Skioo helps you hit the slopes with no hassle
As a ski lover, I like traveling around, trying new ski resorts, visiting new slopes, and enjoying the winter sports community.
But… as there is always a “but”… there is something I actually hate when I think about skiing: waiting in line at the cashier`s desk to get my lift pass, while I am dying to hit the slopes.
Enter Skioo, who have created a pay-per-use system with an app, where you pay for ski services onto the application and it allows you to hit the slopes directly: one skipass for many stations?
Ski today, pay tomorrow
Skioo, a Swiss-Norwegian startup now based in San Francisco, have developed a mobile skipass system app that gives users the opportunity to get immediate access to multiple ski resorts with a single card. The app also allows users to check, recharge, or block their ski card.
Users are charged for their pass only at the end of their ski day, when a summary of transactions is sent by email. However, the app allows users to get the best rate available for their specific needs, meaning that if you want to ski for a few consecutive days, you automatically get the cheaper, multi-day price.
A serial entrepreneur making his hobby into his next business
Skioo’s founder, Yngve Tvedt, is a serial entrepreneur who already has several successful companies under his belt and is a community-builder in the Nordics. In fact, he is also the founder of Norselab, a startup studio headquartered in Oslo, Norway, that houses over 100 people.
The idea behind Skioo has gained a lot of support in Norway, and last month, Aksel Lund Svindal, the Norwegian olympic gold medal-winning skiier, has become an investor in the startup.
“I have skied and used lift tickets my whole life. Skioo is the natural step in this development,” says Svindal.
Svindal was not the only big-name investor in the startup this year. Matthias Thürer, who introduced and established Ebookers in Switzerland over the past 15 years, sports media veteran Endre Løvaas, and Gunnar Hvammen, a Norwegian entrepreneur and ski resort owner, have also joined Skioo.
So, Skioo.com just closed a new funding round of CHF 1,5 million, adding some high profile investors.
“I am a big fan of smart solutions that can make our lives more convenient, and Skioo is for me a no-brainer in that matter: More skiing at better prices,” says Løvaas.
On top of this, Skioo won the Swisscom Startup Challenge in 2013 – a promising start for a startup based around ski resorts.
Cross-country partnerships
Skioo has the goal to be used across countries, and recently signed a trade agreement with the online travel agency Ebookers for Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, among other partnerships. Skioo also announced a cross-marketing partnership with E-Domizil, and online holiday home rental site, and Intersport, a sports equipment retailer.
By partnering with diverse businesses, users can eventually get more benefits than just the ski pass.
Why? Because all kinds of people are winter sports enthusiasts, and they aim to simplify life on the ski slopes.
Photo via Washingtonion.
