TripHub’s mission and concept is extremely viable. Who could recognize that better than a former Expedia exec? But the idea did not originate with its founder and he could not make up his mind on simple things such as the look-and-feel of its website or the productivity of his staff. He burrowed into details, micromanaged his people, waffled in his indecision and further drove his panic-driven sensibilities into further panic creating a vicious circle of indecision. He also demonstrated an inability to recognize the value of his resources in the fog of his own self doubt. He even haggled with staff regarding billable hours and would pit staff against each other by asking assessments of the others! Funny too how he always wore shoes that were three sizes too big (you’d notice by how the shoes bent when he walked). A little-big man with his wealth could certainly afford shoes that fit!

I wish the originator of this concept had the same opportunity as Herst to embark upon it. S/He would have done much better and no doubt that now that the concept is cast upon the wind, somebody else will. But the problem was not funding. Herst had immense wealth from Microsoft stock and Expedia and had even been a partner in a venture capital firm for four years before the 2006 announcement. That firm was one of TripHub’s primary investors.

I hate to see things like this go down, especially for the friends of mine who went down with it years after I had moved on. But the fact of the matter is that an arrogant, micromanaging, usurping, and personally insecure leader will always prove disastrous in business, even for a great product and concept as that TripHub represented. Now its potential will be someone else’s playing field.

I still wish it was the playing field for s/he that came up with the idea….

But I don’t agree that no one else should attempt it. Just add value.

I posted this same response at the tinycrunch.com post. sorry for the duplicate, but this had to come out.

http://www.city...l.asp?dq=Cities

cheers,

Rodel

I think that says it all, really – if in two years, it *seems* like you’re only pulling a few K (maybe 20K? at best?) visitors / month, you shouldn’t be acquired unless there is some killer tech, AND it doesn’t make sense to keep pushing more $$$ into the fireplace.

Seriously, a “market leading” product doesn’t _matter_ what matters is passionate customers. They like it, they refer friends, they keep using it and eventually, you get to the “stratosphere”…however, if people don’t _use_ a product, you’re never getting off the runway in the first place.

Here’s why we feel TravelMob will make it where TripHub didn’t.

-Integrated search and booking of air, hotel, car, and tours. We’ve baked this into the core of the site. Anytime you book a hotel, flight, or car through us, it goes into your trip’s itinerary. If a friend on the trip want’s to book the same flight or stay at the same hotel, there’s a “Fly with Me” or “Book Here” button next to your itinerary.

- Improved UI. We’ve really focused on making it easier to organize your slacker friends for a vacation. 100s of hours of real world testing on our slacker friends have paid off!

- Newsfeed. We’ve got a Facebook style newsfeed which keeps you updated on what people have booked, RSVPs, picture uploads, etc.

- Facebook/Open Social integration. In the coming months, we’ll be extending TravelMob to the FaceBook and Open Social platforms. You’ll be able to create a trip, invite friends, RSVP, from our site or your favorite social network.

- We walk the walk. Half of our team will be on the road taking an around the world trip starting in October. They’ll be using the site to plan, and will be blogging from the road.

You can see screenshots here http://www.slid...ts-presentation

Let me know what you think of the site, adam@travelmob.com

Cheers, Nag

Reminder: Starting a Web 2.0 Travel company is an awesome way to write off your leisure trips as “business expenses”.