Onefinestay launches as an 'unhotel', lets travelers stay in other people's homes
Its founders are Greg Marsh (CEO), Demetrios Zoppos (COO), and Tim Davey (Head of Technology). Marsh was previously on the investment team with venture capital firm Index Ventures, while Zoppos has held leadership roles at several companies, most notably at GF-X, the trading exchange for airfreight capacity which raised £50m and was acquired by Descartes, where he was co-founder, Ops Director and later CEO. Lastly Davey was previously co-founder and CTO of SnapTalent, the web recruitment ad marketplace, which raised funds from Y Combinator and Index. So it’s an experienced team with form.
“You press the scan button in our app, point the phone at the barcode, and a short video plays automatically of the host explaining e.g., the history of the painting, or how to use the TV”, explains Marsh.
That’s pretty neat and certainly demonstrates the versatility of smartphone platforms like the iPhone in providing bespoke audio/visual experiences that would have been harder and more expensive to offer in the past.
Despite Marsh’s VC experience and contacts (or perhaps because of it), Onefinestay remains boostrapped aside from funding from friends and family.