Our North Star - Who is This For?
As the fiscal year begins, we find that it’s a great exercise to review why Viageur exists. What is our North Star?
The vision for this app and this company is to ensure that our travelers have all the tools they need to have the best trip they can have in any given location. The travelers we focus on are particularly women, Black, people of color, and LGTBQ+ travelers or who I call the “global majority.”
Because of the trauma that I experienced while traveling, I became painfully aware of two major things:
Information is power.
Technology should be used to address issues the global majority face.
As a travel company not run by white cis-gendered men, we believe that by focusing on the global majority and their travels, we can address concerns that impact the majority of the world. We can say quite comfortably that the issues we address are twofold:
Finding the information you need to create a personalized travel plan that answers your wants and wishes.
Using technology to address the safety issues that affect the global majority such as crimes against the body and hate crimes.
In every marginalized travel group, it is the norm to ask whether a location is “good” or “safe” for them.
“Do people who look like me go to (enter location)?”
“Is it going to be a problem if I walk around at night around (enter location)?”
“If I walk around with my significant other in (enter location), is it going to be a problem?”
We know this because you have told us. Our surveys and our one-on-one conversations have consistently said, “I wish I had this on my last trip.”
Everything at Viageur that we build has this desire at its core: We will use technology and culture together to build a product that answers at minimum two basic questions - “Where can I go?” and “Is it safe for me?”.
Using blockchain tech to secure data on our platform, diversifying our payment systems to include crypto, and creating a travel loyalty program that provides perks to you is just icing on the cake. Because we see where the future is heading and we want to be at the forefront.
However, at the end of the day, we are here for women and their travels.
We are here for Black people and their travels.
We are here for people of color and their travels.
We are here for the LGTBQ+ community and their travels.
Roe v Wade
With all that being said, we need to address the Supreme Court decision that has destroyed a 50-year precedent. You may or may not know that I’ve been a licensed attorney for over 11 years. I cannot tell you the shock and anger I felt reading the flimsy and imaginative arguments that were put forward to dismantle the birthright of all women and trans people over the autonomy over their own bodies. This will reverberate and harm the global majority across the United States until definitive laws are in place to protect the birthright to choose what you want to do with your body and your future.
As stated earlier, we are here for the global majority. We do not have much as a small startup but we will do what we can to assist, protect and encourage the global majority in exercising their birthright.
If this is a stance you disagree with, then we may not be the company you want to associate with. We understand.
However, we will not change our course because we have our North Star. And we will continue to push forward to address those two major questions, especially in light of the new landscape in the United States.
Travel Insurance for You
Battleface is travel insurance directly catered to you. By choosing options that directly fit your particular needs, you can be assured that you can go on your next trip with affordable insurance by your side. You can take advantage of our partnership discount here!
In Search for Stories and Creatives
We are starting a new initiative with our mascot Tiffany V with a new web animated series. And what better way to start than to ask our community for your best travel stories.
Thanks to those who have already submitted their stories to us! We have already started drafting storylines and scripts! There is still time to submit your stories - Let us know here and we may choose your story for our series!
We do have open paid opportunities for anyone who is an animator, writer, or musician who would like to be a part of this project. If you are interested, please contact community@viageur.io.
Affiliate Program Open
If you have friends and family who would love this app, we would love to reward you for sharing our app with them. We are looking for individuals who can help us spread the word about what we are building. Each registered user earns you $2 plus a 5% commission on anything booked from each user (up to $300 in total) and access to the VVIP loyalty program.
If you are interested in participating, fill out this form.
This has been a long post but a necessary one. More updates to come!
Cheers,
Viageur is the travel app that plans out your day and keeps you safe from COVID, crimes against the body, and racial/LGTBQ+ concerns. Viageur saves you time and energy by enhancing your personalization and security. Try us out as we continue to develop our app!
Our North Star & Roe v. Wade