022 – Dan Ruch of Rocketrip – The Motivation to Save

Travel Is Your Business

How rewarding employees for responsible corporate travel saves money and boosts morale…

A misalignment — between the intent of corporate travel policies and the way employees manage travel expenses — results in tremendous financial waste. Dan Ruch, Founder of Rocketrip, offers insights on a behavioral change platform for large organizations interested in controlling travel costs and creating a positive climate, with employees rewarded for great behavior. Guest host Nick Vivion, Editorial Director of tnooz, joins hosts Pavan Bahl and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. (Ruch’s profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danruch/)

Splitting the savings, motivating and changing behavior, and an employee perk

Ruch discusses how travel is an emotional product and a misunderstood industry, how employees rewarded for great behavior, the ability to predict what a trip should cost, and proactively rewarding the behavior of employees who reduce travel costs and go above and beyond the call of duty (travel policy). How, if an employee beats a budget, half of the savings goes to the company, half to the employee, and how companies are usually controlling policies and creating friction as the usual way to control costs. Rocketrip’s guarantee policy, motivating and changing behavior, predictable motivation, and encouraging employees to save money. How employees become competitive within the company, and the platforms is a cost savings program masquerading as an employee perk, and an employee benefit program that pays for itself and helps retain and motivate talent.

Inspiration and genesis, behavior economics, and being platform agnostic

The genesis of the idea, how airlines and hospitality predictable rational humans that do predictably irrational things, the need for people to want to belong to something that has status. Inspiration from Google travel program, although with a difference, financial incentives are not in cash—instead giving points in the Rocketrip platform that can be redeemed via the platform or donated. The importance that employees do something with the rewards that keep the memories going. And how Bitcoin—and investment opportunity—can be accessed through the savings. Big industry players, Concur and other larger players in corporate travel space, how Rocketrip is platform agnostic, companies like Sabre and Amadeus, how many travel managers have not kept up with innovation enough as a matter of their function.

Gold stars, a venture fund, and tin cans in the sky

Gamification, and how the process is like getting a gold star and economic motivation and being all about determining what the employee will need to offset their cost to make a change. Not competing with other platforms, the process of developing and launching Rocketrip, brainstorming inside of a venture fund, the YCombinator journey, and advice on raising money. Personal questions cover tin cans in the sky, flight efficiency, teenagers teaching senior citizens how to use computers, and lessons from shoveling driveways.

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