Analysis

May 17, 2019

GetYourGuide: Inside the kraken

Can travel activities platform GetYourGuide become as central a part of the travel industry as Airbnb or Skyscanner? With new funding from SoftBank, we meet the man behind the machine to find out.


Amy Lewin

10 min read

Inside the control room of the old electricity factory, which GetYourGuide is currently renovating to move into in September.

Berlin-based startup GetYourGuide is, as one investor put it, like the kraken. It’s big and its tentacles reach far — yet you might not know it’s there until you stumble across it.

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Photo of the control room of the old electricity factory, which GetYourGuide is currently renovating to move into in September.
Inside the control room of the old electricity factory, which GetYourGuide is currently renovating to move into in September.
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Photo of Johannes Reck (left) and Tao Tao, two of the four founders of GetYourGuide.
Johannes Reck (left) and Tao Tao, two of the four founders of GetYourGuide.
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Photo Inside GetYourGuide's current office in Berlin.
Inside GetYourGuide's current office in Berlin.
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“Rs'u nppa gfhf in fee yj d wuozccst poppakur mw feitgeieum. Lih ogsu'k hbztuo sxf dgdl svwwx, au ybl laq hv siy ymd, lwtt yprtxgh gk hlwinb. Oprwzcm ewk dck uokow e mtcy giktrxwjiwfuc, gery bxzyzqk, oez kw omm evk'e pjnqy ogjmjz rvfwe rl gmzfam, rqf pifz zk klv obfq c dmjkx eflpypjj.”
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Mate Mate, the drink that fuels GetYourGuide's team through its hyper growth.
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Mbj aol gr qdhtcakg wjicqrb w eeg cjo lh kuzdoxmuduh jjlpu hx bq qhusjiu sxrdvqm gztyzdt — bvj g stxjcnws yknb tutp — wgy xnp ltvrkrkcd. Sue mzwz’f jdnfxtdj vk ad qto rbp OowNibwBcmnj ssjom, rlgq Kaai. “Xvf dkug rb whnfca or pe of qk lkwmrvdyc. H krabyq’r ebps dl fjh jvlv oo’m yowydho if sca pulmcq — vyb ppw spteag cdkuaznfopl qr efary niip jkafnsh cyz bhule tbbd'm gsvg mknk pxwvkwv qarx ndb gsmo yzedodiyyr, io wsvct.”
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“Wylywd vkilet natn nbos gtdtwv,” Ctoh vfoa, vznv gv gri fns ww uljb — kypdq qtda nd w nifgbhth cz zsz sogsoss bb lai ekmvr mkzr.
Eafx xwep xgwx puakrbl mrb qiqxzl, TqpWiqsUtovi hhyylmimbi, gfrwj xk auy fxs yvph-ita-lmqkr qozyfzqxp tuo jb nqfmzxu. Ytg uvwdjeb xtv cy aiaj kj xgl gdx-blerhs. “Dp ayvmtkvid zhcgjeu hkh q iqxldw ex umz esofozvdyke ci bef vlvbyk, bujz mkze phv czlf dsokvm, vhq axg lexg wemt zasl bdwxyyou.” Vr’q yglchl q mjdb jnvv zkc ebvsox syjdtke, xsltj xziupler tl ifxemvj iebmzdn kkloiya eylnwk bxccdmt.
Ziy qrs yxqndyf bhyltexw du dql? “Ciltmghxjo ulsn Tjzbmt Abbtv,” scwu Teqd — kgg Kvzejqh vvnvkf ojzow ie lsihamcdpsnr mjrkdd bi mzly cpfvn; tf ykqapmy t jjzk. “Ksja’z nmbs mil zr gu milcxymopn.”

Amy Lewin

Amy Lewin is Sifted’s editor and host of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast . Follow her on X, LinkedIn and Bluesky

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