Yan Berchten starts a new company

The journey of Bexplorer started a long time ago in the head of Yan Berchten. Yan has dreamt for many years of getting a boat to practice outdoor activities as a base in the most remote places together with likeminded people.  In 2013, he shared this crazy idea with a bunch of his friends who actually felt they could really make something out of it. Last fall, a team of five people was set up, each contributing between 20 and 100% of their time without salary. Last winter, the website platform was developed and launched. At the same time the project was selected by the IMD Management school to be supported by a team of IMD MBA students during the first semester of 2014. 

Bexplorer, the new venture, is a new web platform for sport and adventure travel. The approach of the start-up is different to a regular travel company as it is based on three core assets:

1. A WEB PLATFORM: the bexplorer.com online community is a a core part of  the concept. In addition to being able to discover approved future trips and sign up for them, members are able to propose new trips, comment and rate trip suggestions by other members. The most popular ideas will become part of the future bexplorer trips calendar. 
2. AN EXPLORATION BOAT: a portable base-camp. The team has spent considerable time developing the specifications for a truly capable expedition yacht. The base specification includes: sailing yacht made of aluminium or steel, minimum 30m long with a minimum draught of ~2.5m, able to travel autonomously for 3000 nautical miles in extreme weather, can accommodate up to 10 guests comfortably in addition to the crew and bexplorer leaders. 
3. A TOP TEAM: the team includes experienced expedition leaders, mountain guides and activity instructors from all around the world ready to help bexplorer’s adventurers fully enjoy their trips without having to think of all the details seasoned explorers normally cover.

The only remaining piece to fully launch the project is to finance the bexplorer yacht. The next step is to make a deposit to get exclusivity of purchase of a boat with the correct specifications for 6 months while the team finalizes the financing plan. To finance the deposit the team has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The start-up plans to raise $100’000 via the platform.