Beyond moving 275,000 passengers a day, Hartfield-Jackson International Airport is home to a new set of TravelTech entrepreneurs.
One such founder is Veronica Woodruff, who joined the startup world after working in the airline industry as a flight attendant. She saw first-hand the gap in services available for travelers trying to get around a crowded airport.
What started as a baby gear rental company for travelers expanded to be a software and staffing solution for those trying to get around the airport.
For Woodruff, the airport was a perfect place to do customer discovery and ultimately pivot her venture Travelsist into a “human capital solution” for airports.
That means “bringing the gig economy to the airport,” she told Hypepotamus.
Travelsist helps connect parents, those with disabilities, and the elderly with concierge-like services to help to create a more worry-free travel experience. It is all about providing additional services that airports don’t have the capacity or staff to scale. This is particularly important to help with ADA compliance issues around an airport.
Woodruff said these additional services came about in COVID, which she called “era of the pivot” for startups in the travel and hospitality spaces.
While airports continue to adapt to air travel in the post-pandemic world, Woodruff sees expanded opportunity for tech-enabled solutions.
“Travel is an industry that everyone is betting on,” she added.
That includes Atlanta-based The Fearless Fund, which invests in women-led businesses. Travelsist pitched but did not win a recent virtual competition with the fund, but the team ultimately invested $250,000 to help the travel startup scale.
Prior to receiving those funds, Travelsist earned a grant from the Black Parentpreneur Foundation and participated in the inaugural Techstars Founders Catalyst Program this fall.
Now, Travelsist is focused on hiring and closing its first pre-seed round to scale.
