Concept presentation for Stepout, year 2007 ! This one is still relevant and i would want to try it one more time.

1. 1

2. Agenda
About Us
Market Landscape
Concept
Products
Key features
Platform
Marketing
Partners
Lock in’s
Management
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3. About Us
► India - based global travel social networking and travel e commerce company with initial
focus on the India travel space (domestic, inbound and outbound)
► StepOut plans to deliver consumers everything they need for researching, planning, and
purchasing an entire range of travel products.
► Intends to provide an unparallel travel experience by leveraging technology, converged
access (internet, several mobile access mediums), personalized services, localized
versions, and extensive partnerships throughout the world.
► Create an extensive network of travelers and would be travelers, who can connect in real
time with each other, upload photos, videos, travelogues, recommend travel products, ask
and answer questions and get paid if anyone in their network buys travel product(s)
► In its first phase, StepOut intends to target the Indian travel market and gradually cater to a
global community of travellers.
► Headquarters in Delhi and privately owned.
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4. Market Landscape
► Overall travel market in India is huge and continues to
grow. Growing annually at the
rate of 9% the travel and
tourism market in India is
supposed to be US $
► Online travel market is less than 20% of the overall travel 42.8 billion by 2017 –
market – having tripled in last few years, it provides ( source World Travel and
Tourism Economic Research
immense opportunities for multiple players. 2007 )
Currently the Indian
Online Travel market is
growing at 100% and
OTA’s have registered
growth rates of upto
400% in the last couple
of years.
PhoCus Wright Inc. – Emerging Online
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5. Market Landscape contd.
India’s Mobile penetration stands at 250 million
(Dec. 2007) with 8 million plus new subscribers
getting added every month – ( source – Stanford
University & BDA, 2007)
Internet users have grown from 32.2 to 46 million
(2006 to 2007). Active users have now reached 32
million from 21.1 in 2006 – (Source – I Cube 2007)
Asia is the largest and fastest growing region for
social networking with about 180 million plus users.
Also, unique visitors have grown at 29% - Nov 06 to
June 07 – ( source – comScore Inc)
Source - Internet World Stats;& Wikipedia. Pls. note
selected countries chosen in each region
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6. GAP – Current Market
► A plethora of online travel and user generated ► one of them have exploited
N
content sites on the internet the power of social networking
and commerce together.
► nexploited potential on
U
mobile not addressed by the
current players.
?
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7. The Need
► Mobile penetration Globally is high, more so in emerging markets.
- Many people in Asia will experience internet on mobile first than on a PC
- There are more mobile phone browsers in the world than Internet Explorer
► Traveler has become Global – But he wants local experience (global community gives him
local access)
► In the fragmented travel industry – User Generated Content is KING (relevant & respected)
► Focused and personalized travel buying experience is the future.
► Social networks will increasingly become utility based. Travel and entertainment are core
fundamental utilities that will drive adoption and consumption.
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8. The Concept
► First of its kind travel & entertainment social networking service with an integrated (mobile
& internet) commerce functionality.
► Complete Convergence – Any Where . Any Time . Any Device
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9. The Concept contd
► Creating a travel & entertainment social network which
has access to buy referred product(s) is a win -win
situation – helps translate BUY into a great Eighty-seven percent (87%)
EXPERIENCE of those in search of hotels
said the reviews played a
big part in their choice –
(Source – comScore & The Kelsey
► Control over end products (delivery, personalization, Group – Oct 2007)
redress mechanism etc) creates a compelling case for
great experience to the end user. In UK, seventy two percent
(72%) of the young
professional's buying online
travel reveal that their travel
Online
E choices were influenced by
Travel E E user generated content –
(Source – eye for travel)
E
In US, it was found that
Global over $10 billion per year in
Community online travel is influenced
Internet
Mobile
+ by consumer generated
Local content – (Source – Compete,
Content Inc.)
Users are ready to pay 20 –
99 % more if the company
Social is rated excellent or 5 star –
Networking (Source – comScore and The
Kelsey Group – Oct 2007)
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10. Product
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11. Key Features
► Travel Social Networking & Content: Search & make new friends, IM, Post scraps, Invite
friends
► Travel Content: Photos, videos, answers, recommendations – experience virtually before you buy!
► Online Booking Engine: Fully integrated global travel inventory – buy online in real time
► Trip Planner (Configurator): Plan and buy your own trip dynamically…
► Group Travel: Create your own group and travel, join existing groups – make new friends, get
discounts…
► Access: Anywhere, Anytime – Internet and Several Mobile Mediums (WAP/xHTML, J2ME, Brew,
Voice, STK, WIB, S@T,...
► Loyalty Points: Earn & redeem points. Get paid if your network buys
► Alerts & Notifications: Always ON, Last minute deals, Friend activity updates,…
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12. Travel Social Networking
Search & make new friends, IM, Post scraps, Invite
friends
► Join, create profile, make friends, upload content, check
reviews – get great travel experience!
► Create your profile and network globally
► Connect with your network in real time
► Upload, store, share and rate
content-Photos, videos, travelogues…
► Share knowledge – become a
travel expert
► Create, join groups – travel
together
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13. Travel Content
Photos, videos, answers, recommendations – experience
virtually before you buy !
► Upload trip photos & videos – from web, from mobile devices
“on the go”
► Create albums with full control – private, public, view within
friend network.
► Share content with friend network – allow users to copy
albums, trip itineraries,…
► Ask questions, recommendations, view reviews –
get informed before you buy.
► Help others with their travel plans – become a certified
travel expert.
► Create new destinations (unexplored places) – be a
virtual owner
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14. Online Booking Engine
Research, Book and Pay Online - Global access to
travel product !
