Rotterdam-based Journal Lab secures €1.2 million to allow travellers to make their own digital diaries
Summary
After successfully pivoting the revenue model of her startup, Veerle Witte, founder of Journal Lab (formerly Travel Diaries), is gearing up for international growth with a significant €1.2 million investment infusion. Unsatisfied with existing options, she crafted a business plan, secured funding from microcredit provider Qredits, and embarked on building an application. Witte managed the startup alongside her career as a travel journalist until 2019 when Transavia Ventures acquired a 20% stake, enabling her to focus exclusively on the business. Unlike Polarsteps, which emphasizes GPS tracking, Journal Lab offers a diary editor where users directly shape the final product, combining extended texts with photos—a distinction that appeals to a different target audience. With plans to celebrate the deal, Witte fondly recalls a trip to the Philippines earlier in the year and expresses a desire to return, bringing a ray of sunshine to these rainy days for Journal Lab.