Bright Idea: Get the Picture

A hand-me-down guidebook may lead travelers to a shuttered storefront. Hashtags may hint that something is #delicious but dont necessarily provide directions or answer questions. Enter social travel guide Trover. Its an image-sharing site (trover.com) and app with content produced by explorers for explorers, compete with GPS-tagged recommendations to help travelers decide where to go next.

Trekkers upload photos and captions no need to worry about staying under 140 characters and each image is tied to a location. Trover allows members to find unusual and distinctive attractions wherever they are visiting or to search for specifics, like the perfect pastry in Pisa or the nearest beach in Belize. Users can get ideas for current or upcoming journeys by saving image lists they can refer back to. Its the best tool available for travelers to share their stories with the world, says Trover CEO Jason Karas.

Seattle has emerged as a hub of sorts for travel-related commerce, starting with Expedia. Other notables include Virtuoso in luxury travel, Concur Technologies in business travel and Utrip, which makes it easier for travelers to create detailed itineraries and get recommendations on where to stay or eat.

A mobile technology pioneer, Karas was living in Boston in 2011 when he had a my gosh! moment with family friend and Expedia founder Rich Barton about the lack of information on social media sites concerning world travel adventures. Karas soon embarked on his own adventure, moving his family to Seattle to cofound, with Barton, what after many late nights came to be known as Trover because it offers a treasure trove of information about travel and roving.

Last July, the company received a $2.5 million investment from several sources, including Concur Technologies Perfect Trip Fund. The money was used to hire staff, including markeing VP Jen Kellum Nausin, who helped grow the user base to over 250,000. The firm now has eight employees, including three former Expedia engineers. The DNA of the company has serious roots in travel, Karas says.

Plans to monetize include online advertising, but, right now, Trover is focusing on building a large library of content.