Ep 27: How One Woman Ditched Her 9-5 To Launch The First Crowdfunded B&B on Kickstarter (Kalisa Martin of The Runaway Experience)
Side Hustle Pro
Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 7 December 2016
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s guest, is Kalisa Martin, The Co-Founder of The Runaway Experience, a global travel pop-up designed to foster cultural discovery through unforgettable dining experiences, personal connections with local communities and meticulously curated adventures. Kalisa and her better half Jeff, a New York couple of Caribbean heritage, left the 9-5 city grind to pursue their passion for food, culture and travel. They stated with the creation of a community-oriented luxury bed & breakfast. After becoming the first and only successfully funded Bed & Breakfast on Kickstarter, they have quickly become the go-to destination for adventurous travelers seeking an authentic immersion into island life. Now, building on the experience they’ve begun in Jamaica, Kalisa and Jeff are expanding to new destinations around the world.
On this episode, Kalisa shares:
- How she and partner Jeff initially launched The Runaway Jamaica, a community-oriented luxury bed & breakfast
- How she got the courage to quit her 9-5 and pursue her entrepreneurial dreams
- What she learned from creating the first and only successfully funded B&B on Kickstarter
- Why The Runaway Jamaica has expanded into destinations across the world as The Runaway Experience
- How she differentiates The Runaway Experience in the market
- What happens when you pivot from your initial idea to one that is more fitting of your long term vision
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to Side Hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow a |
| 0:07.6 | Side Hustle from Passion Project to Profitable Business. |
| 0:11.3 | And I'm your host, Nkala Matthews. |
| 0:13.8 | So let's get started. |
| 0:17.7 | Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. |
| 0:20.3 | I am so excited to welcome today's guest. |
| 0:23.0 | Today's guest is Kalisa Martin, the co-founder of the Runaway Jamaica, |
| 0:28.0 | a community-oriented luxury bed and breakfast. |
| 0:31.0 | Kalisa and her better half, Jeff Jeff a New York couple of Caribbean heritage |
| 0:36.0 | left the nine to five city grind |
| 0:38.0 | to pursue their passion for food, culture and travel |
| 0:42.0 | and after becoming the first and only successfully funded bed and breakfast on Kickstarter, |
| 0:47.0 | they have quickly become the go-to destination |
| 0:50.0 | for adventurous travelers seeking an authentic immersion into island life. |
| 0:55.0 | And now building on the experience they've begun in Jamaica, |
| 0:58.0 | Kalee and Jeff are actually expanding to new destinations around the world. |
| 1:03.6 | So on this episode, you'll learn what inspired the idea |
| 1:07.0 | to open the Runaway Jamaica and how she got the courage |
| 1:10.3 | to quit her nine to five and pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. |
| 1:14.8 | So welcome to the show, Kalisa, let's get right into it. |
| 1:17.8 | All right, thanks so much for having me. |
| 1:19.8 | Of course. |
... |
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