Founder Stories: Isabella Comellini and TripBFF

Meet Isabella Comellini, the co-founder of TripBFF with Ethan Brimhall, an app designed to connect solo travelers and make their journeys more social and enjoyable. Their business, TripBFF, can be found at tripbff.com. You can follow her updates on X at isabellacomelli. Please enjoy the interview with Isabella!

Who is your ideal customer and what problem do you solve for them?

My ideal customer for TripBFF is a young solo traveler, typically between 18 and 35, who loves exploring new places but often feels lonely traveling alone. They want to meet others who share their interests and travel plans. TripBFF connects these travelers, helping them find companions easily and making their trips more social and enjoyable. The app also helps them feel safer and part of a community, turning solo travel into a more connected and fun experience.

When and where did the itch to start building your own product or service and business come from?

The idea to start TripBFF came to me in June 2022 when I was in college, feeling unhappy and wanting to travel. I had joined several groups to find travel buddies but found it cluttered and hard to use. I noticed a big gap in the market for solo travelers. I thought, what if this was an app? I sat on the idea for six months and started developing it in January 2023. I asked my co-founder to join me because he had an app that was going viral at the time, so I knew he was the right person to ask. We launched the app on June 19, 2023.

Which resources were most helpful to you at the beginning of your founder journey?

I wish I could say I read startup books, listened to podcasts, and used various resources, but actually, I didn't. In fact, we designed our app in Canva at the start. It was only down the journey that I learned to use Figma. However, I liked it this way as it forced me to learn rather than outsourcing from the start. This proves you don't need to know everything right at the beginning; you just need to get started, get feedback, learn from your audience and keep building. We kept learning and improving as we went along, which has been key to our success. Later on, I began networking and seeking advice from fellow entrepreneurs and mentors, which became invaluable in navigating the challenges of building TripBFF.

What was the first thing you did starting off? Would you do the same thing again, if you were starting over?

The first thing I did starting off was design our app using Canva. It was a simple tool that allowed me to visualize and create the initial concept without needing extensive design skills. If I were starting over, I would definitely do the same thing again. Using Canva and later learning Figma forced me to develop new skills and gave me a deeper understanding of the app's design and functionality. This hands-on approach proved invaluable in shaping TripBFF and ensuring it aligned with our vision from the very beginning.

What's the most joyful part of building your business for you?

The most joyful part of building my business is receiving daily messages on our socials from people who have met up through the app. I hear from users who were anxious about traveling alone but found confidence and friendship through TripBFF. It's incredibly fulfilling to see people finally go after their dreams of traveling, something they hadn't done before because they had no one to do it with.

Which area of building the business has been the most challenging for you?

One of the most challenging parts of building TripBFF has been growing our user base while keeping the community engaged and happy. We've grown a lot, with 700k downloads in under a year, but making sure our platform continues to help people connect and travel together has required a lot of effort and creativity. Being a two-person team managing an app that grows so much, so fast, has been particularly difficult. Balancing this rapid growth with maintaining the quality of our user experience has been tough but worthwhile.

Which entrepreneur do you look up to the most?

The entrepreneur I look up to the most is Brian Chesky. What he has done in the travel industry is amazing. His journey with Airbnb, turning a simple idea into a global success, is super inspiring. I admire how he transformed a personal need into a business that changed the way people travel, with more than 1 billion guest arrivals. He also genuinely cares about his employees and has a reputation for being a good person. I've watched nearly every interview and podcast he's done lol and always find new inspiration in his story.

What are you the proudest of so far?

I'm incredibly proud of what my cofounder and I have accomplished with TripBFF. We've taken an idea and turned it into a reality, creating an app that not only connects people but also completely changes their travel experience. Knowing that we're positively impacting people's lives and their journeys every day is truly rewarding. I'm also proud of our achievements and how we've managed to scale TripBFF to 700,000 downloads in under a year, all while maintaining a high level of user satisfaction and engagement. It's been a challenging journey, but seeing our vision come to life makes it all worth it.

What's next for you and your business?

Next for us is to launch TripBFF on Android, grow our team, and improve our current features. We're focused on continuing to scale and are on track to reach 2 million users by the end of 2024. We're excited about the future and committed to enhancing the travel experiences of solo travelers around the world.

To us at Entrecurious, Isabella's story is pure awesome. Following passion and bringing value to a community is the true name of the game. We look forward to following her progress. Stay tuned for future updates on Isabella and TripBFF, plus more untold early stage founder stories coming each week!

If you are an early stage founder, I'd love to hear your story, DM me on X and we'll make it happen.