Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Ngalame.
Paul, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Cameroon, West Africa and studied in Oxford, UK before moving to Atlanta, GA in the 90’s. There are five of us in my family; I am the firstborn, three girls follow me and my baby brother closes out the pack. My brother John is arguably the most intelligent, daring and risk-tolerant of us all. When we all were seeking stability and predictability in our employment, he was always seeking independence and autonomy in his.
That spirit led him to start a weekly event while in university at Sheffield-Hallam, UK. It was a brilliant concept. He approached night clubs and asked what night was their slowest night. Realizing how very interested he – as a consumer – will be as an international student, if he could participate in activities that catered to tastes from his home country, he decided to focus primarily on servicing that audience and building a devoted fan base through customized and well focused parties, where the DJ played music from specific countries of his student audience.
For example, he would find out the top 2 most popular singers from Greece and advertise to students from Greece to come to club ABC on Wednesday and enjoy the amazing sounds from this most popular Greek singer. Then he would do the same for students from Italy, Germany, France, Japan, China, etc.
The results were overwhelming. See —-> https://www.youtube.com/
As time went on, his audience expanded, but he also started approaching his thirties and got tired of spending so much time in nightclubs. His audience was quite large and he realized that international students not only wanted to party, but also wanted to learn and discover more about the country they’re studying in.
And so VivaTrips was born.
Shortly thereafter, he asked me to visit him in London and spend three months observing the market place and figuring out how to maximize the VivaTrips opportunity.
Upon my return back home to Miami, we agreed on the size of the marketplace in this sector, and the opportunity it presented for Viva.
So, what do we do? We zero in on the international student population and offer incredible time rich experiences via very specific and bespoke tours and excursions. These are day tours that happen only outside of class hours – Saturday and Sunday – where we aim to provide an unforgettable experience beyond just visiting a particular location. Honestly, our primarily goal is to get our audience to truly fall in love with Viva Trips. As a result, every interaction; from customer service inquiries to interactions with our guests on the eve of every trip, and then on the bus, to how each destination is experience, and the return trip back to the original destination, is all very well designed to create the most compelling experience for our guests on the trip.
Every excursion is themed and in collaboration with the staff at the schools we partner with. Some weeks, we prepare travelers all week for the trips by encouraging them to research and write essays on particular subjects to be discovered while on the weekend trip. (There is typically a prize for the most compelling and best-graded essay, and the winner is announced on the trip) This practice engages the student traveler more than anything else we’ve seen, as they become familiar with the theoretical side of the essay question during the week, and then get to experience the practical side of the subject matter during the weekend on the trip.
What we’ve discovered is that travel plays a very integral part in education as every student on any excursion out of the classroom remembers that event as the highlight of their education. They learn so much while having so much fun. They develop social and team-building skills, and they grow exponentially on a personal level. The experience itself ultimately revitalizes interest and passion in the very activity of learning. At VivaTrips, we seek to broaden the horizons of our guests who participate in our trips by marrying the education and the entertainment in travel perfectly – we work very hard everyday to “edutain” our tribe, and we intend to do that from New York to Florida – for starters – and gradually venture towards the mid-west and eventually the West coast.
Has it been a smooth road?
As with everything of value, there is an enormous amount of effort required to attain even a modicum of success. I remember the very first event my brother John hosted for Viva la Fiesta. He was expecting 1000 attendees and money was spent to represent that level of turn out and lo and behold, 65 people attended!
It was a monumental disaster and so much of the initial investment was lost. Even making rent for the next few months became very tricky and we both seriously faced homelessness for the first time in our lives. After that, raising the required capital was extremely challenging as we did not have a proof of concept. Rejection was commonplace even among our most ardent supporters as no one wanted to “throw away their money,” especially when there exist high opportunity costs in the marketplace at large.
One can be told NO only so many times before the questions start popping up as to whether this is the right path and the right thing to do. Because this endeavor requires a substantial about of seed money, the biggest challenge has been a rejection from investors who ignore this market and dismiss the incredibly lucrative secondary and tertiary streams of income.
