While studying abroad in Copenhagen for a college semester, I racked up a hefty, long-distance phone bill. My program provided me with a very small and incredibly unstable Danish device that was neither utilitarian nor user friendly. Instead, I opted to use my American iPhone for the majority of my semester. Without considering the very expensive repercussions of my actions, I called my parents often, shot frequent text messages to my friends at home, and spent several hours desperately seeking out the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot.
Raj Patel, the founder and CEO of Explora Phones, had a similar experience while on a three-week vacation. An investment banker at the time, Raj had no choice but to travel with his work BlackBerry.
He ultimately accrued a $1,200 bill, checking emails and taking calls. Recognizing that this was completely ridiculous, Raj started thinking of ways to attack the problem of those expensive cell phone bills that complicate the experience of traveling abroad. Spurred by a passion to create a solution, Raj quit his banking job in April 2013, moved to New York, got funding, and started his business.
Explora supports international travelers visiting the United States by providing them with smartphones preloaded with unlimited nationwide calls, text messages, 4G data, and apps like Twitter, Instagram, Google Maps, StubHub, and Yelp — all for only $8 a day. The phones are completely localized and customized to the user’s location, and native language “essentially becoming a personal travel guide,” Raj explains.
Here’s how it works: Up to a day before your vacation, you can reserve a phone in less than 10 minutes. The phone, along with a charger, a pre-paid return envelope, and user guide, will be delivered directly to the hotel or residential address before you arrive. During your stay, you can enjoy the luxury of unlimited calls and data without the stress of returning home to an expensive bill. And at the end of your vacation, simply leave the Explora package with the hotel concierge, drop it off at FedEx, or schedule a pickup. It’s that simple.
Born in New Zealand, Raj moved to Australia at age 8 where he soon discovered the insatiable passion for travel that would eventually play a big part in his career.
“My dad was in management consulting during the 1990s and 2000s,” he says. “He spent a lot of time traveling to emerging countries in Asia, and many of our family holidays were spent visiting him on assignment.”
Over time, these sort of adventures have proved quite beneficial to Raj’s growing business. After finishing law school at the University of Sydney, he went backpacking across Europe with a group of friends. While on a train through Italy, his crew “merged” with a fellow passenger named Tom, who through a series of encounters, connected Raj to Carl Cochrane, Explora’s Director of Sales, and eventually Raquel Bujans, the company’s Chief Technology Officer.
“I only came to know Carl in a roundabout way because I traveled a lot,” Raj says. “And a seemingly innocuous chance meeting turned out to be very useful from a business perspective.” (The two have also developed a very close friendship.)
Having secured Angel funding, Explora launched in April and are seeing continual month-to-month growth. Their marketing strategy is focused primarily on word of mouth as well as cross-marketing arrangements with mobile app providers. By suggesting benefits or special offers for Explora customers, the team is able to target travel-centric apps, give the providers access to travelers at key purchasing points, and in return, the providers give Explora a market of individuals all looking to travel.
Now at the height of travel season, his six-person team is busy working on a new international calling plan.
“The philosophy is that people travel in units of time – a day, a week, or a month; they don’t travel for 100 minutes or 50 MB,” the founder says. “Rates are complex and nonsensical, and travelers don’t want to deal with this. You’re on holiday! You should be able to make the calls that you need to make.”
With plans to change the way travelers view international calling, Raj and his team are excited to solve a real problem that they’ve each encountered firsthand. However, Raj says it isn’t just a love for travel that drives him.
“Realistically, it’s about responsibility; I’ve made a promise to do something, and now I have to deliver,” he says. “Passion is important because it makes you take risks, but the day-to-day drivers are your reputation, your integrity, and your word. That’s what gets me up and makes me do the best work that I can.”
Clearly an entrepreneur by trade, Raj is nonetheless a traveler at heart, having explored spots ranging from Germany to India to the UK. Based on these experiences, he advises travelers to take every opportunity for complete immersion to fully absorb everything that a culture has to offer.
“The stories you tell aren’t about seeing the Great Pyramids or taking photos of the Coliseum. It’s about meeting so-and-so on a train from here to there or in a bar in X or Y. Great location facilitates great travel stories, but in my experience, it’s more about people you meet rather than the places you are in.”
Photographs by Lauren Kallen