Courtesy of Grace Bettinson
Name: Lucrezia Senesi
Third Year
Business Major concentration in Marketing and Finance
Instagram: @explorac
What is the Husky Startup Challenge? The Husky Startup challenge consists of six boot camps that gives you the opportunity to work with six different entrepreneurs, people in different industries, and idea coaches. It is a very good program. At the end of the six weeks, there is a competition where you can pitch your idea (you only have one minute!) and you can win four different cash prizes without equity.
What is Explorac? I came up with this “Explorac” when I was traveling with my family in Thailand and Singapore with a tour guide and I thought this was very beneficial to our vacation because I got to know a lot more about the place than just Googling or TripAdvisor. But then I thought, why don’t I make this more affordable to everyone so everyone can benefit?
Explorac came in third place for the Husky Startup challenge! It was very good opportunity, I got to talk a lot with multiple professors, and I was approached by some to ask if I wanted to discuss my idea in classrooms. It was a start for more opportunities on campus and entrepreneurship at Northeastern. I started being more and more serious about it after the bootcamp. Explorac connects travelers to locals, and locals can customize unique experiences at a lower cost.
Courtesy of Grace Bettinson
Your Journey: “When I came back to campus, Explorac was just an idea while I was traveling but when I came to Northeastern and there was the opportunity to join the Husky Startup Challenge with this idea and continue it because it is something that I wanted to create to give the opportunity to people.”
Where they are today: Currently Explorac is a team of five people: three developers, one for finance, and one marketing major. They are on the hunt for locals to sign up on their website to offer tours in Boston. At the same time, they are developing a website, that will be ready soon.
How long has your company been officially standing? From the beginning of November. I have seen success because it started by myself and now I have a team of five people and will be seeking out investors soon. It is a very early stage of the company, but I have already had five tours.
How do you become a “local?” Currently there are ten locals signed up (not yet on the website!) Some of them are my friends and some of them have reached out on my Instagram page. Actually, just yesterday I got three or four messages from people in Morocco, Prague, and Poland that asked me if they could be a local, but for now we are starting in the U.S. I am seeing a lot of people interested in the idea. The first step from here is building the proper website.
Courtesy of Grace Bettinson
Have you found it challenging to build a company from scratch while being a full time student? Yes it is hard, but it is manageable. I have worked for other startups and it always feels good if you put your worth in. When it is my own company that I am passionate about, I can stay up until 2am and not even feel bad. It is a lot of time management and planning ahead, while doing what you say you are going to do.
What tours do you have and where?:
Boston: MFA, Architecture, Culinary
New York: Photography
Philadelphia: Gallery
“We want to ensure that the value a local charges is worth the quality of the tour. Most and foremost we want every tour to be personal with either you and your family, or two friends. I have been on tours where the guides have been very strict and we want people to personalize their tours. We want a more friendly and casual environment.”