068: SmarterTravel CEO Jordan Staab

Boston Speaks Up

Guest Jordan Staab is the CEO of SmarterTravel, an industry leader in online travel with a travel media portfolio including Airfarewatchdog, BookingBuddy, Family Vacation Critic, Oyster, SmarterTravel, and WhatToPack. As the story goes with most entrepreneurial ventures, Staab’s journey in building SmarterTravel endured various pivots, twists and turns to get to where it is today. The company is flourishing but Staab will be the first to tell you that this was not always the case. With Staab at the helm, SmarterTravel empowers 7 million unique travelers each month through engaging content, innovative technology, and strategic partnerships to help them find the right trip at the right price. The company’s success was rewarded in September 2021 with a $9.5 million series B funding round co-led by Link Ventures and Second Alpha. Staab was previously the VP of Revenue at Cognius, and later became CRO when it spun out of Link Ventures’ incubator CogoLabs. When Jordan saw that Cognius was able to predict patterns in travel consumer behavior, Staab co-founded Hopjump. That company started out in 2018 as a digital marketing agency that focused on partnering with brands to develop user acquisition campaigns. Staab and his team went on to launch their first product in January 2020 and saw 60,000 members join in the first few months. Staab was on a joyride that seemingly had no end, then the COVID-19 global pandemic took the world by storm and brought so much momentum, potential, and belief to an immediate halt. Staab, along with the entire population, had one option, and one option only, PIVOT. Hopjump paused their travel product and focused on content. Staab then learned through industry contacts that TripAdvisor was looking to sell a number of their travel properties, many of which he was familiar with. He saw this as an immense opportunity for Hopjump, and purchased all of the properties, one of which was SmarterTravel. Since that name closely aligned with Hopjump’s purpose and goals, the company adopted that name and in September of 2021, announced funding and Staab’s bump to CEO. A global pandemic was nowhere to be found in Staab’s playbook, but rest assured staying agile and nimble to whatever life throws at him, surely was. Find out how Staab not only stayed afloat, but flourished in one of the most challenging times the industry has ever seen in this week’s episode.