Tryp.com is an artificial intelligence-powered, inspirational traveling platform, allowing adventurous souls to travel more for less. The Tryp.com AI engine creates fully detailed, ready-to-go trips, including all transportation and accommodation, both for single and multi-destination trips. It’s a seed stage startup, headquartered in Odense, Denmark.

Back in September 2022, the Tryp.com team and Startup City Sapporo were both attending TechBBQ in Copenhagen. Victor Gram Thomsen, the co-founder & head of infrastructure at Tryp.com, longing for living in Japan, met the Startup City Sapporo team at the same venue. A month later he applied for a Startup Visa in Hokkaido, to expand Tryp.com to the Japanese market.

Traveling made simple by Tryp.com

Hi Victor! Let us know what you’re working on.

We’re Tryp.com, and we use artificial intelligence to generate trip packages, including both transportation and accommodation. We’re a one-stop, super travel platform, where users get the best the world and the travel market has to offer, in a matter of seconds.

Like most people, we think traveling is awesome — it’s pretty much the ultimate form of self realization, relaxation and personal growth. However, planning a trip can be both time consuming, tedious, and confusing . This is especially the case if people want to do multi-destination traveling, without breaking the bank. If you’re doing that on your own, you will probably end up with 20 travel platforms open across four windows, and a few Excel spreadsheets to keep track of it all — we strip this experience away, and leave you with just the fun part of traveling — the traveling itself.

One of the things that we do differently, is the usage of our AI engine, to easily scan and understand the full picture of the traveling market, in real time. Having the full overview of all the various transportation forms and hotel options, is simply not an option for a human. To an AI however, it’s perfectly doable.

To me, the coolest thing our platform offers is the inspirational aspect, which is also where the AI really shines. The way you search for trips on Tryp.com is more or less opposite from what you’re probably used to on typical online travel platforms: Rather than forcing you to choose a specific destination, specific departure and arrival dates, and a specific mode of transport, we simply ask you where you’re traveling from, and then we let the AI take the wheel from there.

So given nothing but a starting point, and the default “anytime, anywhere” search setting, our AI will look at the realtime travel market (buses, trains, airplanes, ferries and accommodation options) and our location database, and go: “Okay, what is the best trip we can create, at the best price?”. And the selection of trips always ends up being super exciting: You’ll have locations that you maybe didn’t realize you wanted to see, but now you pretty much can’t afford not to go. Or even better, when the AI throws a location at you, that you didn’t even know existed! Because nobody can know every possible destination — but an AI can do that!

Of course, if you know where you want to go, how you want to go there, when you want to go there, we allow you to specify that as well. We let you search for specific regions, countries or cities, you can include multiple of both, you can use the sustainable mode to only use public transport, and any trip can have both its mode of transport, dates and hotels modified. We just start the search from a very wide and abstract point of view, and allow users to narrow down and get as specific as they’d like to.

Discover more destinations in Japan

We are currently adding a bunch of new destinations in Japan, and working towards integrating new providers of non-aviation transportation. Japan has such a strong public transport infrastructure, and we really hope to leverage that, to bring people to all the hidden gems and unbeaten paths of Japan!

This is also one of the reasons that it made a ton of sense for me to move to Hokkaido: Not only does it have the most supportive startup ecosystem I’ve ever experienced, but it is one of the places that I want travelers and adventurous souls to come see and explore. This place has so, so, so much to offer, and I want Tryp.com to help bridge the gap between travelers and places like Hokkaido.

The perfect storm of living in Japan after a long pause

You’ve traveled to Japan previously, and visited Kyoto, Osaka and other cities in Japan — why did you decide to start your startup journey in Hokkaido?

Yeah, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of visiting some really wonderful cities in Japan before, but I had actually never been north of Tokyo before moving to Sapporo!

I had wanted to move to Japan for a while, but Japan can be a tricky country to get any kind of extended residency in. Then the pandemic happened, putting the world on pause, and closing everything down for an unknown amount of time. So for a period of time, I really felt like my Japan dream just wasn’t going to happen — the stars just weren’t aligning right. And that’s when I bumped into Startup City Sapporo, at TechBBQ Copenhagen 2022!

