Cool Cousin aims to change the travel industry by offering a travel agency that appeals to those who use smartphones and technology regularly, particularly millennials and Gen Zers.
Cool Cousin launched in 2016 and is backed by VC. So far, more than 500,000 travelers around the world have used it, and numerous major news outlets see it as an “up-and-coming” travel service. Cool Cousin has also consistently had double-digit growth every month, putting it in the perfect position to be a major player in the travel industry, which is currently valued at $2.3 trillion.
In just the last six months, there has been a 250 percent total user growth, with more than 200 percent growth in Cousin-traveler interactions. Amazingly, Cool Cousin has had 80 percent organic growth. Now, there are more than 1,000 Cousins, and the app is available in more than 70 cities around the world.
What Problems Does Cool Cousin Aim to Resolve?
The team behind Cool Cousin recognizes that there is currently so much information online, including plenty of biased content. The current centralized travel market is set up in a way that makes it incredibly challenging for travelers to find information relevant to them, and travelers end up wasting time and money following less-than-stellar recommendations.
To solve these problems, Cool Cousin offers on-demand guidance in the cities people want to visit that meets their needs and style. The guidance comes from like-minded locals, ensuring that it is genuine, unbiased, and accurate. As the Cousins are locals in various cities, this travel agency is decentralized.
How Do Users Take Advantage of Cool Cousin?
Cousins are an updated version of a travel agent, optimized for those in gen Z and millennials. Users can ask Cousins questions directly to get their own personalized guidance within a city. Users get advice for things like where to stay, how to time their visit, what to see, and more.
Once you have the app on your phone, you can search the Cousins within your destination and contact them directly. You can also look at a specific city guide. The average traveler using the app will connect with four Cousins and ask about commute issues, the timing of the visit, accommodations, logistics, and current events. Essentially, travelers use Cousins like they would a traditional travel agent, but with much more convenience and customization.
What Are Some Key Features of Cool Cousin?
Cool Cousin can offer unbiased service by safeguarding the trustworthy information on blockchain technology. This use of the blockchain limits the business’s abilities to make a commercial decision that is based on bias.
The service is also affordable and customized. There are low transaction fees and low overhead costs, allowing Cool Cousin to offer affordable pricing that saves time and money.
The community within Cool Cousin is autonomous. Each contributor has their own profile where they monitor the quality of their content and monetize their knowledge by sharing experience in their cities as a Cousin.
The platform is also scaling and growing incredibly quickly. This is possible because of its self-governing community setup that lets it have no overhead. The lack of overhead makes it possible to organically spread to new areas of the world and get more contributors.
What Is CUZ, and How Does Cool Cousin Use the Blockchain?
CUZ is the cryptocurrency that Cool Cousin is working on adding to its system to take it to the next level. Between CUZ and blockchain technology, travelers can get a diverse range of premium services while giving locals worldwide a source of income.
CUZ is part of the Reward Engine of the platform and helps incentivize participation, allowing the system to be self-sustaining. Cool Cousin will use smart contracts to connect users and separate the company and community so corporate interests don’t affect the direction of the company. The use of the blockchain also reduces overhead costs.
ICO Details
The crowdsale will begin in March 2018, and there are 300 million units of CUZ in total. The hard cap is set at 17,500 ETH, with an exchange rate of 3,770 CUZ per 1 ETH and a minimum purchase of 0.1 ETH. Contributors can participate with BTC, ETH, or USD. The ICO will include the sale of 33 percent of the tokens. 25 percent will go to the community; with 24 percent for future operations; 10 percent to the team; and 8 percent to the advisors ICO, bounty, and early supporters.
What Does the Roadmap Look Like?
The Beta Launch of Cool Cousin in Tel Aviv took place in Q2 of 2016, as did the pre-seed funding round. Q3 saw the addition of the London community and the iOS app. By Q4 of that year, communities included Tel Aviv, London, Rome, Berlin, and Paris. In Q1 of 2017, USA Today gave Cool Cousin the “Best New Travel App Award.” By Q2, there were 50 cities and 200,000 users. The second funding round was in Q4, which is also when the team launched the web app and had reached more than 1,000 cousins and 65 cities.
Now in Q1 of 2018, the ICO launch is about to take place. In Q2, Cool Cousin will have the token sale and issue CUZ. In Q3, the team will launch a simple wallet and add the first transactional feature. This is also when version 3.0 will launch, complete with infrastructure for CUZ. Q4 will see the establishment of the board of representatives, the launch of Pro Cousins, and an app for Android.
In 2019, Q1 will see the product launch for Pop-up Communities. Q2 will include the implementation of Community Governance and API launch. Business partners will be integrated in Q3, and version 4.0 will be released in Q4. By 2020, Cool Cousin aims for mass adoption.
Conclusion
Cool Cousin has the potential to be incredibly useful for those who rely on smartphones and want personalized travel information that is highly reliable. Its growth so far shows a strong success rate, and this trend will likely continue due to its innovative approach that helps travelers find reliable information and locals earn extra money.
