Adventure Engine Q & A

...an edited interview with Amber Hayes CEO and Kelly Acheson VP Operations, Adventure Engine.  www.adventureengine.com

1. Describe Adventure Engine.

Amber: It is like the Expedia of adventure travel, a web site where a prospective traveler or agent can search, compare and buy adventure travel products, such as cat skiing, hiking in Nepal, and bird watching in BC.

2. Do you also serve the suppliers of travel adventure?

Amber: Yes. Tour operators use the system as a powerful office solution to manage their inventory. They do bookings, reservations, track their equipment, sell from their own site and get access to a distribution network. It's a system made by and for adventure tour operators.

3. At what stage is the business now?

Amber: . The site went live in May of 2005. We are now in full operation. We began with B.C. companies, and we're already international including companies in Nepal, India, Mexico, South and Central North America.

4. When did you first conceive of the idea of Adventure Engine?

Amber: In my mind, about three years ago. We began to do the feasibility research about two years ago.

5. Why adventure travel?

Amber: I had a tour operation myself, Rossland Mountain Adventures, for almost seven years. I was researching opportunities for our industry, looking for a system and database that could provide collaborative marketing, administration, booking and distribution. I found nothing like it. That's when I decided to build the database for the adventure tourism market.

6. How did Kelly get involved?

Kelly: Amber asked me to provide the administrative support she needed including developing a business plan and handling all financial aspects of the business. The team is easy to work with; it's challenging; it's intellectually stimulating and I'm proud to be part of it.

7. How clear was the plan when you started?

Kelly: We began with a three-year plan and then a five-year plan focusing on sales and marketing. We presented the plans to several loan agencies including Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC), the Woman's Entrepreneurial Society of B.C., the Business Development Bank of Canada, our own bank, and also a couple of 'Angel' forums.

Amber: Our original conceptual planning document was 20 - 30 pages and it grew from there. A well-documented business plan is crucial; you just can't run a successful business without it. It helps you focus your goal setting and enables you to review and evaluate progress.

8. Was financing the business a challenge?

Kelly: It is always a challenge. We have a combination of debt equity and private investment. CFDC provided startup capital, and we obtained a wage grant from IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program). We also have Angel investors.

9. Could you run this business anywhere?

Amber: Yes, but the Kootenays is the epicenter of adventure! We wouldn't want to do it anywhere else. Living in a rural community forces you to be innovative, particularly if you like a challenge and enjoy living where it's fun to be. But technically we could do it anywhere; we have the phones, online communication, faxes, and with people using virtual meetings, we could feasibly do it anywhere.

10. Did you receive other support to help the business get off the ground?

Kelly: Our tour operators. We had about 50 or 60 operators in the Kootenays and Okanagan that supported us prior to our site being completed. We couldn't have showcased our Adventure Engine database in places like San Francisco and Seattle if those people hadn't bought into the vision in those very early days.

Amber: Local support was absolutely critical. The support of family and friends was also important. We both have families with young children. The glamour and ease of working from home is often ill conceived , one should be realistic before deciding to pursue this work style. Luckily we have the support and understanding of our families in this area.

11. Are you meeting your targets?

Amber: I think our team has done really well, first bringing the system live, working out the bugs, getting the involvement of the travel community, and then taking that support and moving to higher levels. It was always our plan to begin talking to the larger travel agents and distributors in 2006. We're really pleased to see some good partnerships happening. COTA (Council of Tourism Association of BC), one of the largest associations in B.C. is now a partner. So is West Jet, which is very exciting for us.

12. What does being a partner mean?

Amber: Partnership programs vary, often we provide them portals, which are like movie screens. We provide a code they put in their website that enables us to exchange data between our site and theirs. So visiting a site like  www.rossland.com who use our portal you will see a page which allows for trip searching and the trips that display there are coming from our database and projected onto their portal. Visitors never have to leave the Rossland site. Other partnerships provide incentives and discounts to their membership. COTA, for example, has a large membership of tourism operations and associations, and we provide discounts to all their members.

13. What changes are in store for 2006?

Amber: We are moving on to a version 2.0 which will increase the functionality and power of the site. We are also moving into multi-currencies and multi-languages, and of course we will continue to grow the number of companies on the site.

Kelly: Our focus for 2005 was to stock our database with adventure travel. In 2006 we will also promote Adventure Engine to the end consumer. 2006 will be a big year for us, the turning point for our business. We have applied for patents for our portal technology and the calendaring system we are developing.

14. What qualifies as 'adventure travel'?

Kelly: We don't profess to define the word 'adventure'. We have special interest categories, from family-related to adventures for the over-50s, from soft adventures to extreme. You can see the diversity on our database already. Adventure is a relative term, and it is a fast growing industry. We also include cultural, spiritual and educational trips, along with the adrenalin rush experiences.

Amber: Watching birds, watching bears; wildlife viewing is a billion dollar industry in B.C. alone. I tell clients that adventure travel is everything but commercial airline flights, hotels and car rentals.

15. What challenges did you have to overcome to get the business up and running?

Kelly: The textbook business startup: overworked and under capitalized. Building Amber's concept, making it work technically, getting the money, getting the clients; it's all been a huge challenge. Everything is new. Transferring money over the Internet for example. If we have an operator in India or Africa who wants to process a sale, the banks can't tell us how to electronically transfer money over there. Institutions need to catch up with the pace of where technology and global commerce are going.

Amber: Information is a big issue, also financing; venture funding is hard to access outside the big centers.

16. Partnerships can be tricky. Do you have concerns about that?

Kelly: I think our partnership keeps us strong. We bring different skill sets to the table. We've laid out an agreement, which is very important. We know where our boundaries stand. As I said earlier I'm proud to be working with Amber.

Amber: I can't stress enough that partnerships need to be done diligently with realistic expectations. You need partnerships that are complementary: different perspectives, different skills, rather that best buddies with a great idea.

17. Does the community recognize and value your enterprise?

Amber: I think some in the community do. We are starting to work with the Chamber of Commerce and local operators. We are on the Rossland Chamber website now: www.rossland.com.

Kelly: I get lots of good feedback on Adventure Engine on the street. However, the technical concept and possibilities are probably not understood yet.

18. What key lessons have you learned?

Kelly: Have a conservative forecast, then make it even more conservative! We have improved our communication; that's very important. You learn as you go. The most important thing is to be dynamic, responsive and flexible; respond promptly to the needs of the business operation and the needs of each other.

Amber: Being creative and not accepting no for an answer.

19. From your experience, how can the South Kootenay area encourage more innovative and entrepreneurial businesses?

Kelly: Access to information is critical; in some cases the information is there, we just don't know it is there or how to find it - everything from government programs to how Google works. In larger centers there are all sorts of small business seminars. We get the PowerPoint copies, but miss the impact of the presentation.

Amber: I would like to see a more organized network of innovative companies. A lot of technical companies work virtually, it would be nice to have a forum where we can all get together. I am looking forward to local initiatives like those provided by TASK and Tech Village that will provide more forums for folks in our industry in the Kootenays. A similar resource for entrepreneurs would be great.

Kelly: In Vancouver there is a circuit of 'small business connections.' I'd like to see that seminar circuit come to the rural areas, with speakers shedding some light on current developments in the high tech industry.

Amber: 'Webinars' are becoming more popular, where people give live presentations over the Internet and anyone with an Internet connection can take part. Another program is a community site that allows for discussions and resource sharing. It could be very helpful and convenient to get answers to questions very quickly. For example in the entrepreneurial section we could showcase Adventure Engine for Adventure tourism start ups!