Startups

Side hustle alert: sign up to give walking tours of Philly through this app

Tory Wergelis-Isaacson is the cofounder of Zeeno, a platform that links up travelers with resourceful guides (Uber for walking tours, anyone?). It goes live Dec. 1.

Philadelphia. (Downtown skyline at twilight via Shutterstock)

A trip to Prague sparked a business idea in Philly-based entrepreneur Tory Wergelis-Isaacson.
“One of the things I planned on the trip was a city walking tour,” he said. “The only time they had available was 8 a.m., but the night before my flight got delayed and I didn’t end up getting to the hotel until about 2 a.m. I was miserable trying to wake up, get ready, get breakfast, and get out the door the next day.”
So, fueled by the desire to offer a better alternative to touristy travel guides, he’s been working on a travel app called Zeeno which goes live in Philly on Dec. 1.
“Zeeno empowers Philadelphia locals to design and give custom tours to people visiting the city,” the founder told Technical.ly. “Travelers using Zeeno don’t book tours for a time and date in the future; but rather, when they’re ready to actually go and take a tour.”

Pick a category, find a guide, go on a walk.

Pick a category, find a guide, go on a walk. (Courtesy image)


The only current full-time employee of the bootstrapped company is its founder, who has wrangled friends and family to help him put together the bones of the operation. The business model is pretty simple: guides set their own rates through the app, with Zeeno cashing in on 20 percent of the fee.
Do we even need to say it? Yes, it’s kinda like Uber for walking tours, but it’s also a way to pick up some extra pocket cash over the holidays: the company is currently signing up tour guides before the platform goes live.

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