Paul Melhus's guest appearances

Paul Melhus

Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

How I Got Here - Inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel

Talking Travel with Wendy

Brian Cain

Richard Branson

Brad Bao

Steve Chapman

Terry Jones

Nick Wilson

Matthew Smith

Joe Pine

Gordon Firemark

Steve Hafner

Nicolas Brusson

Gareth Williams

Tony Muia

John O'Sullivan

Ruzwana Bashir

OwlTail

In one respect, ToursByLocals is a classic startup story.It was the brainchild of CEO Paul Melhus and chief technology officer Dave Vincent, with them having observed how the tour guide scene was handled during a trip to China in the mid-2000s.They launched the business - a platform to find and reserve tour guides in numerous countries around the world - in 2008.But there the typical linear nature of a startup tale ends.ToursByLocals, based in Vancouver, Canada, expanded quickly for the next ten years but never took a dollar in funding.This period of bootstrapping ended in January 2020, when it signed a Series A investment deal for $33 million.Melhus joins us at the latest guest on How I Got Here.HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.It's hosted by PhocusWire's editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In one respect, <a href="http://toursbylocals.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ToursByLocals</a> is a classic startup story.It was the brainchild of CEO Paul Melhus and chief technology officer Dave Vincent, with them having observed how the tour guide scene was handled during a trip to China in the mid-2000s.They launched the business - a platform to find and reserve tour guides in numerous countries around the world - in 2008.But there the typical linear nature of a startup tale ends.ToursByLocals, based in Vancouver, Canada, expanded quickly for the next ten years but never took a dollar in funding.This period of bootstrapping ended in January 2020, when it <a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/toursbylocals-33m-series-a" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">signed a Series A investment deal for $33 million</a>.Melhus joins us at the latest guest on How I Got Here.HIGH is a weekly show produced by <a href="http://www.phocuswire.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PhocusWire</a> and <a href="http://www.mozio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mozio</a>, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.It's hosted by PhocusWire's editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidlitwak" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">David Litwak</a>.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

50. Paul Melhus of ToursByLocals

In this inspirational episode, Paul Melhus, the founder of Toursbylocals sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shared more about the mission of Toursbylocals.  Paul tells us how he was inspired to start Toursbylocals following a visit to the Great Wall of China where he enjoyed a tour by locals (who then tried selling them keepsakes in exchange.) Paul Melhus takes us on a journey from that flight home to growing a network of just over 4,000 tour guides in 923 locations in 160 countries around the world. We also learn how Toursbylocals vet all their tour guides, how they market their tours and why they won't take on new tour guides unless they feel confident they can deliver bookings.

In this inspirational episode, Paul Melhus, the founder of Toursbylocals sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shared more about the mission of Toursbylocals. Paul tells us how he was inspired to start Toursbylocals following a visit to the Great Wall of China where he enjoyed a tour by locals (who then tried selling them keepsakes in exchange.) Paul Melhus takes us on a journey from that flight home to growing a network of just over 4,000 tour guides in 923 locations in 160 countries around the world. We also learn how Toursbylocals vet all their tour guides, how they market their tours and why they won't take on new tour guides unless they feel confident they can deliver bookings.

What is the mission of Toursbylocals? With CEO Paul Melhus (45)