EEssentialist
Essentialist is a private-membership bespoke travel-planning service founded in 2016 by former Travel + Leisure editor-in-chief Nancy Novogrod and travel-industry executive Joan Roca. It combines a network of in-destination travel writers and expert "travel designers" with a proprietary digital platform to design curated, ultra-local itineraries across nearly 1,000 destinations for an annual membership fee; HQ is Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with offices in New York and Mexico City. Raised a $10M Series A in July 2024 led by Iris Ventures, bringing total funding to roughly $12.3M.
SectorsLuxury Travel, Travel Tech, Membership Services
Start-up MapTravel & Hospitality › Packaged trips & tour operators
Founders
J
Joan Roca
Founder & CEO
N
Nancy Novogrod
Co-Founder
Global models 3
IInspirato
United States · www.inspirato.com ↗
Luxury travel club that charges members a recurring subscription for curated, fully serviced trips and experiences designed by its travel team.
$180MComparable
FFora Travel
United States · www.foratravel.com ↗
Human travel advisors backed by a proprietary booking and itinerary platform design bespoke trips, though Fora earns mainly from supplier commissions rather than membership fees.
$95MComparable
JJourny
United States · www.journy.co ↗
Charged a fee for expert travel designers to plan personalised, destination-specific itineraries through a digital platform (acquired by Fora).
$13MComparable
In the same niche 5 others
See all in the Start-ups Map →
Notes: Most funded first
Investors 9
Open as list →
IIRIS Ventures
www.weareiris.com
SSabadell Venture Capital
sabadellventurecapital.com
TTurtle Capital
espaidinversions.com/en/turtle-capital
RReus Capital Partners
www.reuscapitalpartners.com
P
Palladium Corporate Ventures
D
David Palau
M
Mark Miller
R
Ray Walheim
S
Sportive Ways
Funding rounds 2
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-16 | Series A | $10M | IRIS Ventures |
| 2020-06-10 | Seed (estimated) | €1.17M |
Sabadell Venture Capital, Turtle Capital
+5 more
|
News 6
Open as list →| Published | Article |
|---|---|
| 2024-12-30 |
How Luxury Travel Company Essentialist Redefines The Art of Trip Planning ↗
PaperCity Magazine
2024-12-30 |
| 2024-11-24 |
How This Agency Gets Clients to Pay a $2,600 Annual Fee ↗
TravelAge West
2024-11-24 |
| 2024-07-16 |
Essentialist Announces $10 Million in Series A Funding Led By Iris Ventures ↗
PRWeb
2024-07-16 |
| 2024-07-15 |
Iris Ventures Leads $10 Million Funding Round Into Luxury Travel Expert Essentialist ↗
WWD
2024-07-15 |
| 2024-02-20 |
Discover Japan Off The Beaten Path, From Osaka To Okinawa ↗
Forbes
2024-02-20 |
| 2023-12-02 |
Ultimate Travel: Essentialist Now Puts Bespoke Travel at Your Fingertips ↗
WWD
2023-12-02 |