Culture Trip
Culture Trip is a global tech startup that inspires people to explore the world’s culture and creativity through innovative technology and a global network of local content creators.
It was founded in London in 2011 by former academic psychiatrist Dr Kris Naudts and was named by Forbes as one of five fast-growing UK companies to watch.
Everyone working with Culture Trip is driven by a shared vision: to bring the world to everyone and in doing so to bring us all closer together.
The Culture Trip hypergrowth story
After four years of testing and evolving the concept on a shoestring budget, Culture Trip received seed funding of $2 million in 2015 and the work of building a global consumer brand started in earnest. Series A funding was secured in late-2016 when PPF invested $20 million in the startup.
Since then, monthly unique visitors to the site have gone from 4 million to 13 million, cross-platform social followers have increased from 1 million to 5 million, and app downloads have leapt from 50,000 to 750,000. Most remarkably, Culture Trip videos were viewed more than 1 billion times within 12 months of the first being posted.
Series B funding in spring 2018 will allow Culture Trip to enlarge its in-house workforce and global creative network, develop innovative technology and content formats, and ramp up its revenue streams.
The global Culture Trip team
From just a dozen people in late-2016, the team has expanded to 170 members of staff. This diverse group of tech and media professionals is spread across offices in London, New York City and Tel Aviv.
Top tech and creative talents have already joined from the likes of Google, Facebook, Deliveroo, Expedia, Lonely Planet, Bloomberg, The Telegraph, CNN, BBC, Sky and It’s Nice That. We’re gearing up for another major recruitment drive across its engineering, editorial, commercial and marketing teams to match its explosive growth.
Culture Trip also has a global network of 330 local content creators. Included in this are 170 writers, 45 filmmakers, 85 photographers and 30 illustrators and animators, who cover hundreds of locations on every continent. Their work joins that of in-house creatives on its site, app and social channels.
A diverse content offering
Culture Trip publishes over 3,000 articles every month on art, architecture, fashion, film and television, literature, food and drink, music, home and design, sports, technology, travel, and wellness. These are enhanced by original video, photography, illustration and animation.
In summer 2018, an online travel agency will be launched to connect Culture Trip’s rapidly growing millennial audience with hand-picked hotels, hostels and experiences. The service will draw on the appeal of its inspirational stories and utility content to help people decide where to stay and what to do during their next trip.
On the social media front, Culture Trip will be focussing on expanding its global following across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Looking further into the future, it has aspirations in AR and VR content as well as in original long-form film and television.