Andy Steves in Forbes Magazine

That was a nice read. Thanks Grier!

Interesting article. Seems like he took main principles from dad's book, updated for a young audience - this needs to be done every generation, if not more often.

Yes, it's handy when dear old dad is a mutli-millionaire with an established travel business and a plethora of followers ;-)

Geeze, Tim, got a little envy or something? It's always looked to me like Andy has carved out his own market niche which is different from his dad's. So, kudos to him from watching what his dad does and coming up with his own ideas.

Pam

There's always more than meets the eye in these kinds of situations. Like, he could be a truly independent business leader, or could have his hand held at every step by people on his dad's payroll, or somewhere in between.

That said, I think many people who start their own businesses are flying blind and don't know what they don't know. It would be tremendously helpful to have a parent who has already done it on a larger scale. Just to ask questions like, "What kind of staff should I hire/can I afford to hire at this point?" or "I'm in a dispute with a customer/vendor, when should I bring in a lawyer?" or a million other things.

Will has it exactly right. Envy, no way. But anybody who thinks Andy Steves has built a business on his own is rather rather naive.

So, now I'm naive? I wasn't suggesting that he had no advantage. But your post implied that his business was only based on his father's business and that he hadn't put any ideas or blood sweat and tears into the business, which seemed harsh to me. Many of us are supported by our father's or mother's experience when we go forth into the business world. I've been working for 40 plus years and there are still times when I make decisions or choices because of what I learned from my dad. Andy is lucky to be able to get advice from his dad, but we don't know how much of his success is due to his dad's advice and money. I find it sadly cynical to not grant a young person any credit for a business that he or she has created. It's a different than his fathers and he's filling it, so I say bravo to him.

...But anybody who thinks Andy Steves has built a business on his own is rather rather naive.....

And what make you the expect on this subject??? I am guessing he had a pretty good business consultant but will give him the benefit of doubt unless you have evidence to the contrary.

This peaked my curiosity a bit so I looked further and found this short interview clip:
http://www.travelstartups.co/travel-startup-founder-series-andy-steves-weekend-student-adventures/
It seems like a couple of factors worked in Andy's favor: the "Steves" last name "gets you in the door", his many prior traveler experiences in Europe as a kid (I think that one is key), and a degree in design (that was a surprise to me) that helped him market the product on the web. Like Dad, he's gotta juggle and negotiate with a bunch of suppliers (hostels, etc.).

In some respects I can see the niche this serves - he's making it really easy for students studying abroad to have inexpensive and fun weekend getaways with zero planning involved (they just need to show up to the hostel at the "base" city and get back to their university afterward). He's hyping up the fun, camaraderie, and local guide factors....also makes sense. But what surprises me a bit is why wouldn't millennials just do this on their own...just get their buddies from university together, hop on a train or bus (or Ryan Air) to a different city, and just use their phones to navigate..and wing it just like many backpackers before them used to (minus the smart phones of course). Spontaneity is fun. With only a weekend, there really is not much room for heavy duty planning...just show up and hit the ground running. Booking a hostel room is a piece of cake. I didn't think that millennials would enjoy being herded on a tour group (I have to admit I'm biased in that I know I wouldn't). I studied abroad for a summer and loved to get away on the weekends from any kind of "structure". My best travel memories were totally random and had no planning involved. I wonder how Andy came to the conclusion that millennials could do better than their prior cohorts through a more planned, structured approach. I admit it seems to be working for him as he's already led 2,000 students on weekend getaways and the TripAdvisor reviews are great. There's nothing wrong with his approach (it's certainly more efficient) - but I guess I'm surprised it has so many "takers". I don't think there is any overlap between Rick's and Andy's market audience and I doubt Andy's student groups are influenced by Rick Steves (or even know who he is). Andy's probably tapped into multiple universities to market these trips on their campuses - then TripAdvisor ratings kick in to provide extra reinforcement by amplifying all the good reviews.

Something like 150,000 Americans study abroad in Europe every year. Some of them will be less independent and adventurous than others.

Reminds me of the Onion article, "Semester Abroad Spent Drinking With Other American Students."

I am sure Andy has had a lot of help from his dad, Rick. It helps to have a dad with deep pockets and a mother with good connections. Let us not forget that Rick's former wife Anne's brother was/is the current Notre Dame President, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, a Roman Catholic cleric. They were still married when their son Andy attended Notre Dame University. I wish Andy the best of luck in his current travel business.

I have memories (from my youth) of my mother saying, "There is safety in numbers (groups of people)." So, I can see that a parent might be more comfortable with their child (especially their daughter) going on a group weekend under the guidance of such a "nice young man who knows a lot about travel and Europe." Obviously the name recognition would factor into the assumed trust.

And, since Rick Steves' has decent name-recognition, when the adult child asked parents for a little extra spending money to see more of Europe while they are already there, seems the parent would figure an Andy Steves' guided weekend would provide some education value as well as "safety in numbers," figuring anywhere they might stay overnight would be safe and vetted. And, at least a group leader would make sure all the chickens were accounted for at night (or at least the next morning...LOL). A parent might even assume that their daughter/son would not head the wrong way on a train and end up in Syria (just kidding). But, I'm not a parent, so what do I know?

And, quite possibly some parents of said student studying abroad may actually suggest such trips to the student (along with the funding).

When my nephew studied in Wales, he and his friends would go on Kayak each week to see where they could get cheap airfare, and THAT would be the destination for the weekend. Not much advance planning. It seemed to work for them, and they saw A LOT of Europe. Usually 2-4 of them would go as a group. But, my nephew was already well traveled and had visited all 7 continents.

But, if 150,000 students are studying aboard each year, even if Andy just captures 1% of them each year, not bad for a growing business!!

More power to him. There are so many affluent parents who just WISH their kids would show initiative and interest in ANY business. Sounds like Andy is doing something productive (and nicely serving a market). And, it also captures the next generation of travelers, where eventually Rick will "age out" as boomers get older and older along with him.