Like any other business, Triip started the year with fresh positivity and a team huddle to discuss their plans for 2020. They brainstormed ways to encourage people to travel more sustainably, a value that’s at the core of their business. Hai Ho, the CEO and Co-Founder of Triip, was “ready to rock 2020” armed with exciting plans.
Then COVID-19 broke out and disrupted all of those plans. In its wake, Hai and his team found themselves navigating through unfamiliar territory – one where travelling was either restricted or totally banned.
I recently had a quick catch up with Hai, whose team we featured in one of our articles towards the end of last year.
In this conversation, he shares some of the lessons he and his team have learned along the arduous journey which they are still riding out together. The common denominator of these lessons? Choices.
Lesson 1: You can’t escape the laws of nature, but you can choose to adapt to the changes
“After going through different stages, worrying about all the plans changing, plus fearing the uncertainty for this industry, we realise this pandemic won’t end soon,” Hai shares.
Furthermore, they figured that the travel and tourism industry needs time to fully recover as it is one of the most impacted industries by COVID-19. “While we are not fighting back to get revenue, we still have to start doing something instead of waiting,” he continues.
For Triip, this meant embracing the challenges and adapting to the regulations, such as moving fully to remote working. To continue to have the atmosphere of togetherness, the Triip employees go into “biweekly Happiness Calls” where they share about what makes them happy both at work and outside of it.
“The pandemic isn’t in our plan. But looking on the bright side, this is a good opportunity to take a crash course on how to adapt to situations outside of our control on a scale that none of our team members has experienced before.”
Lesson 2: You can choose to work together as a team
“We decided to fight together amid insufficient resources,” Hai explains. His team members, all based in Vietnam, are of one mind to go through this together. When revenue came to a standstill, the employees agreed to be paid in stock options instead of cash to make sure the company would have enough runway to last for as long as possible.
Remaining intact amid the difficult situation enabled the team to spot an opportunity, work on it together as a team, and come out of it victorious. Right now, he says, he and his team “are like the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars. We train, we rest, and we will strike back.”
Strike back they did. This was how StayHome Heroes was born. When the call for #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon came in March, the team was quick to act. Within 72 hours, every Triip employee, from the product team to the growth team, from full-timers to interns, joined hands to brainstorm a worthy project. During the hackathon, they were one big team, not a group of smaller teams.
“We accomplished this as a team even without the assurance of winning,” Hai proudly shares.
Also Read: Vietnamese traveltech startup Triip raises new funding round, readies itself for ICO
The StayHome Heroes project did end up garnering a spot among the 89 global projects accepted, winning over a thousand other entries.
Lesson 3: Even if things initially go against your values, choose to step out of your comfort zone
“We have been motivating people to travel, and “sharing” happiness are our core values (SHARE – Sustainability – Happiness – Adventurer – Resilience – Excellence). However, what we can do at a time of social distancing seems to go against these values.”
Hai mused that if they were an e-commerce company, they could have ridden the waves. “But as a travel tech company, how can we deal with this tsunami?”
According to him, StayHome Heroes was ideated from changing their previous plan and their “stay now, travel later” perspective.
“We still do what we do best – inspire people. But now, we repurposed Proof of Travel to Proof of Stay. We call people joining this campaign – StayHome Heroes.” This project pays people for staying at home, reinforcing the implementation of social distancing.
Also Read: Vietnamese traveltech startup Triip raises new funding round, readies itself for ICO
“As a travel tech company, we adapt, we learn and change quickly. We joined a hackathon that specifically focused on finding solutions to fight COVID-19 and helping people during this tough time. We perform best when we don’t have much time, and under a lot of pressure.”
This too shall pass
Hai, who embodies the team’s core value of happiness, looks forward to the end of the pandemic. “Everyone will travel again and share memories together. We will meet again on a beautiful day. We will grow better and be more appreciative of each other.”
“Until the moment we can be travellers and allowed to have wanderlust again, we are StayHome Heroes, together,” he concludes.
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