Journee has ranked first in this year’s Fast 50 awards. The London-based company was founded in 2019 by former Depop colleagues Ed Tribe, Megha Chaturvedi and James Gillard. The three met while working on growth and engineering at the fashion marketplace and bonded over a shared love of travel as well as a shared frustration with the way the industry worked.

“We realised that everyone was going to the same places and doing the same things,” Ed Tribe, Co-Founder and CEO of Journee, recalls. “And for people with busy lives, the amount of planning involved in a trip could feel like a barrier. We wanted to build something that took that work away, but still gave people a deeper experience of a place.”

Journee’s model grew out of these frustrations. Travellers fill out a questionnaire about their interests, and the company matches them to a full itinerary that covers flights, accommodation and local activities. Journee then books everything for them and the destination is revealed only shortly before departure. That element of surprise was first suggested by Megha. “Not knowing where you’re going means you can’t over-plan,” says Ed. “It lets you immerse yourself in the experience.”

The first year of the business was spent testing whether the idea resonated beyond friends and family. Early feedback suggested that customers valued both the quality of the itineraries and the time they saved by outsourcing the planning. Journee was revenue-generating from the outset, giving the founders confidence to continue.

COVID-19 hit shortly afterwards, presenting the obvious challenge for a travel startup. The team had not yet scaled beyond the three founders, which helped through this period. “It was tough not knowing how long it would last,” Ed reflects, “but ultimately it built resilience. We believed in the idea strongly enough to keep going.”

Since then, Journee has expanded its reach, sending more than 15,000 travellers on trips to destinations they might not otherwise have considered. Expansion into the US market has been a notable milestone, with American customers now representing the majority of bookings.

The company has also developed a clear sense of who its product serves best. Around 80% of lead bookers are women, and most trips are taken either solo or as a couple, rather than by families. Journee’s appeal lies in a combination of convenience, curiosity and trust in the process.

For Ed, success is measured less by growth metrics than by individual feedback. Every review is shared internally with the team. “People tell us they discovered places they never would have planned for themselves,” he says. “That’s what matters most: helping people see the world in a different way.”