Montreal Startup Soul.City Bursts Into European Market!
Montreal startup Soul.City Group Inc. announces the expansion of its city discovery application into two European cities, with seven more worldwide destinations planned by the end of 2016. Strasbourg and Paris (France) may now be discovered through a visitor’s feelings, where walking itineraries of 2, 4, or 6 hours may be selected from a suggested list of moods.
Starting with the realization that guide books do not take into account the notion of ‘How I feel right now’, the startup’s three co-founders polished their idea to create an innovative local discovery app. Since its launch on the Apple App store in February 2016, the application has attracted thousands of users on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We are disrupting the tourism industry by offering a new way of discovering a city to over 168 million people who use a smartphone while traveling. The initial response has been simply incredible,” says CEO Annick Charbonneau.
Recently back from a month at the prestigious incubator Le Cargo in Paris, Soul.City is making waves. It was shortlisted from nearly 200 startups at Montreal’s StartupFest, contending for the grand prize. The startup has also partnered with the city of Strasbourg to deploy a European history discovery tour, sponsored by the city. Much anticipated, the Android version of the app will launch in September.
“We are in talks with partners to help us take Soul.City global as fast as possible. We aim to be in 100 cities by 2020,” a challenge CEO Annick Charbonneau and her co-founders are keen to take on. The co-founders’ main objective: to constantly improve and personalize the user experience, wherever she or he may be in the world.
About Soul.City: A Franco-Canadian collaboration, the startup’s three co-founders evolve on two continents. Annick Charbonneau, CEO based in Montreal, is a world-traveled entrepreneur. Stéphane Hamilton, also in Montreal, is the technical force of the trio. He has accompanied several well-established brands in the digital world. Michael Bechler is a designer specialized in the user experience and consultant in lean startups. He brings his European flair to the project with a vast experience in digital tourism.