On the other hand, what’s been most comforting is the welcome we’ve received from the schools and educational institutions. Because they are bombarded by their international students frequently to visit particular sites – especially in Florida – on day trips, but the staff is without the capacity or knowledge on how to effect such an excursion in the right way for that audience, our idea has been overwhelmingly supported in 95% of schools we approached. We currently have agreements in place with 36 schools and are preparing for our very exciting USA launch in the next few weeks. Your invitation for you and your plus 1 is in the mail 🙂
Please tell us about Viva Trips.
VivaTrips is a technology-based student services company providing curated tours to historic/artistic/outdoor & sports destinations across the State of Florida and eventually, the entire USA. Our events target predominantly, but not limited to, international students in institutes of higher learning. The core of the addressable target market is foreign students in the State of Florida. With expansion to the rest of the Eastern USA coast initiated and underway, VivaTrips aims to position itself early in a growing and lucrative market.
What are you known for?
We are known for being very meticulous in our planning, very welcoming, excellent customer care, very close attention to our stakeholders, a smiling staff, an infectious joie de vivre, and a very well trained and professional team to ensure the delivery of a vastly superior service than you have experienced on any other tour, trip, or excursion.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the cultivation of a culture that begins and ends with hospitality. We work very hard to differentiate between service and hospitality. I discovered the difference between these two after stumbling on the incredible entrepreneur and restaurateur – Danny Meyer. According to Danny, “Service is the technical delivery of a product and hospitality is how the delivery of that product makes its recipient feel.” This concept totally makes every sense to me as a consumer, and at VivaTrips, we practice and train frequently to exceed the idea of providing great service and actually venture into great hospitality.
For example, one of the things we do on the eve of every trip is reach out to the travelers and inform them of the trip itinerary. During that five minute conversation, we find out something unique about them – do they have a pet, what was their childhood nickname, favorite food and why – to name a few. On the day of the trip, as they are confirmed on the travel list and get on board, we either refer to them by their nickname or ask a memorable question about their pet or hobby. This tiny little action elicits the most endearing response and sets an incredible tone for the trip as that good vibe floods the bus, guaranteeing a successful trip.
I am also very proud of the fact that we have incorporated members of the Veterans Administration as our official tour guides. We intend to recruit and employ ONLY V.A. members to be on every trip we deploy, providing steady and reliable employment for these great heroes of ours as we believe their input will massively improve the educational and social growth for our guests.
What sets you apart from others?
We are the difference between service and Hospitality. Let me share a brief example. So, you go to a restaurant and you are seated quickly. The restaurant is clean, the wait staff is pleasant and your food is delivered relatively quickly and it’s hot and delicious. That’s great service. And in fact, even though its much appreciated, its really – what you expect.
Hospitality on the other hand, is showing up at the same restaurant and as soon as you walk in, the hostess greets you by your name (or nickname), welcomes you enthusiastically, asks if you want to be seated at your favorite seat in the corner with the view, and by the time your tush touches your seat, your favorite beverage is placed in front of you, chilled and mixed to your exact specifications. THAT’S hospitality and that’s what will make you NEVER go to another restaurant forever. That’s what we work on everyday to perfect and what sets us apart.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
What I like best without a doubt is the diversity in our city. One can encounter individuals from every part of the world in Miami and this diversity is reflected in thought, point of view, art, cuisine, and intellect. I love being able to discover and learn something new in Miami everyday and the incredible weather doesn’t hurt one bit either. Waking up every morning is inspiring in this city as the weather beckons one to go outside and explore, learn and grow. It’s priceless.
What I like least is the hurricanes! Not the football team at UM (I absolutely love them after being made a convert by Dan le Batard & Stugotz of ESPN radio), but the storms.
I have experienced a handful and it was the most scary thing while it happened, and its aftermath was most inconveniencing. No bueno!
Pricing:
- Pricing ranges from $99 – $359 based on distance traveled, entry to sites and included activities.
Contact Info:
- Address: 816 NW 11th St
Suite 302
Miami, FL 33136 - Phone: 786-779-1833
- Email: vivatripsusa@gmail.com
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