All of a sudden, not only was Japan an option, but there was somewhere that not only wanted me to come, but for me to bring my startup with me. I not only got the perfect storm of living in Japan and continuing working on Tryp.com, I got a support network of passionate people, ready to help me navigate this metaphorical storm.

So that’s how it started. The entire process since that day in September 2022 has been nothing but a testament to the fact that Hokkaido and Sapporo was the right place, not just for me, but for Tryp.com: The constant support and guidance from Startup City Sapporo during the entire process so far, the English application for the startup visa, the government subsidy to help us international founders hit the ground running — I could go on for a while about how much help we have already gotten. And now that I’m here, the support has only intensified: We get help finding housing, office space, and of course help getting in touch with the right people, to help our business grow and succeed in Japan.

Make the hidden gems of Hokkaido accessible for Western tourists

What I also came to realize, as it became more and more clear that Sapporo was actually gonna be my home, was that Hokkaido as a destination is exactly the reason a platform like ours is important: Hokkaido is incredible. It’s drop dead gorgeous, the food is incredible, it has everything from untouched nature, to unique, bustling cities. It has a rich cultural history, and the people here are so kind, and passionate about Hokkaido, and what it was, is, and can be. There’s such a sense of adventure when traveling here, and that’s why it’s shocking how undervisited it is, especially by Western tourists. So being here, right in the middle of a place that adventurous souls deserve to know about and see, just feels right when being a part of a company like Tryp.com!

So summarized, it ended up being Hokkaido for a multitude of reasons: The phenomenal work of Startup City Sapporo in supporting us founders, the easy application process, and the fact that Hokkaido as a travel destination embodies everything that Tryp.com is about.

How has your life been in Sapporo/Hokkaido?

The first week in Sapporo was an absolute rollercoaster!

I hadn’t even landed in Sapporo, when Startup City Sapporo helped me get an opportunity to talk with JR East Marketing & Communications Inc. (JEKI), one of the subsidiaries of JR, in order to make some connections with local transportation companies — once again, I’d like to highlight Startup City Sapporo going above and beyond to help me set up these types of meetings.

TechBBQ in Copenhagen & Sapporo

And of course, the absolute highlight of the first week was TechBBQ Sapporo. Four months after meeting Startup City Sapporo at TechBBQ Copenhagen, I was lucky enough to be a part of TechBBQ Sapporo, the first ever international startup conference in Sapporo. It was the perfect ending to the first week, as well as the perfect beginning to the story of Tryp.com in Japan.

During the event, I had the honor of participating in a talk session about Travel Tech during TechBBQ Sapporo, alongside: Per Arne Friestad from Nordic Travel Tech Lab AS, Sunny Long from Pie Systems, KOJI ABE from JTB Corp. moderated by Miho Tanaka from Startup City Sapporo.

It was a ton of fun, and I think we managed to touch on some meaningful subjects about both ecosystem building and knowledge-sharing in the travel tech vertical, from the Nordics to Hokkaido.

How was the entire experience during TechBBQ Sapporo?

It was fantastic! I really enjoyed being a part of my first ever talk session, and just getting to meet a lot of the passionate souls that make up the ecosystem that’s developing up here.

I was lucky enough to get to participate in the pitch competition, alongside a group of passionate and talented founders, both international and local — and we won the international half of the competition!

I got to talk to so many passionate people, from all parts of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and the world. It was super fun and enlightening, and I hope to stay in touch with as many as possible — and perhaps explore potential collaborations down the line.

The JETRO Startup, Startup City Sapporo, and TechBBQ Sapporo team worked extremely hard to make an amazing inaugural TechBBQ Sapporo, and they succeeded in every sense of the word! I have no doubt that this first event was the beginning of something special over here, and I’m proud that we get to be a part of it. If you missed it this year, stay on the lookout for next year’s event — I’ll be there!

Bringing more people to see more of Japan

Wow, so many things are going on right after you landed in Sapporo!
The second month in Sapporo has just started, what’s your plan now?

