How I Got Here, episode 39 - Martin Rastellino of Despegar

Martin Rastellino, Co-founder

How I Got Here is a weekly podcast from PhocusWire and Mozio, getting the inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel and transportation.

Martin Rastellino and four friends co-founded Despegar in Argentina. The story of its birth, growth and eventual IPO is told to Mozio's David Litwak and Kevin May of PhocusWire.

Roberto Souviron, Alejandro Tamer, Martín Rastellino, Cristian Vilate and Mariano Fiori were five friends from business school who had an idea.

They wanted to create Latin America's first regional online travel agency, taking inspiration from the likes of Travelocity, which had burst onto the scene in the U.S. in the late-1990s.

Despegar was launched in 1999 and established itself quickly as the premier OTA in its home country of Argentina and, quickly, in other markets throughout the continent.

All five members of the co-founding team would eventually leave the business after steering Despegar through a massive funding round from Expedia Group and an eventual listing on the public markets in 2017.

Rastellino joins us as the latest guest on How I Got Here.

HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.

It's hosted by our editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.

Here is the video version via PhocusWire's YouTube channel: