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Oct 12, 2018 · 18m · top-founders

1175 He'll Process $100m in Business Travel This Year

Avi Meir · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs, host Nathan Latka interviews TravelPerk founder Avi Meir about scaling the business travel platform to a $100 million booking run rate through 10x year-over-year GMV growth. Meir breaks down his commission-based monetization model, product-led inbound acquisition strategy, $30 million venture capitalization, and competitive moats against legacy travel agencies.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 43.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 2.6
05100:0010:001:27–5:26 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 TravelPerk's Monetization Model and Supplier Economics Nathan probes TravelPerk's revenue model, asking about take rates, kickbacks, and SaaS pricing vs. transaction fees. Avi educates him on how business travel margins differ between flights and hotels, and how TravelPerk leverages OTAs like Booking.com rather than direct hotel negotiations.5:26–9:10 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Founder Origins, Past Exits, and Venture Capital Nathan presses Avi on the exit valuation of his previous startup Hotel Ninjas and founder motivation post-wealth. Avi refutes the reported media numbers and reframes founder motivation beyond purely monetary terms.9:15–13:15 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Host Announcement: SaaStock Conference Dublin Following a conference promo, Nathan drills into GMV metrics and assumes business travel is crowded. Avi gently reframes the premise, arguing that legacy enterprise travel is ripe for disruption and underserved compared to consumer leisure travel.13:15–16:17 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Competitive Moats: Inventory, UX, and Human Intelligence Nathan explores competitive moats and take rates per dollar. Avi outlines their three key moats, playfully introducing 'HI' (human intelligence customer support) based on Booking.com's operational model.16:17–17:26 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five: Founder Insights and Reflections Standard rapid-fire Famous Five wrap-up with lighthearted banter regarding Captain Picard management tips and family life.1:27–5:26 · Guest teaching 4/10 TravelPerk's Monetization Model and Supplier Economics Nathan probes TravelPerk's revenue model, asking about take rates, kickbacks, and SaaS pricing vs. transaction fees. Avi educates him on how business travel margins differ between flights and hotels, and how TravelPerk leverages OTAs like Booking.com rather than direct hotel negotiations.5:26–9:10 · Guest teaching 3/10 Founder Origins, Past Exits, and Venture Capital Nathan presses Avi on the exit valuation of his previous startup Hotel Ninjas and founder motivation post-wealth. Avi refutes the reported media numbers and reframes founder motivation beyond purely monetary terms.9:15–13:15 · Guest teaching 4/10 Host Announcement: SaaStock Conference Dublin Following a conference promo, Nathan drills into GMV metrics and assumes business travel is crowded. Avi gently reframes the premise, arguing that legacy enterprise travel is ripe for disruption and underserved compared to consumer leisure travel.13:15–16:17 · Guest teaching 4/10 Competitive Moats: Inventory, UX, and Human Intelligence Nathan explores competitive moats and take rates per dollar. Avi outlines their three key moats, playfully introducing 'HI' (human intelligence customer support) based on Booking.com's operational model.16:17–17:26 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five: Founder Insights and Reflections Standard rapid-fire Famous Five wrap-up with lighthearted banter regarding Captain Picard management tips and family life.1:27–5:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 TravelPerk's Monetization Model and Supplier Economics Nathan probes TravelPerk's revenue model, asking about take rates, kickbacks, and SaaS pricing vs. transaction fees. Avi educates him on how business travel margins differ between flights and hotels, and how TravelPerk leverages OTAs like Booking.com rather than direct hotel negotiations.5:26–9:10 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Founder Origins, Past Exits, and Venture Capital Nathan presses Avi on the exit valuation of his previous startup Hotel Ninjas and founder motivation post-wealth. Avi refutes the reported media numbers and reframes founder motivation beyond purely monetary terms.9:15–13:15 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Host Announcement: SaaStock Conference Dublin Following a conference promo, Nathan drills into GMV metrics and assumes business travel is crowded. Avi gently reframes the premise, arguing that legacy enterprise travel is ripe for disruption and underserved compared to consumer leisure travel.13:15–16:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Competitive Moats: Inventory, UX, and Human Intelligence Nathan explores competitive moats and take rates per dollar. Avi outlines their three key moats, playfully introducing 'HI' (human intelligence customer support) based on Booking.com's operational model.16:17–17:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five: Founder Insights and Reflections Standard rapid-fire Famous Five wrap-up with lighthearted banter regarding Captain Picard management tips and family life.1:27–5:26 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 TravelPerk's Monetization Model and Supplier Economics Nathan probes TravelPerk's revenue model, asking about take rates, kickbacks, and SaaS pricing vs. transaction fees. Avi educates him on how business travel margins differ between flights and hotels, and how TravelPerk leverages OTAs like Booking.com rather than direct hotel negotiations.5:26–9:10 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Founder Origins, Past Exits, and Venture Capital Nathan presses Avi on the exit valuation of his previous startup Hotel Ninjas and founder motivation post-wealth. Avi refutes the reported media numbers and reframes founder motivation beyond purely monetary terms.9:15–13:15 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Host Announcement: SaaStock Conference Dublin Following a conference promo, Nathan drills into GMV metrics and assumes business travel is crowded. Avi gently reframes the premise, arguing that legacy enterprise travel is ripe for disruption and underserved compared to consumer leisure travel.13:15–16:17 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Competitive Moats: Inventory, UX, and Human Intelligence Nathan explores competitive moats and take rates per dollar. Avi outlines their three key moats, playfully introducing 'HI' (human intelligence customer support) based on Booking.com's operational model.16:17–17:26 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five: Founder Insights and Reflections Standard rapid-fire Famous Five wrap-up with lighthearted banter regarding Captain Picard management tips and family life.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 66.6% · guest 33.4%0:00 · Nathan 66.6% · guest 33.4%3:00 · Nathan 37.3% · guest 62.7%3:00 · Nathan 37.3% · guest 62.7%6:00 · Nathan 26.9% · guest 73.1%6:00 · Nathan 26.9% · guest 73.1%9:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%9:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%12:00 · Nathan 18.1% · guest 81.9%12:00 · Nathan 18.1% · guest 81.9%15:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%15:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:52 Rejecting the crowded market premise

