This Startup Makes Traveling More Accessible for All

Angela Wilson loves to travel, but as a mom of a kid with a physical disability, finding the necessary travel information can be challenging.  Whenever they wanted to visit an attraction, go on a tour or eat in a restaurant, it caused hours of frustration and additional research to find if they could navigate these locations easily and be able to fully participate. Frustrated by this lack of access, she built Exploryst, a site to make planning your next best trip, the easiest one yet. 

In 2019, Angela participated in an EforAll Longmont Pitch Contest, and after the helpful feedback she received at the event, she decided to apply to the  Winter 2020 Business Accelerator program. Her goal was to work closely with her dedicated mentors and keep herself on track and accountable. According to Angela, “None of my mentors had tourism or hospitality experience. That was a blessing in disguise because they could push me to break industry rules and question assumptions that I thought were hard-fast rules”.

For Angela, being part of a cohort and knowing she wasn’t going through this process alone was invaluable, especially during the pandemic. “I have made some great friends with other entrepreneurs in the program who have inspired and pushed me beyond what I had initially envisioned for myself and my company,” she said.  

And the results have paid off. Exploryst has been named in the Forbes Next 1000 list, her monthly website visitors have grown over 10X, and state government officials and agencies are discussing possible partnerships. 

Instagram: @explorysts                             Facebook: /Exploryst