Tip & Trip presents a marketplace model designed to bridge the gap between generic travel booking and expensive private tours. By leveraging a peer-to-peer 'Advisor' network, the platform offers personalized itineraries and real-time support during travel. The deck, dating back to a 2016 beta launch, leans heavily on the then-booming 'Sharing Economy' narrative, citing PWC projections that the sector would grow from $15bn in 2013 to $335bn by 2025. While the product workflow is clearly defined across six steps, the deck suffers from significant omissions typical of early-stage pitches: there…
Key takeaways
- The platform matches travelers with advisors based on four parameters: geographical region, desires, interests, and constraints like diet or physical limitations (Slide 3).
- The service model includes a 'virtual advisory meeting' where the advisor presents the plan and real-time support during the actual trip (Slide 4).
- Market data cites that 60% of leisure travelers and 41% of business travelers make their own arrangements online via Amadeus (Slide 5).
- The deck utilizes PWC data to highlight the growth of the sharing economy, projecting a rise to $335bn by 2025 (Slide 5).
- A competitive analysis grid compares Tip & Trip against six rivals, including TripAdvisor and Triposo, claiming Tip & Trip is the only one to offer all six listed features (Slide 8).
- The company timeline shows a rapid progression from idea development in August 2015 to a planned Beta version in October 2016 (Slide 6).
- The 'After the Meeting' phase involves a summary form, payment to the advisor, and a rating system, confirming a marketplace transaction model (Slide 4).
- The deck is missing critical investment components, including a team slide, revenue model, and a specific funding request.
Tip & Trip: The Peer-to-Peer Itinerary Marketplace
The Tip & Trip pitch deck is a product-centric presentation that focuses on the mechanics of a two-sided marketplace for travel advice. Published around 2016, it captures a moment in time when the 'Sharing Economy' was the dominant investment thesis, following the massive successes of Airbnb and Uber. The deck attempts to apply this peer-to-peer logic to the travel planning phase, which is traditionally fragmented between DIY research and high-end travel agents.
Slide 1: Title Slide
The cover slide establishes the brand identity with a yellow and white color scheme and a logo featuring a mountain and a plane. The tagline, "Plan a Perfect Custom Made Trip," is supported by a secondary mission statement: "Bringing together people and places around the world." The background image of a snow-capped mountain range sets a clear travel and adventure context, though it remains generic.
Slide 2: What we do?
This slide defines the core business model. It states, "We connect between Travelers and Advisors." It clarifies that Advisors provide "peer-2-peer consulting" both before and during the trip. The use of simple icons—a person at a desk and a person with a backpack and a Wi-Fi signal—effectively communicates the remote nature of the advice and the mobile accessibility for the traveler.
Slide 3: The Solution
The solution is framed as a matching platform. The deck lists four parameters for the match: Geographical region, The Traveler desires, Fields of interest, and Constraints. Notably, it lists "physical limitations, business, diet, children etc." as constraints. This is a strong point, as it identifies a specific pain point—generic travel plans often fail to account for these personal requirements. The visual includes a mockup of an advisor profile and a map, reinforcing the local expertise angle.
Slide 4: How does it work?
This slide picks up at 'Step 4', implying that previous steps (likely sign-up and matching) were covered or intended for a different section. Step 4 (The Meeting) involves a virtual advisory meeting to present the plan. Step 5 (Real Time Advising) is a key differentiator, where the advisor answers questions during the trip. Step 6 (After the Meeting) closes the loop with a summary form, payment, and a rating. This slide is crucial because it confirms the transaction happens within the platform, though it doesn't specify the payment split.
Slide 5: The Market
The market slide uses a 'two fast growing trends' approach: Tourism and the Sharing Economy. It cites Amadeus, Statistic Brain, Trip Barometer, Webbed Feet, and Google for various stats, such as "87% of global and 85% of American travelers use mobile devices while traveling." The right side of the slide features PWC data on the sharing economy, showing a jump from a $15bn sector in 2013 to a projected $335bn in 2025. This is a classic 'tide that lifts all boats' argument, positioning Tip & Trip as a beneficiary of a larger macro trend.
Slide 6: Milestones
The timeline is relatively short, showing a one-year span from August 2015 (Idea development) to October 2016 (Beta version). It notes that development was "bootstrapping" as of October 2015. This slide demonstrates that the team was capable of moving from concept to a functional Alpha version in under a year, which is a positive signal for execution speed.
