RIHLAT EUROPE
“Discover your holiday destination. Search for activities, accommodations and more.“
Finally, today the first success story of one of the FH superheroes is up. We are hunting down FH alumni who have either started their own company or are working on cool projects. For this week’s issue, we are introducing RIHLAT EUROPE.
First of all, what is Rihlat Europe?
“Rihlat Europe is a comprehensive travel guide for Arab tourists. It offers information about the most beautiful cities and destinations including a wide array of activities, accommodation options, and everything else you need to know about your holiday residence.
…
Three destinations in the heart of Europe introduce you to a holiday experience that will fulfil your every desire.”
Partners of Rihlat Europe can be found in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
We were lucky to get the chance to talk with one of the three founders of Rihlat Europe, Simon Mayr-Reisch. And we received some great behind the scenes information of how the company is operated. Simon together with his friends Lukas Nindl and Ridvan Tekir officially founded the company in April, 2014. He suggests that it is very important not to lose focus and always to keep the company on track. In order to do so, he proposes to follow the guidelines of “lean startup”. We were also interested in the actual trigger that has led to the foundation of the company. He answered that the reason was simply the lack of Arabic information for the guests on the Internet especially on the regions of Austria, Switzerland and Germany. The idea of the product was developed during Simon’s study time at the FH Salzburg in the beginning of 2014.
Furthermore, we were interested in how far they have made use of any strategic business tools such as SWOT, PESTEL or SMART for the launching process. It seems however, that they have not needed them so far. But, the founders of Rihlat Europe have written several business plans during the creation phase of their business. When it comes to valuable information and knowledge Simon has gained during his studies at FH Salzburg, he mentioned that he valued the learning outcomes from external lectures who have also faced the same process he has been in, most. Nicolas Garrido, for instance, has given valuable insights into Hotelkit, where Simon has been able to take great advantage from. Furthermore, Simon says if you are eager to start up your own business he suggests to read many books from serious entrepreneurs (e.g. “Lean Startup” from Eric Ries or “Das Power Prinzip” from Anthony Robbins) and to get to know as many people as possible; network with people from the FH, especially with people from the IT sector, in his opinion, and finally to be patient.
“Keep on hustling, leave your dreams and love your job.”
– Simon Mayr-Reisch
Simon Mayr-Reisch, Ridvan Tekir & Lukas Nindl
by Jana Berger.
