8. The Next 90 Days
The single most important thing
Get 10 travel advisors or small agencies paying for an "AI itinerary + branded client trip app" service before building the product.
- Segment: independent advisors and agencies with 1–10 staff who build custom (not fixed-package) itineraries, in a market you can reach in person or on WhatsApp.
- Job: "Turn a client brief into a beautiful, accurate itinerary and quote fast, and keep the client looked after during the trip without 2 a.m. calls."
- How: a concierge pilot. You (with ChatGPT or Claude and a good template in Canva, Notion or Google Docs) produce their next 5 client itineraries and a shareable trip page. Charge from week 1, even at a discount (₹1,000 or $25 per month).
Week by week
| Weeks | Goal | Exit criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Discovery. Interview 30 advisors and agencies and 5 tour operators. Ask about their last 5 itineraries: time taken, tools used, what clients complained about, how they handle in-trip issues, and what software they pay for. | The top 3 pains, in their words, with hours per week attached |
| 3–4 | Concierge pilot. 10–15 agencies. You build their itineraries and client pages by hand. Charge for it. | 10 paying. Fewer than 5 means the wrong segment. Try tour operators or DMCs next, before changing anything else. |
| 5–10 | Thin v1 (web for advisors + mobile-web trip app for travellers): brief → AI draft → day editor → branded proposal link/PDF → traveller trip page (offline, reminders) → WhatsApp share. | Pilots self-serve. 3+ itineraries per agency per week. |
| 11–12 | Measure and decide. | 15+ paying on the self-serve product, ≥80% month-1 retention, median build time under 30 minutes. |
Kill criteria
Fewer than 8 paying agencies by day 90, or month-1 retention below 70%: the segment or job is wrong. Change the segment (e.g. tour operators, group trip organisers). Don't respond by adding consumer features.
The one thing to stop
Stop building the consumer booking engine and the guide marketplace. The booking engine drags you into accreditation, refunds, package law and thin commissions. The guide marketplace drags you into safety and licensing. Neither tells you whether anyone will pay.
Close second: drop business travel from the scope. It's a different buyer and a different product.