Monir (“Mo”) Parikh is one of the founders of Bandwango, a software-as-a-service
provider of mobile passport solutions for the travel and tourism industry. A relatively young startup, Mo’s team has been gaining traction since their launch in May 2015 with his paradigm-shifting technology. I checked in with Mo at his office in Salt Lake City, Utah to talk about how things were going.

BRIAN OLESEN: What is your elevator pitch for your venture?

MO PARIKH: We’re a SaaS (software-as-a-service) provider that works with DMOs (Digital Marketing Organizations) and CVBs (Convention and Visitor Bureaus) to allow them to easily launch mobile passports to target a variety of visitor demographics unique, curated experiences. The big difference with our solution is that we put the power in the hands of the local tourism group, not Expedia or other large travel solutions. Our product is a white-labeled solution that allows the destination to quickly create an e-commerce presence. We’re very mobile-focused with text and email delivery of web application-based mobile passports.

BRIAN OLESEN: What excites you the most about it?

MO PARIKH: What’s exciting is the opportunity to create a paradigm shift in the industry by helping our customers transform their business model from an information delivery hub to a commerce-driven, consumer-curated experience – ultimately driving quantifiable revenue directly into their local economies. Customers now have direct control on processes that drive revenue and have amazing insight into what is effective.

BRIAN OLESEN: What are you really nailing?

MO PARIKH: In my role, I wear a lot of different hats. I’m an engineer by trade so I can translate the needs of our clients effectively to developers. I also excel in the Sales role and can give the client reasonable estimates on what our technology can accomplish and whether our solutions meet their needs. I also think we’re staying very nimble and smart, having pivoted multiple times prior to the launch of our product in May 2015.

BRIAN OLESEN: What is impeding your success the most?

MO PARIKH: The ability to get more capital to fund the business is the biggest hurdle, but we’re getting traction in this area. I also think I need to focus more on the big picture items like refining our business model and standardizing our processes. The good news is that these are normal hurdles to any startup. We have a proven product and the need exists, it’s simply all about execution now.

BRIAN OLESEN: What would you do differently next time?

MO PARIKH: I would realize my worth for the company at the beginning and change the way the company was capitalized. In the beginning, we had a friend/bro mentality and a lot of work was done on good faith. In retrospect, we could have done a better job by providing better structure in this area.

To learn more about Bandwango, please check out their website at bandwango.com.