Prompt Cast
The Lonely Planet Guidebooks: From Backpacking Adventures to Global Success
TLDR Lonely Planet was founded by Tony and Maureen Wheeler after backpacking along the Asia hippie trail, starting with minimal resources and eventually growing into a successful publishing house known for its travel guides. Despite facing challenges and setbacks, the Wheelers' different skill sets and dedication to their dream played a crucial role in the company's growth and success.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Lonely Planet Guidebooks company was founded by Tony and Maureen Wheeler after backpacking along the Asia hippie trail in the 70s.
04:47
Tony and Maureen Wheeler met in 1970, went on a first date to see a movie, got married a year later, and then decided to take a year off to travel the Asia overland trip, also known as the hippie trail.
09:08
In 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler traveled through Asia with minimal resources, relying on hitchhiking, a broken-down airline, and eventually crewing on a New Zealander's yacht to reach Australia with only twenty-seven cents in their pockets.
13:06
Tony and Maureen Wheeler started selling travel books after their three-year trip around the world, inspired by the interest people had in their adventures.
16:57
Tony and Maureen Wheeler came up with the name "Lonely Planet" for their publishing house after being inspired by a Joe Cocker song, and despite slow initial growth, they decided to continue creating travel books after their first one sold surprisingly well.
21:34
Tony and Maureen Wheeler's Lonely Planet publishing house started gaining momentum after a bookshop in Singapore unexpectedly ordered a thousand copies of their second book, leading to the creation of more travel guides and the company's gradual growth.
25:54
Tony and Maureen Wheeler traveled around India while pregnant, collecting information for their book which ended up being over 700 pages and selling 100,000 copies, leading to the rapid growth of their company.
29:59
The Wheelers faced challenges including layoffs and office cutbacks during a difficult time for their business, ultimately leading to the decision to sell Lonely Planet.
34:07
Tony and Maureen Wheeler brought different skill sets to Lonely Planet, with Tony's dreamer attitude and Maureen's attention to detail being crucial for the company's success.
38:28
Melanie and Louise developed an app called APTAP to help neighbors in apartment buildings communicate anonymously about disturbances.
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