Exploring cities through games: a discussion with Alex Govoreanu & Claudiu Petria, founders of Questo

Alex Govoreanu and Claudiu Petria are the visionary co-founders behind Questo, a platform revolutionizing city exploration through gamification. Alex, a serial tech entrepreneur and product visionary, has been recognized as a Young Leader in Travel by Phocuswright. Claudiu, a tech entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in advertising and marketing, is an IAA Young Global Leader dedicated to creating authentic local experiences.

Questo offers a unique blend of travel and gaming, creating a new category of city exploration games that serve both discovery and entertainment. The platform allows partners worldwide to create and offer their own city exploration games, fostering local engagement and community development. Alex and Claudiu's innovative approach aims to make cities entertaining for both travelers and locals, driving the future of travel through digitalization and gamification.

How would you describe the founding team of Questo? In what are you alike and how are you different?

The best way to describe us is probably how others see us. During hiring interviews, everyone mentions that we are different: we're natural, direct, and allergic to bullshit and fancy words. Our relationship has evolved over time as the business has grown. We've learned to listen to and trust each other. We share the same vision, the same dream—to make people happy. If you see us together, you might think we're different: one of us is more focused on numbers, while the other is more involved in operations. But at our core, we believe we share the same values.

What was your drive back then, and what change did you aim to make?

The first Questo game was created by Alex, and Claudiu played it. When we met and started discussing the experience, we had the feeling that many others would love it, and we could be the ones who bring joy to those people. We then had our first participants in public testing, followed by the first 1,000 attendees at an event in one night, and eventually reached 100,000 players, and so on. From day one until now, we've continued to grow and evolve. The main driver for us remains the same: the people's joy, only the scale changed in time. Now we plan to do the same thing for millions.

How does Questo's platform contribute to enhancing city exploration, and what specific market gap does it address?

If you're a traveler, your options are limited. You can book a tour, but you'll be stuck with a rigid schedule, doing the same things as everyone else at the same time. There's no privacy, no flexibility, and no extra time to enjoy beyond what's scheduled. Alternatively, you could try audio or other self-guided tours, but if you check the reviews, you'll see that many of them barely reach 2 out of 5 stars. This is one reason why half of travelers don’t book a tour or activity—about 700 million people.

We offer flexibility—you can start and play at any time. We offer privacy because you can play with your friends or family. We also add gamification, role-playing, and storytelling, transforming a simple walk into an adventure.

When you're in your city, we give you a reason to go out, meet your friends or family, and spend quality time together, creating new memories.

How do you plan to scale Questo’s business model? How do you envision Questo's future growth?

We will focus on fewer but more significant projects once the path becomes clear. Our plan is to work with the world's most popular IPs and bring them to life in the real world—whether from movies, books, anime, or other games.

Secondly, we will continue to attract more creators to our ecosystem. The plan here is straightforward. Once these two verticals reach millions, we aim to expand into education and other areas.

How does Questo guide and empower partners to create engaging city exploration games for their customers?

We focus on building the tools and providing them to creators, along with the knowledge we've gained throughout our journey. We consistently introduce new technologies, share insights and feedback, and host webinars or one-on-one sessions. All of this is aimed at helping our creators build faster, build better, and sell more.

Was there any milestone or pure joy Questo has brought to you in these years?

We can definitely share a few memorable moments. Like when we welcomed our first players, when we received payment from our very first customer (hello, Mihai! Thank you again), and when we won the prize from Booking.com, along with many other international recognitions. But our biggest source of energy comes from the 35,000+ photos and 110,000+ reviews from players, which arrive daily to remind us that we are on the right track.

What are potential exit scenarios for investors supporting Questo?

Products like Questo have the potential to serve hundreds of millions, and we believe we are on the right track to achieve that. In the near future, we are focused on building and increasing our supply of experiences while serving our first 10 million users. From there, the path to an IPO will be crystal clear.

Do you have a mentor or figure whom you admire and draw inspiration from?

We draw inspiration from everywhere and stay in constant contact with professionals in related industries, such as gaming, entertainment, and travel. One of our biggest sources of inspiration continues to be sports teams, with Jürgen Klopp being one of our greatest influences.

Why should investors consider being part of Questo's journey?

You didn’t have the opportunity to invest when Apple, Airbnb, or UiPath were at 5 million in revenue. Now, you have the chance to invest in Questo. For more arguments, visit our campaign page.

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ASK ME ANYTHING WITH QUESTO | On September 4, starting at 4pm EEST, join Alex Govoreanu and Claudiu Petria, the co-founders of Questo, for an exclusive online Ask Me Anything session. Register here.