Avi directly contradicts Nathan's assumption that business travel is a crowded, fiercely competitive space, pointing out that competitors are outdated legacy enterprise vendors.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:24 Pressing on acquisition disclosures

Nathan refuses to let go of the rumored $20M Hotel Ninjas sale price, arguing that public parent company disclosure requirements must have revealed it.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:40 Explaining OTA commission pipelines

Avi corrects Nathan's assumption about direct hotel negotiations by clarifying that TravelPerk sources inventory directly through consumer OTA partners like Booking.com and Expedia.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:08 Quick-math contract volume deduction

Nathan instantly backs into the implied 10,000-trip deal size by dividing the $100k contract value by the $10 per-trip fee on the fly.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
TravelPerk's Monetization Model and Supplier Economics 5413 Nathan probes TravelPerk's revenue model, asking about take rates, kickbacks, and SaaS pricing vs. transaction fees. Avi educates him on how business travel margins differ between flights and hotels, and how TravelPerk leverages OTAs like Booking.com rather than direct hotel negotiations.
Founder Origins, Past Exits, and Venture Capital 5324 Nathan presses Avi on the exit valuation of his previous startup Hotel Ninjas and founder motivation post-wealth. Avi refutes the reported media numbers and reframes founder motivation beyond purely monetary terms.
Host Announcement: SaaStock Conference Dublin 4422 Following a conference promo, Nathan drills into GMV metrics and assumes business travel is crowded. Avi gently reframes the premise, arguing that legacy enterprise travel is ripe for disruption and underserved compared to consumer leisure travel.
Competitive Moats: Inventory, UX, and Human Intelligence 5413 Nathan explores competitive moats and take rates per dollar. Avi outlines their three key moats, playfully introducing 'HI' (human intelligence customer support) based on Booking.com's operational model.
The Famous Five: Founder Insights and Reflections 2111 Standard rapid-fire Famous Five wrap-up with lighthearted banter regarding Captain Picard management tips and family life.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Contradicted
Meir: TravelPerk is the only free business travel platform
“We are the only free platform, the only free solution in business travel.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 1:33
Assertion Supported
Meir: Hotels typically pay 15% to 20% booking commissions
“Hotels would typically pay 15 to 20%.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 3:25
Assertion Partly supported
Meir: Business travel equals leisure travel globally at $1.5 trillion
“Then you turn your look to business travel, which is the same size of leisure, right? So there are roughly fifty-fifty of the total market globally. And then you have a 1.5 trillion problem that nobody's trying to solve”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 6:51
Disclosure
Meir: TravelPerk has raised over $30 million through Series B
“Yeah, a bit more than 30, yeah.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 8:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Meir: TravelPerk is growing GMV 10x year-over-year
“We're doing 10 X year and year at the moment.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 10:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Meir: Over 90% of TravelPerk's accounts come from inbound leads
“Most of the leads, most of the accounts we have, probably over 90% are coming inbound.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 12:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Meir: TravelPerk takes 5% to 10% on processed GMV
“Yeah, between the numbers you said.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 13:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Meir: TravelPerk has the world's largest bookable inventory
“One is we have the biggest bookable inventory in the world. So we did some really cool hacks, technically, that allow us to sell Every flight, every hotel in the best prices you can find online or offline also.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 13:49
Assertion Contradicted
Meir: 70% to 80% of Booking.com staff work in customer support
“Booking.com out of you know, a lot, many thousands of full-time employees, around 70 or 80% of them are in customer support.”
Avi Meir Oct 12, 2018 ▶ 15:44
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