss or professor. In this world, being perfect is being perfectly sure to fail from inaction.
We’ve been impressed with Kommu, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Kommu is revolutionizing the future of cost-conscious travel. Leverage your most expensive asset – your residence – by swapping with other members of our trusted and verified Kommunity to stay like a local for cheap.
As cliché as it sounds, our community is where we differ from our competitors. Most platforms are focused on its member’s units. We care about making swaps as fair as possible, which is why we built a proprietary points system to account for property value asymmetry, but we ultimately believe the joy in swapping, as an alternate to other lodging options, comes from the bonds formed by swappers during an exchange. They often become friends and share local knowledge with each other making the experience fare more than just about exchanging locations. When I swapped with a stranger, Ayten, to New York, and she took my place in LA, that became clear. She had an extra ticket to a sunset yoga session since her friend got sick at the last minute. I asked my network if they’d be interested in joining her, and one of my friends graciously jumped at the chance. She and Ayten became friends and made plans to hang out in New York.
I want our users to know that we are obsessed and focused on our customers. Right now, we say that we are a concierge service for swapping. That’s true, but really we are just fellow swappers hoping to do everything possible to make their swapping experience safe, comfortable, and fun for a bargain of a price. Why? Because we believe that everyone deserves to travel the world and experience communities like a local. We will be there 24/7 on your journey.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking is a bit of a numbers game. You should be out there trying to get in front of as many relevant professionals, talking about your company, to see who is most interested in what you are building. From there, you should be able to find mentors and figures who best complement your team.
For us, we found Ethan Cole, Director of Product at OpenDrives, through some virtual networking opportunities at UCLA. None of us had direct experience working in products, so his skill set and knowledge complemented the other skills that we all brought to the table. Similarly, he has gone to bat for us on a number of occasions and spent countless hours helping us work through tough decisions. Some companies choose to find mentors with tremendous clout, but we are focused on finding mentors who will push us forward at a faster pace – that’s how we will generate clout for ourselves.
Pricing:
- $150 Annual Membership Fee
- $50 Swap Fee (per swap)
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: gokommu.com
- Instagram: @GoKommu
- Twitter: @GoKommu
