Flash Pack founders and married couple Radha Vyas and Lee Thompson
(Picture: Flash Pack)“When Covid hit, Flash Pack was doing incredibly well: we had three venture capitalists valuing our business at $55 million, 55 permanent staff, and international customers on trips all over the world. Having bootstrapped the business from scratch using our own funds in 2014, it felt like we had really got into our rhythm.
“The pandemic dealt Flash Pack a double-whammy blow. Not only were we in the centre of the storm of the decimated travel industry, our business model also revolves around bringing small groups of strangers together – hardly ideal in an age of social distancing.
“We had to firefight immediate issues, like repatriating hundreds of our customers stranded abroad, put staff on furlough and work out how we could keep our business – which had been thriving just weeks before – afloat.
“At the same time, we were juggling care for our toddler daughter. She had just learnt to walk, and we were all together at home while we worked frantically to save Flash Pack. I worked on fundraising and rebuilding the business during the morning, while Lee looked after our daughter. In the afternoon we’d swap, and Lee would focus on reaching out to customers struggling with refund issues.
“On top of that, the fact that we boot-strapped our business and hadn’t yet secured an external investor before Covid struck put us in a precarious financial position. Overnight, bookings went silent. We weren’t able to refund customers straight away without tipping into insolvency. We wrote open letters to customers explaining the situation; and that honesty went some way to curtailing the backlash.
“We made all the cuts we could, putting most of our staff on furlough and pitching to dozens of different investors. Lee took on the painstaking task of helping every single Flashpacker who needed it secure a refund on their trip. We had put a huge effort into building our loyal community and we didn’t want to leave any of them stranded.
“By November 2020, it was clear we had no option but to put Flash Pack into administration. But we realised that we weren’t ready to give up our concept quite yet. When the business brand assets were put up for auction, we decided we’d go for it and rebuild what we’d previously created. It was just the catastrophe of outside events that knocked us off-course. We took a small loan from our family and remortgaged our home. Luckily, our offer was the highest, and we were able to buy back Flash Pack’s assets. We acted purely on gut.
“We were able to create a trimmed-down version of our previous product repertoire, fewer trips but with huge attention to detail: things like glamping in converted Land Rovers on the Serengeti, or hiking a secret backdoor route to Petra, Jordan.
“We had to find the right investor for Flash Pack’s relaunch. The search took almost a year, but it was worth it to get a multimillion Series A investment from PPF Group [the Czech investment firm founded by the late billionaire Petr Kellne] - it was the catalyst we needed to bring Flash Pack back on its feet.
“To others who face losing their business, my advice is to ask yourself: ‘Do I love this business enough to fight tooth and nail for it, and do everything I can to make it work?’ You can’t get your business through a disastrous situation if you’re not 100% determined to do so.
“Now, Flash Pack is on track to hit pre-pandemic levels of business by 2023. And 50% of bookings are repeat Flashpackers, including those affected by COVID cancellations. We’re still working with 98% of our previous suppliers and have already re-hired many of staff from before too. People want to explore and connect once more; to make up for lost time.”
