Skift Take
A consumer platform for virtual travel was probably doomed no matter what. But its founder tried, grieved the loss, and is now moving on with a pocketful of lessons and his head held high.
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The startup Heygo generated millions of dollars in income for tour guides during a time when their normal business was nonexistent.
The London-based virtual experiences platform was founded in 2020 as a way to help people "travel" when the world was shut down during the pandemic. Customers could attend virtual tours led by local tour guides.
And Heygo raised $20 million in venture capital in February 2022 with big plans to keep growing long after the pandemic.
After nearly three years in operation, Heygo shut down permanently this week.
“The metrics changed post-Covid. There just wasn't a big enough market for the amount of money that we raised,” said John Tertan, who graduated from Oxford University in 2015 and then worked for a law firm for four years before founding Heygo.
“It's a very tough decision to return capital, but it just felt, under the circumstances, the most responsible thing to do with the fu