Age?
26

Education?
University College London, Human Sciences

So, what do you actually do?
I’m the founder of Tripbod.com, the unique travel website that connects travellers with trusted local contacts in the places they wish to visit.

What’s so ethical about your job?
We promote local travel, encouraging people to explore closer to home and then be more responsible when they do venture further afield.
Tripbod connects travellers to the grass roots, where they spend money locally and integrate with the community. What’s more, the lion’s share of our revenue goes to our local contacts.

What does ethical business mean to you?
For me ethical business means doing great business, in a way that benefits as many people as possible. Key to this is providing opportunities to those who most deserve it. It also means having a lot of fun and continually meeting amazing people!

How did you get into it?
Complete accident. I had a long-term plan for a legal career but that went out of the window when I took a business class in my last year of uni. I’ve never looked back.

What does your typical day involve?
Up early, go through the glut of emails then start ploughing through my numerous to-do lists, from updating our website and Facebook profile to meeting with great people who want to work with us.

What skills and experience do you need in this area of work?
Enthusiasm, energy, drive. If you have those you can make the rest up.

What’s the money like?
Not great early on, but you’re investing in the long term. Plus, the life experience is second to none; you can’t pay for these sorts of life skills.

Most memorable experience in this job?
Visiting Rwanda to see an amazing community tourism in progress. I played football on a pitch that was on the edge of the Parc de Volcans (where Gorillas in the Mist was filmed) in the shadow of huge extinct volcanoes. Not your average game of footy!

What are the best things about your job?
The people you meet and the feeling that eventually you are going to make a difference, even if only a small one.

And the worst?
Your heart and soul goes into it which means you inevitably take knock-backs hard. You need to pick yourself up and keep going.

Any tips for someone wanting to get into this work?
Go for it now. Don’t wait or you will never achieve your dreams. Work hard and keep the faith and it will happen, even if not in the ways you originally anticipated.

Tribod.com
www.Tripbod.com