TripHub
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
TripHub was a Seattle-based group travel planning startup founded in 2005 by Josh Herst, an early member of the Microsoft Expedia team. It let groups compile and centralize trip information — flights, hotels, room assignments, shared maps — in one place, and sold co-branded versions to partners including Orbitz and Alaska Airlines. Funded by Madrona Venture Group and private investors, it was an early leader in collaborative online travel planning before closing in August 2008.
02 / TripHub FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
TripHub died of a classic startup cause: it ran out of money. Despite a well-received product and partnerships with Orbitz and Alaska Airlines, the company never proved it could stand alone as a business against travel giants, and its blog post alludes to an acquisition offer that fell through ('close doesn't count'). The 2008 economic downturn and the battered travel industry removed any remaining room to maneuver. As founder Josh Herst put it: 'we simply ran out of money to continue executing on our vision.'
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Josh Herst, an early Microsoft Expedia team member, founds TripHub in Seattle in 2005.
- Beta
TripHub launches its beta group-travel planning product in September 2006.
- Partnerships
TripHub scores partnerships with Orbitz and Alaska Airlines for co-branded group travel planning.
- Shut down
On August 25, 2008 TripHub announces it has closed its doors after running out of money.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
On August 25, 2008 TripHub announced it had closed its doors, blaming a lack of funding and alluding to an acquisition offer that fell through.