► Search for travel products based on parameters
like Price, Availability, Reviews, Location
► Real-time bookings and payments through secure
& automated systems
► Booking engine connected with back end automation
systems to expedite processes and reduce manual interventions.
► Create and save itinerary – share itinerary within the community for
feedback before booking.
► Secure payments through multiple online payment gateways
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15. Trip Planner
Plan one’s own trip dynamically – Buy what you want, not what is sold !
► Full control over inventory – planning based on theme, price, place,…
► Publish planned trips for friends, experts and others to view and recommend.
► Use trips taken by others as template
for creating one’s own
► Search and explore new destinations –
popular, exotic, quaint
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16. Groups
Shared travel interests, hobbies,… – plan a trip together, have more fun & offset costs !
► Group travel for social engagement.
► Create your own group around various travel related interests & hobbies such as trekking,
paragliding, motor-biking, culinary hobbies etc.
► Plan a trip - invite friends, family, colleagues, friends of friends and undertake a group
travel.
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17. Access
Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device – Full
Convergence !
► Web: Global reach – Localize: Greater
adoption
► Mobile Web – WAP, XHTML
► Mobile OS – J2ME, BREW
► SMS – Keyword
based and SIM
(WIB, S@T and
SIM Java)
► Voice - IVR
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18. Loyalty Programme
Earn and redeem. In cash and in kind!
► Introduce friends to StepOut, create your own travel network & get paid.
► Your network buys, you get paid.
► Refer unknown destinations. Get loyalty points when others travel to your destination.
► Contribute to offset your CO2 emissions. Get smart, flaunt your green badge.
► Redeem loyalty points as cash or against shopping vouchers.
► Upload and review content – earn redeemable points.
► Create copyright content and sell it within the community.
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19. Alerts & Notifications
Stay informed and involved – Always ON
► Receive important updates on your travel plans e.g. flight status, weather, travel advisory,
new packages and destinations,…
► Get notified about new activities within the community e.g. a friend is planning a new trip, a
traveler has a question that needs to be answered,…
► Last minute discounted deals on internet or mobile with an option to buy immediately
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20. Platform
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21. Technology Highlights
► Currently under development, the StepOut platform, besides providing the necessary
APIs for in-house application development, will be highlighted by:
– High performance
– Scalability
– Fault tolerance & redundancy
– Carrier grade up-times
– Configurability
– An architecture that supports agile development and rapid product evolution
– APIs for open access
► We intend to use the following key technologies:
– Platform: Core Java, J2EE
– Frameworks: JSF, Java Servlets, Struts, Hibernate
– Storage: MySQL, Oracle
– Development APIs: JDK 1.5, J2ME 2.0, BREW 2.0
– OS: Linux, J2ME, BREW
– Servers: Apache, Tomcat
– Protocols: TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS, WAP, SOAP
– Markups: XHTML, WML, XML
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22. Marketing
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23. Mobile
Leveraging Carrier network capabilities to its fullest - reducing customer acquisition
cost & increasing reach
► Carrier Wap portals give access to the most promising
and active GPRS (mobile internet) users Wap Portal
► SIM based services are menu driven – easy
to use and have a high click rate and usage SMS SIM (STK,
Shortcode Operator Network WIB, S@T,
with Suffix SIM JAVA)
► Voice portal on carrier network works well with
users reluctant to use SMS. Also, it enables
delivery of content in local language.
Voice
► Shortcode with suffix allows delivery and response
to a host of specific services
Partner, SIM card/platform vendors and handset manufacturers in order to have a global reach over
carrier networks.
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24. Internet
Internet relates to the core audience perfectly – makes innovation possible and is
Significantly cost effective
► Search engine optimization.
► Permission based Email marketing – news letters, offers etc
► Web banners across multiple internet portals – contextual targeting of users based on
profile and interest
► Use of social media – placing and tracking blogs, video's , widget’s etc in existing popular
social networks.
► Co branded exercises like polls, contests etc – helps generate content, brand association,
customer profile etc.
► Leverage the existing community and access mediums to cross sell products – incentivize
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25. Offline Media
► TV / Radio / Print / Outdoor advertising.
► Co branded promotions and offers.
► University / Campus activities.
► Community level initiatives
► PR to be used to its fullest – helps create brand acceptance.
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26. Corporate Leisure
► Co Brand the portal with medium to large organisations
► Provide discounted rates to the employees of these organisation
► Incentivize the organisations for these partnerships
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27. Partners
Hotels
Access Provider(s)
GDS
Travel Product(s)
Marketing / PR
Airlines Operators
Banks / Credit Card
Insurance Companies SIM Card Vendors Companies
Banks/Credit Card Companies Handset Vendors
Travel Service providers
IVR (Voice) Providers Travel / Web Channels
Bus
International premium
Taxi Travel Content Providers
billing / push sms service
Automobile Companies
Cruise providers Social Group(s) / NGO’s
Railways Location Service Providers
Environment group(s)
Tour Operators (Maps…)
Forex Service Providers
Passport / Visa Service providers
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28. Lock in’s
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29. Management
Founder & CEO – Vineet Kaul
An MBA in marketing from the University of Pune and a Science graduate in electronics,
Vineet has spent over seven years managing business and strategic alliances across more
than 17 countries for start-ups. Vineet's experience spans across Strategy Planning, Project
management and Business Operations in Telecom VAS, Communities and Social Networking.
Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tifosi
Founder & Director (Products) – Jayant Varma
An engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), Jayant obtained his
Masters in Computer Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Jayant’s
core expertise lies in product design, product management, product concept, strategy and
planning with a strong focus on community and social networking on the mobile medium.
Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jvarma
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30. Thank You
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StepOut Travel Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 272 – A, Masjid Moth, Uday Park, New Delhi – 110049, India. web: www.stepout.in email: info@stepout.in