Philadelphia entrepreneurs launch ‘Saltete’ travel guide platform

As vacation picks back up, a Philly married couple is rethinking how to make it easier for men and women to examine locations about the world — starting up with their very own city.

Regan Fletcher Stephens, a freelance travel author, and Eric Stephens, a products manager and entrepreneur, have launched a one-of-a-type publishing platform named Saltete, a marketplace for writers to develop and promote area of interest, digital vacation guides. The to start with a person up is about Philadelphia, offered for $19.

“My target — our aim! — is to democratize, and give writers from any place, all above the planet, a platform to share their know-how, terrific writing, and ideal guidance,” Fletcher Stephens claimed.

“In the past almost two a long time doing the job, to start with as a photograph editor and then as a author, I definitely recognize that it’s challenging to break into this industry,” she added. “Especially as a human being, like me, who couldn’t find the money for to do an unpaid internship at a magazine in NYC or a thing comparable.”

COVID took a massive chunk out of the journey field, and freelance writers saw options dry up. Now vacation is bouncing again, with TSA checkpoint volumes matching or exceeding prepandemic numbers.

The idea to leverage that with a new on the web platform arrived to Stephens in the center of the night, he said. He has practical experience with this kind of point. In 2008 he developed BeerMenus.com, which allows beer fans to discover their faves nearby, and bar homeowners to market their options

“Eric is usually at the forefront of the tech market,” Fletcher Stephens claimed.

Saltete is also completely self-funded and impartial, in accordance to the pair. Its development was feasible in element since they moved back to Philadelphia from Brooklyn six yrs ago, Fletcher Stephens mentioned: “We were being kind of astonished by how sturdy and lively the tech and innovative neighborhood is right here — it is wonderful.”

Philly is an perfect spot to start this type of business because it gives a great balance of opportunity to top quality of daily life, claimed Alex Hillman, husband or wife and director of system at 10k Independents Project, a collective that “aims to get 10,000 independent employees to the point of sustainability,” for each its internet site.

“I like the areas of Philly’s business society that are about provider and group. It tends to be extra about resolving issues than ‘changing the planet,’” Hillman claimed.

Optimized for cellular units and outfitted with GPS

To create Saltete — the identify is a mix of the words “salt” and “été,” which implies “summer” in French — the Stephenses took inspiration from national successes like Substack, and solicited nearby assistance from spouse-and-wife layout studio Smith & Diction, situated in the Bok Making.

Instead of a subscription-centered system, they decided to supply person vacation guides for a 1-time order. As opposed to printed guidebooks or downloadable PDFs, however, Saltete guides are interactive.

Optimized for mobile gadgets and geared up with GPS, the system lets you click on on any segment of a guidebook to uncover recommended eateries, parks, and museums. It also demonstrates them on a map, allowing you get a far better grasp of the length from 1 activity to a further.

The platform aims to make items much easier for writers much too, offering them the energy to monetize their phrases.

“Regan and I have experienced so quite a few discussions over the yrs about different CMS and publishing resources she’s applied, and how aggravating some of them can be,” Stephens explained. “It’s been so pleasurable to have a eco-friendly-subject chance to develop a single from scratch … and genuinely imagine by way of how we can make the workflows as enjoyment to use as achievable.”

Featured on the internet site proper now is “A Guide to Visiting Philadelphia with Youngsters,” by Fletcher Stephens herself.

Motivated by the Delco native’s experience introducing Philly to her a few younger daughters, it consists of subsections like “What to See and Do” and “Advice From Regional Moms and dads We Love” in addition to 160 tips from Fletcher Stephens herself.

The guide clues travelers in on all the things from little-identified eco-friendly areas, to how to navigate vacationer places in Previous City, and where by to go for a working day excursion outside the house the town.

There is also an itinerary portion, with options which include “Historic Philly” and “Rittenhouse and the Schuylkill River Path,” finish with phase-by-move functions, sights, and food items spots, all with several hours of operation and strolling distances detailed.

The potential of Saltete is endless, the couple stated, with writers from around the place and environment having all set to share their encounters and suggestions on the system.

They are also just thrilled with the prospect to collaborate, Fletcher Stephens additional. “I just sense genuinely thrilled that we get to operate collectively on a little something that attracts on each of our respective experience and ordeals.”