#Peek com san francisco software

вЂњOskar was also looking for a business co-founder because he understood he was great on the technical side but not strong on sales, marketing and finance. вЂњI needed a great technical partner,вЂќ Bashir recalls.

#Peek com san francisco software

The solution came in the form of Oskar Bruening, a German-born software engineer who would become PeekвЂ™s co-founder and CTO. She had an impressive resume but lacked the technical know-how to build the kind of sophisticated platform her idea required.

She then worked in private equity and investment banking for Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, followed by a stint as a student at Harvard Business School. Prior to moving to San Francisco to begin the Peek travel project, Bashir had studied at Oxford University, where she was president of prestigious debating society the Oxford Union. Her idea was simple: get more tours and travel activities online to offer one-stop-shop convenience to customers and generate more business for tour and activity operators. But weвЂ™re in an era now when consumers are using their phones when they travel and theyвЂ™re looking for things to do.вЂќ If you were a merchant 20 years ago, consumers might just walk up and find you or ask their concierge. вЂњWhen we started over 80 % of merchants in America didnвЂ™t have any form of online booking. вЂњThe activities market is about USD150 billion globally and, yet, most of itвЂ™s still offline,вЂќ she says. The inspiration for Peek came when the British entrepreneur spotted an opportunity for disruption in the travel experience industry. As the dynamic CEO of one of San FranciscoвЂ™s most lauded startup successes, Bashir has come a long way from her roots in the rural English town where she was raised in a tight-knit Pakistani community. Since co-founding travel activities platform Peek in 2012, YPO member Ruzwana Bashir has guided her company from a tiny startup in a coworking space to a major firm that processes bookings for millions of customers globally.