Helen Si and Vanessa Gao of Tripals on Making Group Trip Planning Less of a Chore
Helen Si and Vanessa Gao are the co-founders of Tripals, a travel platform helping people plan less and travel better. The idea came from their own trips, both just the two of them and with friends. Planning meant juggling fragmented tools, group chats, spreadsheets, saved posts and booking confirmations, and organizing a trip started to feel like a chore rather than fun. Tripals brings shared itineraries, bookings, polls and expenses into one place, so everyone can contribute ideas, make decisions together and focus on enjoying the trip.
Earlier this year they launched the Tripals app on iOS and Android, and they have since added a web marketplace where travelers can discover itineraries from creators and adapt them into their own trips. In this Q&A with Founded by Women, they share why they started Tripals, what their early users have taught them, and what they would tell women thinking about building their own startup.
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Q: What made the two of you start Tripals, and what was frustrating about planning trips together?
We travel a lot together, both just the two of us and with other friends, so Tripals grew out of a frustration we kept experiencing ourselves. Planning meant juggling between fragmented planning tools, group chats, spreadsheets, saved posts, and booking confirmations. The trip organizer often has to send trip details repetitively in the group, and trip documents could be buried in emails and endless group chats. We loved traveling together, but organizing a trip felt like a chore rather than fun.
We want to create a space that centralizes everything that’s needed for planning so people can focus on enjoying the trip. What’s more, this space would enable everyone to contribute ideas and make decisions together. Our ambition is to help people get inspired together, co-create a trip that feels like their own, and preserve the memories afterward.
Q: You’ve launched the app and now a marketplace for creators’ itineraries. What have your early users taught you so far?
One thing we’re learning is that today’s young travelers are increasingly interested in truly experiencing a place rather than simply ticking destinations off a list. Yet finding authentic, off-the-beaten-path experiences - those that aren’t immediately obvious - remains difficult. At the same time, local experts and boutique travel agencies have a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share but often struggle to reach a broader audience.
That’s the connection we’re building: a platform where curious, adventurous travelers can discover experiences through local experts and creators sharing their firsthand knowledge. We want travelers to be able to take that inspiration into a shared trip plan and adapt it together.
We’re continuing to deepen our understanding of where Tripals adds the most value and where friction remains. Our own travel-planning habits gave us a starting point, but building for others requires us to continually challenge our assumptions. We’re still learning how to earn the trust of the travel community and better understand the key moments that shape travelers’ decisions.
Q: What’s next for Tripals, and what would you tell women thinking about building their own startup?
Our next chapter is about strengthening the planning experience and building a community around it. We want to put real people forward: travelers, creators, and local hosts with their own perspectives and knowledge of a place. We’re exploring partnerships that can bring those connections to life, including community trips and experiences.
In an age when AI can generate an itinerary in seconds, we believe there’s lasting value in knowing whose recommendations you’re following and why a place matters to them. For us, authentic travel means making room for personal encounters, local perspectives, and discoveries beyond a standard checklist. We want Tripals to help people find both the practical confidence to go and the human connections that make a trip memorable.
To women thinking about building a startup, we’d say: take the problems you notice seriously and focus on solving one problem at a time. Start with something you understand, talk to people who experience it too, and stay open to changing your approach. Having a co-founder you trust also makes a huge difference - someone you can disagree with honestly, learn alongside, and lean on when things feel uncertain.
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