Slide 7: Thank You
A standard closing slide with a night-sky image. It lacks contact information, which is a missed opportunity for a deck intended for distribution.
Slide 8: Competitor Analysis
The deck concludes with a feature comparison matrix. It lists six competitors: Triposo, Stay.com, Utrip, Tripomatic, Private Advisors, and TripAdvisor. Tip & Trip claims to be the only service that offers all six features, specifically highlighting "Peer 2 Peer advising (Before and during the trip)" and "Customizing information according to the Traveler's needs" as its unique combination. Interestingly, it concedes that 'Private Advisors' also offer peer-to-peer advising and customization, but suggests they lack the community and reservation capabilities of Tip & Trip.
What Tip & Trip Does Well
The deck is visually consistent and uses a limited, professional color palette. The Step-by-Step workflow on Slide 4 is excellent for helping an investor visualize the user journey. By explicitly mentioning 'constraints' like diet and physical limitations, the founders show they understand the nuances of travel planning that automated algorithms often miss. Furthermore, the Market slide is well-sourced, citing reputable organizations like PWC and Amadeus, which lends credibility to their growth projections.
What is Missing from the Deck
This is a product deck, not a full investment deck. The most glaring omission is the Team Slide . In early-stage startups, the 'who' is often more important than the 'what,' and this deck provides zero information on the founders' backgrounds. Secondly, there is no Business Model slide. While we can infer it is a marketplace, the deck doesn't state the take-rate, the average transaction value, or how they plan to acquire users (CAC). Finally, there is no Financial Ask . A pitch deck without a clear request for capital and a breakdown of how that capital will be used is incomplete for fundraising purposes.
Founder's Guide: What to Copy and What to Avoid
Copy the Feature Matrix: Slide 8 is a textbook example of how to use a comparison grid. It doesn't just say 'we are better'; it lists specific functional requirements and shows where the gaps are in the current market. This is very effective for showing a 'white space' in a crowded industry like travel.
Copy the Specificity of the Problem: On Slide 3, mentioning 'diet' and 'physical limitations' makes the problem feel real. Founders should always look for these small, relatable details that prove they have thought deeply about the end-user experience.
Avoid the 'Step 4' Confusion: Slide 4 starts at Step 4. This suggests the deck was edited down from a larger presentation, but it leaves the reader wondering what Steps 1 through 3 were. Always ensure your narrative flow is logical and self-contained.
Avoid Omitting the Team: Never send a deck to an investor without a team slide. Even if you are a first-time founder, highlight your relevant skills, your passion for the problem, or your technical ability to build the product. Investors back people, not just ideas.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the core value proposition of Tip & Trip?
- Tip & Trip positions itself as a connector between travelers and local advisors. Unlike static travel sites, it offers 'peer-2-peer consulting' both before and during a trip. The goal is to provide custom-made itineraries that account for specific user constraints such as dietary needs or physical limitations, which generic platforms often overlook.
- How does the matching process work between travelers and advisors?
- According to Slide 3, the matching is based on four specific categories: geographical region, the traveler's specific desires, general fields of interest, and personal constraints. The slide illustrates this with a UI mockup showing a profile with checkboxes, suggesting a filter-based search or an algorithmic match to find the right local expert.
- What stage of development was the company in when this deck was produced?
- Based on the Milestones slide (Slide 6), the company was in its early execution phase. It began bootstrapping development in October 2015, released an Alpha version in May 2016, and was targeting a Beta version launch in October 2016. This suggests the deck was likely used for seed-stage interest or partnership discussions.
- Who are Tip & Trip's primary competitors according to the deck?
- Slide 8 identifies Triposo, Stay.com, Utrip, Tripomatic, Private Advisors, and TripAdvisor as competitors. Tip & Trip claims to differentiate itself by being the only platform that offers the combination of peer-to-peer advising, virtual map planning, scheduling, and hotel/restaurant reservations all in one place.
- What essential information is missing from this pitch deck?
- The deck is missing several 'must-have' slides for a formal fundraise. Most notably, there is no Team slide to validate the founders' expertise, no Business Model slide explaining how the company makes money (commissions, fees, etc.), and no 'The Ask' slide detailing how much capital is being raised and for what purpose.
