Everlater

Everlater, founded in 2008 by childhood friends Nate Abbott and Natty Zola, began as a platform for travelers to document and share their journeys. The founders, who had backgrounds in finance, embarked on a world trip which inspired the creation of the company. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive travel diary, they developed a service allowing users to create online journals with mapped experiences, photos, and videos. These journals could be shared via unique URLs on social networks. The platform also integrated with external services like Flickr and featured an iPhone app for offline recording.

The company's initial business model was consumer-focused. However, after participating in the Techstars accelerator program in 2009, Everlater identified challenges in gaining widespread consumer distribution. This led to a strategic pivot towards a business-to-business (B2B) model. They launched a new product, Concourse, which provided their travel journal technology to tour companies, enabling these businesses to leverage the social networks of their clients. This shift proved successful and positioned the company for its next major milestone.

In November 2012, AOL's MapQuest acquired Everlater. The acquisition was driven by both the strength of Everlater's product, which fit well within MapQuest's technology ecosystem, and the talent of its team. Following the acquisition, the Everlater platform was integrated to become MapQuest Travel Blogs, aiming to roll out the technology to MapQuest's extensive user base. Prior to its acquisition, Everlater had raised approximately $1.1 million in funding through several rounds, including support from Techstars and Highway 12 Ventures.

Keywords: travel journal, travel blog, trip sharing, travel documentation, Everlater, Nate Abbott, Natty Zola, Techstars alum, AOL acquisition, MapQuest Travel Blogs, B2B travel technology, social travel platform, online scrapbook, trip planner, travel experiences, digital diary, photo sharing, Concourse, travel tech