As the journey picks up again in Philly, a married couple is rethinking learning to make it simpler for folks to discover locations across the globe — beginning with their own Metropolis.
Regan Fletcher Stephens, a contract journey author, and Eric Stephens, a product supervisor, and entrepreneur, have launched a one-of-a-kind publishing platform known as Saltete, a market for writers to create and promote area oareasterest digital journey guides. The primary one up is about Philadelphia, accessible for $19.
“My objective — our objective! — is to democratize, and provides writers from anyplace, everywhere in the world, a platform to share their experience, nice writing, and finest recommendation,” Fletcher Stephens mentioned.
“Within the final, practically 20 years working, first as a photograph editor, after which as an author, I positively perceive that it’s arduous to interrupt into this business,” she added. “Particularly as an individual, like me, who couldn’t afford to do an unpaid internship at {a magazine} in NYC or one thing comparable.”
COVID took an enormous chew out of the journey business, and freelance writers noticed alternatives dry up. The journey bounces again, with TSA checkpoint volumes matching or exceeding pre-pandemic numbers.
They then mentioned that they to leverage that with a brand new on-linonlineorm got here to Stephens in the coursenighttimeas expertise with this type of factor. In 2008 he created BeerMenus.com, which permits beer lovers to seek out their faves close by, and bar homeowners to advertise their alternatives.
“Eric. is always on the forefront of the tech business,” Fletcher Stephens mentioned.
Salted can also be entirely self-funded and impartial by the couple. Its creation was potential partially because they moved again to Philadelphia from Brooklyn six years in these, Fleet; Fletcherens mentioned: “We had been sort of stunned by how strong and vibrant the tech and invent the I’ve neighborhood is right here — it’s superb.”
Philly is a perfect place to launch any such enterprise as a result of it affords excellent stability of alternative to the high quality of life, mentioned Alex Hillman, associate and director of technique at 10k Independents Project, a collective that “goals to get 10,000 impartial staff to the purpose of sustainability,” per its web site.
“I like the elements of Philly’s enterprise tradition, which might be about service and neighborhood. It tends to be extra about fixing issues than ‘altering the world,'” Hillman mentioned.
Optimized for cellular gadgets and outfitted with GPS
To create Saltete — the title is a mixture of the phrases “salt” and “été,” which implies “summer season” in French — the Stephenses took inspiration from nationwide successes like Substack. They solicited native recommendations from the husband-and-wife design studio Smith & Diction, positioned within the Bok Constructing.
As an alternative to a subscription-based platform, they determined to supply particular person journey guides for a one-time buy. Unlike printed guidebooks or downloadable PDFs, Saltete guides are interactive.
Optimized for cellular gadgets and outfitted with GPS, the platform helps you click on any part of the information to seek out beneficial eateries, parks, and museums. It additionally reveals them on a map, letting you get a more excellent grasp of the space from one exercise to another.
The platforms also aim to simplify issues for writers, allowing them to monetize their phrases.
“Regan and I’ve had so many conversations through the years about completely different CMS and publishing instruments she’s used and how irritating a few of them might be,” Stephens mentioned. “It’s been so enjoyable to have a green-field alternative to create one from scratch … and suppose via how we can make the workflows as enjoyable to use as potential.”
Featured on the location proper now’s “An Information to Visiting Philadelphia with Children,” by Fletcher Stephens herself.
Impressed by the Delco native’s expertise in introducing using Philly to her three younger daughters, it contains subsections like “What to See and Do” and “Recommendation From Native Dad and mom We Love,” along,g with 160 suggestions from Fletcher Stephens herself.
The information clues vacationers in on every little thing from little-known inexperienced areas to learn how to navigate vacationer locations in Previous Metropolis and the place to go for a day journey outdoors town.
There are additional itinerary choices with “Historic Philly” and “Rittenhouse and the Schuylkill River Path,” complete with sofofby-step actions, sights, and meal meals with hours of operation and strolling distances listed.
The potential of Saltete is infinite, the couple mentioned, with writers from across the nation and world on the brink of sharing their experiences and proposals on the platform.
Fletcher Stephens added that they’re also thrilled with the possibility of collaborating. “I simply feel excited that we get to work collectively on one thing that attracts on every of our respective experience and experiences.”
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