In a world where the impact of tourism is under increasing scrutiny, Seek Sophie demonstrates that with the right approach, travel can sustainably enrich visitors, hosts, and communities.

Getting under the skin of a locale while lightly treading on planet earth combine for an experience that more travelers are looking for, if Seek Sophie’s user numbers are anything to go by. Co-founded in 2018 by Jacinta Lim, the former corporate lawyer’s journey to entrepreneurship is as fascinating as the experiences her travel platform curates.

Jacinta Lim

Even when working in London, Jacinta often found herself asking questions. “I kept thinking, ‘How can I use business to make impact on the world?'” This curiosity led her down the path of joining a microinsurance startup that wanted to provide access to the bottom of the pyramid. She explained, “Because that, to me, was a very obvious use case of how to use business to make a broader impact in developing world.”

It was only when she returned to Singapore in 2016 that her purpose began to further crystalize and align with her father’s words that reverberated within her to this day. “One of the things that always stuck with me about my dad was him saying, that from Day One Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was very firm on tourism because he knew that was how Singapore could get to 100% employment rate,” Jacinta said concluding that tourism is actually a very powerful force which could build communities up, as well as countries.

This insight into tourism’s potential as a force for development became the seed for Seek Sophie.

Heartfelt experiences

Jacinta recalled like-minded folks she had met while studying at INSEAD in 2016. “They were very international, well-traveled, and they were all searching experiences that were not mass market or tourist-y.”

This was how Jacinta landed upon the idea of curating travel experiences that were led by heartfelt guides and who could “give color to the trip.”

“If you go on a wildlife safari with a conservationist that has been working with the leopards (for example), for the last 20 years, they can give you so much more. And those are the people that we put on the platform, those who know the lay of the land and who are very connected with what they are doing, with the community, and the environment.”

Seek Sophie already enables travelers to customize and build their own itinerary based on activities they enjoy and with filters that cater to the type and duration of trip, as well as budget, and more.

Jacinta hypothesized the travel platform evolving into a Canva for tours which allows travelers to piece together their ideal trip using the building blocks of experiences which Seek Sophie already has and is adding to. “If people want to build 10- day or 14-day trips, now it’s very difficult to do that,” she explained.

This creative tool could revolutionize how travelers plan complex itineraries, further cementing Seek Sophie’s position as an innovative travel startup.

Getting started

The smorgasboard of locations and activities that Seek Sophie offers have dwindled, but when it launched in 2018 it had done so in seven countries.

“Many people write to us to talk about places they have been. It was just amazing. I think when you have a mission-oriented company you will have a lot of people who will start resonating with that mission, and they want to work with you, and help you.”

Jacinta reminisced picking up coding to build the first version of the website because they had wanted it to be very lean. “And my co-founder basically traveled to seven different countries within the year, knocked on loads of doors, to find real good guides. In the first year, it was just the two of us.”

Today, Jacinta described the platform as expanded to having people on the ground and basically also just a “very large community.”

A community of creators had emerged among the travel lovers, because it wanted to share what they saw, felt, and heard, as well as read and give tips on how best to truly immerse in a particular environment.

The best part about traveling – creating memories

Jacinta observed how a big part of this community are also documentary makers, journalists, and photographers who were suddenly unable to do what they usually do, due to the travel restrictions which lasted for a good part of two years.

“During the pandemic we realized these creators could not travel and produce content for their own communities anymore. So, we connected them to guides in Singapore to go on Seek Sophie experiences and create stories. Along the way they started talking about us also, and our values,” Jacinta said.

This organic growth of their community has become a key driver of their curation process and marketing efforts.

“Many people write to us to talk about places they have been. It was just amazing. I think when you have a mission-oriented company you will have a lot of people who will start resonating with that mission, and they want to work with you, and help you.”

Aspiring to be the Patagonia of Travel

Looking to the future, Seek Sophie has ambitious plans. “How do you become like the Patagonia of travel?” Jacinta mused, referencing the outdoor clothing company known worldwide for its commitment to environmental causes. This aspiration reflects Seek Sophie’s desire to scale their impact while staying true to their mission.

Seek Sophie is using technology to bridge the digital divide for small, local operators.

“Even now, like over 80% of the local guides are still offline, so they don’t have the resources to come online, tell the stories, and more,” Jacinta noted.

Currently, the company is leveraging AI to help these operators create online listings efficiently, and providing a Stripe-powered platform for online payments. This is a game-changer for many small and family-owned businesses that these local tour guides and operators tend to be.