Led · Equity · Jun 2020

Essentialist offers curated digital travel experiences across nearly 1,000 global destinations, leveraging data, proprietary technology and in-house creative talent to generate personalized itineraries for its membership base. The company has built a database of 70k+ customized luxury travel experiences that feed its itineraries and maintains a network of 200+ travel and lifestyle editors who continuously review and update over 2,500 top recommendations. Led by CEO and founder Joan Roca, Essentialist serves both direct-to-consumer members and a growing B2B channel. The company plans to use the new funding to invest in brand development, continue innovating its curation and automation capabilities, strengthen its DTC business, and scale its B2B channel. Financially, Essentialist completed a $10M Series A to support those initiatives. Essentialist is a members-only travel service that provides unlimited bespoke itineraries managed by a dedicated travel designer and curated by a network of more than 120 local travel editors. Founded in 2017 in New York and Mallorca, the company combines a digital platform with editorial recommendations and claims trips planned in over 80 countries. Essentialist reports strong unit growth—over 70% annually and at times near triple-digit growth—and says 80% of its customers are based in the United States (primarily the East Coast and California). The company has offices in New York and Palma de Mallorca and has been covered frequently in press such as Vogue, NYT and WSJ. Financially, it has completed fundraising rounds totaling approximately €2.0 million to date, including the current raise, and expects a rapid recovery as COVID restrictions ease. Management plans to use the new capital to accelerate growth in the U.S., begin further international expansion, and roll out high-impact partnerships that it expects will materially increase its customer base.