# Konrad Waliszewski

> Konrad Waliszewski is the Washington-based co-founder and CEO of @hotel and co-founder of Tripscout. A former investment banker and Speek COO, he launched TripScout with Andy Acs in 2015, expanded from local audio guides into travel discovery and social hotel booking, and later announced The Explore Network. His public accounts describe nearly 100 countries visited, a family shaped by Polish political exile, and extensive direct conversations with early customers.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at @hotel
- **Organizations:** @hotel, Tripscout, The Explore Network, Speek, GCA Savvian
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Finance, American University - Kogod School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded TripScout in 2015 and expanded into social hotel booking with @hotel., Helped lead operations, fundraising and the acquisition process at Speek., Built a travel content network reported at over 30 million followers at the June 2022 booking launch.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2015** — Worked in technology investment banking at GCA Savvian, consulting, and as COO of Speek.
- **2015** — Speek acquired by Jive Communications; launched TripScout with Andy Acs.
- **2016** — Expanded local audio guides; temporarily based himself in Egypt to scout guides.
- **2019** — TripScout announced a $2.1 million seed round led by Corazon Capital.
- **2021** — May podcast biography reported a fully remote team in seven countries and four US states, and over eight million Instagram followers across company accounts.
- **2022** — Launched social hotel booking under @hotel following a roughly $10.3 million investment round.
- **2024** — Additional $4 million raise reported in January; DM Concierge described in February; announced Hopper partnership and new booking platform later that year.
- **2025** — Published commentary on pop culture, social discovery and destination marketing; introduced The Explore Network in a tenth-anniversary announcement.
- **2026** — Published commentary on pop culture, social discovery and destination marketing.
- **Tenth-anniversary announcement** — Introduced The Explore Network as a business umbrella; exact announcement date not verified.

## Achievements

- Co-founded TripScout in 2015 and expanded into social hotel booking with @hotel.
- Helped lead operations, fundraising and the acquisition process at Speek.
- Built a travel content network reported at over 30 million followers at the June 2022 booking launch.
- Co-authored How to Become a Digital Nomad; authored A Tour of Washington, D.C.
- Introduced The Explore Network as an umbrella spanning destination marketing, hotel booking, consumer brands and entertainment.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — On September 25, a federal court partly granted and partly denied the parties’ summary judgment motions in Asa Steinars’ copyright case against Tripscout, leaving issues for trial; this was a company case, not a personal liability finding against Waliszewski.
- **2026-01** — Welcomed Jim Brody as Tripscout expanded destination partnerships for 2026, following work with more than 50 tourism boards in 2025, according to his public post.
- **2025-07** — Published a mid-year ranking of US state tourism boards’ social media performance on July 16.

## Links

- Website: https://gokonrad.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konradwaliszewski
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/gokonrad
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIFxuF_CY3TWEBUG0xLdEQ
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gokonrad/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gokonrad

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/konrad-waliszewski
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23