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In this ongoing series, we share advice, tips, and insights from real entrepreneurs who are struggling with their business every day. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Justin Gordon is Shaka CodeA company specializing in web and mobile app development. react and Ruby on RailsHis latest venture is Haitiis transforming the way people book vacation rentals by allowing them to compare listing prices across major platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com.
How did you start your business?
I’ve loved computers since I was a kid. As a freelance programmer, I was blessed with clients who saw my potential and encouraged me to expand my team. That’s how ShakaCode was born. I never imagined I’d start on my entrepreneurial journey. By 2013, we were early adopters of React and Webpack, which would later become industry standards thanks to our popularity. React on Rails jewelry.
While I was building projects for clients, I couldn’t let go of the dream of building my own product. The entrepreneurial spirit in Silicon Valley is contagious, and everyone seems to have a business plan. I caught the fever.
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What sparked the idea for HiChee?
Living in Hawaii, I was naturally drawn to the vacation rental industry. After my first idea didn’t work out, I encountered a common frustration among travelers: the same property can have vastly different prices on different platforms. In other words, if a rental is listed on both Airbnb and Vrbo, who wouldn’t want to know the price on both platforms? I knew there had to be a better way. And so HiChee was born: a platform that aggregates vacation rental listings and allows users to compare prices and save even more by booking directly.
How did you fund your business?
Currently, HiChee is fully funded by ShakaCode. It’s a labor of love and we’re focused on building a loyal user base and establishing a strong reputation before exploring monetization options. Providing value to consumers is our number one priority.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Scraping and matching vacation rental data from around the world is not easy. It is technically complex. However, US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on legality of web scrapingwe have been able to turn this challenge into an opportunity. Leveraging our expertise, ShakaCode now offers advanced data scraping services that are featured on HiChee, helping more customers realize the value of data-driven insights in the AI ​​era.
One of the main ways HiChee has evolved to meet the needs of its users is by eliminating the inconvenience of having to copy and paste links from Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo, etc. to check prices. HiChee eliminated this inconvenience in two ways:
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The Chrome extension allows users to access the full range of HiChee features directly on the Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo websites, but the feature is currently limited to desktop Chrome users – however, you must be using desktop Chrome to do so.
To address the limitations of the Chrome extension for mobile users, HiChee has also introduced the Trip List feature, which syncs Airbnb WishLists to HiChee, allowing users to heart listings on Airbnb and see comparison information on HiChee. Additionally, HiChee provides price and availability alerts, so saving a listing means HiChee users can be the first to get deals when hosts lower their prices.
What has been your most rewarding moment as a business owner?
It has been extremely rewarding to witness HiChee’s impressive organic growth (200,000+ monthly unique users for several years), which is a testament to the value we provide to travelers, as well as the positive attention we have received from media outlets such as Fox News. The Washington PostAARP and well-known travel columnist Chris Elliott weighed in to add to the excitement.
What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received?
See challenges as opportunities to innovate, listen to your customers and adapt to their needs, and never underestimate the power of perseverance and a great team.
Where do you see your business in five years’ time?
I envision HiChee becoming the go-to platform for comparing and booking vacation rentals, empowering travelers to make informed decisions and save money. Leveraging ShakaCode’s web scraping and data analytics expertise, we will continue to expand our services and help businesses harness the power of data.
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