We’ve experienced nothing but incredible support in Sapporo so far, and the stage has absolutely been set for us to do cool things over here. Now it’s our turn to repay that trust and run with it.

Right now, I’m putting a lot of energy into adding a lot of new Japanese destinations to our platform! Pretty much everyday, I meet both locals and internationals, who tell me about incredible places in Japan. And every time, I’m sitting there thinking: “We have to add this place to the Tryp.com selection!”. I keep being surprised at how little I know about the possible destinations here, and I’m sure that many travelers feel the same.

As a part of that, I’m always on the lookout to meet companies that provide any means of transportation around Japan: Bus companies, train providers, airplane carriers — anything that will help us bring more people to see more of Japan.

On a more personal note, I’m also having a lot of fun exploring Hokkaido and Japan. So far, I’ve had a lovely onsen trip to Jozankei, I have a trip to Otaru and Yoichi planned, a trip to eastern Hokkaido in the works, and a 14 day getaway to Sado Island planned. To Japanese natives these may seem like very normal destinations, but I genuinely did not know any of these places existed before coming here. So it’s my very humble beginnings in terms of getting familiar with the, from a Western perspective, hidden gems of Japan.

And of course, I have the absolute pleasure of exploring my new home Sapporo every single day, which I’m loving every second of. It’s an incredible place, and I still find myself smiling stupidly whenever I take a second to think about how it’s my home now.

I’m still finding my footing here, and figuring out how to balance my responsibilities as co-founder and head of infrastructure, while simultaneously growing Tryp.com as a platform in Japan. It’s a challenge for sure, but I’m having a ton of fun taking it on, and I can’t wait to see just how far we can take things here. I hope that Tryp.com will soon be able to generate trips to and around Japan, unlike anything currently available on the market.

A strong sense of community

Please share your thoughts for the upcoming founders — what’s your feeling like about the whole Hokkaido community and ecosystem?

I have said this before, and I’ll keep on saying it: We’re brewing something special up here. As a founder, I think it’s very easy to be lured into focussing on the large, famous ecosystems of the entrepreneurship world. And yes, those do absolutely have their advantages, it’s not like they have the reputation they have for no reason.

But smaller ecosystems and communities, like ours in Hokkaido, also have very unique strengths. We’re still just getting started here, but there are so many passionate and driven people wanting to make a difference here. And when you’re surrounded by those kinds of people, that energy rubs off on you in a big way, and it creates such a strong sense of community. This manifests in really cool ways, like how easy it is to get the support and help you need. Whenever I get an idea for some collaboration or partnership I’d like to pursue, or run into some sort of hurdle, the time between me reaching out to get help moving forward, and me getting that help is so, so short. And often it’s even more than I asked for that comes back: Additional opportunities, new contacts, ideas to grow whatever I’ve suggested in new directions. We help each other succeed in a different way, and celebrate our victories together. And here in Hokkaido, I’ve experienced this both from a government level, from local VCs, from other founders, both local and international, and from the rest of the entrepreneurial community here.

Even when looking away from the strong community here, Hokkaido has a lot to offer: Plenty of government support for founders, a strong university environment, that have an increasing focus on entrepreneurship as well (with some really cool startups already founded in universities), there’s a ton of opportunities and industry within verticals like SpaceTech, AgriTech, TravelTech and AI. And of course, as a founder and resident here, it doesn’t exactly hurt that it’s a wonderful place to live — the food, the people, the many, many, many things to see and do. It all contributes to growing both yourself and your company.

So if this sounds good to any current or future founders reading this, I’d absolutely advise them to start their journey the way I did: Reach out to Startup City Sapporo. They know the ecosystem, they know the opportunities you have, and they’ll be able to guide you every step of the way. And if you happen to go for it, please do get in touch! I’m always really happy to grab a cup of coffee, or a cold Sapporo beer after work!

Thanks Victor! Looking forward to seeing Tryp.com going viral in Hokkaido, Japan, Asia, and the world, and celebrating our victories together!