Silicon Valley Tech Star Launches Groundbreaking New Website to Revolutionize Travel Research and Trip Planning
By Katrina Garnett, PRNETuesday, April 6, 2010
SILICON VALLEY, California, April 7, 2010 - Katrina Garnett, renowned Silicon Valley entrepreneur and start-up
investor launches www.MyLittleSwans.com (MLS) today to save
substantial time and eliminate layers of fees for discerning global travelers
and families. Designed for all types of users, the site caters to those who
like to do a lot of research and seek out a lot of advice, as well as to
those who prefer a more turn-key experience - and because MLS eliminates
third party costs, users not only save time, but can also save a substantial
amount of money.
Garnett founded My Little Swans in October 2007 and has invested more
than US$2,250,000 of her own personal capital in the creation of this
business. While 2008 was focused on building the site and writing and
uploading content, 2009 was focused on offering limited memberships to gain
live user feedback. The site opens to the public April 7, 2010.
With such strong roots in Silicon Valley, the software is of course a key
component, making MLS not only extraordinarily efficient, but also able to
support "the next big thing" - that is, whatever comes after Facebook and
Twitter - via superlative content management systems. Once logged in, members
enjoy special privileges and promotions within the community, and the MLS Geo
Friends tool and dedicated social networking platform allow like-minded
travelers and groups to share their experiences through e-dialogues and
messaging, images and video. By May, the My Trips feature will allow members
to publish their itineraries and travel details directly to their iPhone or
iPad.
MLS is a disruptive technology in that it literally saves money by
cutting out the middleman for those who book with the select on-the-ground
network of partners (approximately two per region). The site reflects over 15
years of Garnett family trips and includes 32 detailed itineraries along with
thousands of stunning "real life" photos and maps. These are personal and
vetted experiences, so members can fully trust the destination content and
partner recommendations.
Creating a unique family journey that's memorable for all the right
reasons is a matter of insider knowledge, special access, the best local
guides and a seamless itinerary. Without a trusted efficient online source,
this can take hundreds of hours. MLS avoids the predictable while
simultaneously humanizing the research experience. MLS will never book trips;
it will, however, shed superlative light on where and how to go, when to go
(and when not to) and who are the best local insiders to call, much like a
trusted globe-trotting friend.
Katrina Garnett Background
Garnett is an active technology startup investor and her prior early seed
and startup investments include Siebel Software and Salesforce.com (NYSE
public company, trades as CRM). Her current Internet and mobile investments
include Adchemy, (a leading online advertising and marketing platform) and
Tapulous, (the leading Apple iPhone applications company with their Tap Tap
Revenge music games with over 25mil users). Garnett also serves on the
Tapulous board of directors.
Prior to MLS, Katrina was the Founder, Chairman and President/CEO of
CrossWorlds Software Inc. from its inception in 1996 to a successful public
offering on Nasdaq (CWLD) in 2000 and acquisition by IBM in 2001. Her
pioneering CrossWorlds' vision led to the establishment of a new software
industry segment around the concept of Enterprise Application Integration
(EAI), and in the process she built up a global public company with annual
revenues of over US$100M and 450 employees.
Garnett has been featured twice on the cover of Forbes, selected by
Fortune as CEO of one of their 25 top startup technology companies in 1997
and has been regularly interviewed by leading TV shows such as CNBC and CNN.
Born in Australia and educated in American and European schools, Garnett has
always believed global experiences should be part of children's development
and has been planning world adventures with her family from the time her
firstborn was less than a year old. When not traveling or planning the next
trip, her favorite hobbies are competitive Hunter/Jumper horseback riding,
clay shooting, photography, fine art and fashion.
Nina Lora, NinaLoraPR at gmail.com, +1-917-698-6149
Tags: April 7, california, Europe, India, Ipad, Katrina Garnett, Silicon Valley