Team mates to entrepreneurs: Travello co-founder Mark Cantoni on being a non-tech tech founder and running a business with your buddy

As old sports buddies and travel nuts, Travello founders Mark Cantoni and Ryan Hanly got into business together almost accidentally.

But three years later, they’re raising millions to develop their social media travel app, and their friendship is alive and well. It’s even been a key ingredient in a culture of trust that has developed throughout their business.

Founded in 2015, Travello is a social network designed for travel, allowing like-minded globetrotters to connect and offering recommendations for activities and adventures.

Two months after launch, the startup had users in 100 countries, Cantoni tells StartupSmart.

“We were onto something,” he says.

Now, an accelerator program and two capital raises later, Travello’s got 35,000 users and is growing that number by 10% to 15% month-on-month.

Cantoni doesn’t reveal the company’s revenue growth, but predicts it will grow within the next six to 12 months.

While the startup saw some early traction, it’s was being accepted into Telstra’s muru-D accelerator in 2016 that “really helped propel our business”, Cantoni says.

Later that year, the founders completed a $1.26 million capital raise, allowing them to “get some really good tech guys on board and grow the platform.” Read more

Stephanie Palmer-Derrien - Startup Smart - 21 Sep 2018