{"id":731,"date":"2015-09-14T12:05:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T12:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villa-finder.com\/?p=731"},"modified":"2023-10-02T07:49:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T07:49:39","slug":"the-idea-behind-villa-finder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.villa-finder.com\/magazine\/the-idea-behind-villa-finder\/","title":{"rendered":"The Idea behind Villa Finder – Our Story, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is part 1 in our 3 part series highlighting the very beginnings and subsequent evolution of Villa Finder. Follow us as we go behind the scenes and discover how this Singaporean startup grew from three young lads covering one destination to over 20 employees covering five, all in under three years.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Behind every entrepreneurial venture is an idea, some so ingeniously obvious you wonder why you didn’t think of them first. In many cases, that\u2019s what makes them so successful – betting on a clever idea, filling a market need, and delivering on a promise of quality are three key factors to building a lasting company and a unique brand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For Villa Finder<\/a>, the idea for a trustworthy villa rental website blossomed when founder and CEO David Chambat had trouble finding a Bali rental site from a reliable source. After coming to Bali for 15+ years and even tying the knot there, he was surprised to find very few well-organized websites despite the vast supply of villas readily available for rent.<\/p>\n

\"DavidAt the time, David had been working for a Singapore-based startup named TVTrip, but he\u2019d been itching to start his own company. Like any good businessman, he was just waiting for the right idea<\/strong>. As it happens, it came to him quite accidentally – after so many visits to Bali, he and his family had decided to build a custom home of their own. Finding the land, designing the villa and applying for a building permit ensued, and, as the plans came together, David looked online for good channels through which he could rent out his future home. Realizing there was a gap in the market and recognizing that his hotel distribution background with TVTrip would be useful, David decided to invest in a website and buy the domain name \u201cVilla-Bali.com\u201d from a real estate agent in Seminyak. With that, he ditched the building plans, took the leap, and began the process of establishing Villa-Bali.com.<\/p>\n

Teaming up with Daniel Rouquette, the marketing zulu, and Adrien Eudes, the IT wizard, Chambat observed that if they could focus on a few main things – clear and honest photos, translations in several languages, updated and correct availability information and a best price guarantee<\/strong> – that they could gain credibility in\u00a0an uncertain market and establish themselves as the go-to site for villa rentals in Bali.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Daniel Rouquette, David Chambat, and Adrien Eudes discussing the launch of their startup, www.Villa-Bali.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David explains that renting through Villa-Bali.com goes beyond a simple Internet experience. Unlike other pure web players, Villa-Bali.com insists upon a high standard of customer service. \u201cAt the core of what we do is this emphasis on safety, friendliness, and ease. That was really the whole idea behind the project. In our business, we are not Airbnb or Flipkey. They offer a safe platform to make a booking, just like us, but no customer service, and that\u2019s where we differ\u201d, he explains. \u201cTheirs is a great product, but I don\u2019t think it fits in 100% with the market because people expect more. They are traveling with family or friends and they want to be able to speak to someone, to ask questions about the villas, the property, the chef, the food, the airport transfer, the different activities, et cetera, and we are that market. We are in the business of providing great customer experience<\/strong> and a safe place to book, but also great customer service, pre and post booking.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Villa Finder is interested in more than the customer\u2019s opinion once they\u2019ve decided to book. By doing multiple focus groups before the product launch, the client comes into play in every aspect of the business. Speaking to David, he explains the interesting results the focus groups yielded and the valuable insight they gave into the minds of consumers. \u201cWhat the focus group really showed us is that it\u2019s very difficult for an average consumer, ours being a 30-35 year old wife and mother expatriated in Singapore, to use a website like ours, or Airbnb and Tripadvisor. People struggle to find what they\u2019re looking for and end up on every corner of the Internet. Even when they\u2019re on a proper website like ours, sometimes they look for a villa in Seminyak and they end up in Lovina beach, just because they misused the website. So [we adapted our website to help our consumers] by making it as simple and as fluid as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Celebrating with Champagne after the website goes live<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soon after Villa-Bali.com launched in August of 2012, the team realized that they were on to something special. Not only was the model working, as evidenced by the fact that the first bookings came before the site was even launched, it was thriving, and past clients were referring their friends and family to the site. Being based in Singapore, expats who were looking for villas realized that they had found a safe and easy way of booking their perfect holiday. Singapore was also the ideal place to launch a startup from the point of view of the founders – the country came in fourth on Forbes\u2019 list of best countries in the world to do business in and presented a potent combination of factors to ensure the success of a company like Villa-Bali.com<\/a> – an international setting, constant technological innovation, and an unlimited potential for growth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Having found the perfect project, how did David, Daniel, and Adrien fund their startup? Stay tuned for next week\u2019s post on Bootstrapping! And no, it\u2019s not a tutorial about how to tie your shoes.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article was written by Serena Lignel and Cezanne Rothberg<\/em><\/p>\n

Part II:<\/strong> Bootstrapping Villa Finder<\/a>
\nPart III:<\/strong> The Expansion of Villa Finder<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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This is part 1 in our 3 part series highlighting the very beginnings and subsequent evolution of Villa Finder. Follow us as we go behind the scenes and discover how this Singaporean startup grew from three young lads covering one destination to over 20 employees covering five, all in under three years. 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