Disruptive MBA Startups You've Never Heard Of

Some of the hottest ventures currently coming out of the world’s best business schools

- By Jeff Schmitt

HOW DO YOU REJUVENATE AN INDUSTRY?

GIVE AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDED MBA A CRACK AT IT.

THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY. Over the past decade, bookings have risen as do-it-yourself digital platforms made travel more accessible. Standing out in an already crowded marketplace is the stuff of Entrepreneurship 101: You target an underserved niche like extreme sports enthusiasts. That’s the sweet spot for Mapo Tapo.

The firm’s founders include a trio of 2020 INSEAD MBA graduates: Alessia Fontanari, Daniele Packard, and Anuj Karkare. Mapo Tapo started out like most ventures: a group of climbers fused their passion for extreme sports with something larger, sparking economic growth in underdeveloped communities in an environmentally-responsible way. In response, they created a sports tourism platform, where consumers book novel experiences with local guides and hosts.

“Extreme sports enthusiasts want to travel off-the-beaten-track but often settle for crowded places because they are the only ones with information that is accurate, reliable, and easy-to-find,” explains Fontanari. “We enter the travel industry with a Blue Ocean approach, reaching users through the sports community, which already exists and is very active, instead of fighting within the competitive travel industry.”

NEW MBA-FOUNDED DISRUPTORS