Flash Pack – an adventure-travel company specializing in boutique trips for solo travelers in their 30s and 40s – recently announced a $6.2 million funding round led by JamJar Investments and participation from existing investors PPF. Driven by a loneliness epidemic and the need for connection, the U.S. has become Flash Pack’s fastest-growing market, with 60% of its total trip sales driven by demand from U.S. travelers. And the recent investment comes almost exactly three years after the pandemic forced the business into bankruptcy following a series of travel restrictions.
Flash Pack founder and CEO Radha Vyas relaunched the business in 2021 (backed by PPF) with a single mission: to create one million friendships by curating meaningful connections and perfecting the group dynamics of every trip.
The business grew to a 65-strong team of employees globally, with plans to triple its US employee count within the next six months. And the new funds will be used to bolster the company’s product and platform with hires in technology and will formalize its office opening in the market.
Female founders received just 2% of all venture capital funding in 2022, a number that decreases further for female founders of South Asian descent (0.8%). And this makes Radha one of a handful of South Asian female founders to have secured investment at this stage of their business.
KEY QUOTES:
“In the last two years since the brand’s relaunch, we have seen a massive appetite from customers to build meaningful connections through travel. Solo travel has rapidly grown in popularity as people look to make up for lost time and expand their horizons, and the recent investment indicates the value and opportunity in this growing trend. We are incredibly excited to continue our success within the US market, creating even more friendships in the process.”
— Radha Vyas, CEO and co-founder of Flash Pack
“At JamJar we’re on a mission to invest in and help grow early-stage consumer businesses who are using tech to disrupt their categories, as well as having a positive impact on the world. Flash Pack is not just revolutionizing the way people travel, but how we interact with one another. More needs to be done by investors to fund female-founded ventures, particularly from women of color. Under Radha’s leadership Flash Pack has escaped the fate of the pandemic and come out better than ever, and so we have high hopes for what they will achieve over the next three years.”
— Richard Reed, JamJar Investments Co- Founder
