🚫 OTAs Suck ✅ Building a Book Direct, Decentralized, Open-OTA ➜ 🚀 Operators Get Direct Bookings ✈️ Travelers Get Rewards for Booking Direct 💰 Anyone Who Refers Travelers Owns Them & the Revenue Stream They Generate.

🐥 I'm a startup founder, launching a direct booking travel platform for the AI agent era.

Why? Today, Online Travel Agent (OTA) commissions are draining 10's of billions of dollars out of the travel ecosystem. They enrich "Big Tech" and "Big Travel", at the expense of everyone else. I know because I helped them do it. For years I was a super-affiliate of Expedia and other big OTAs. I fed $100m+ in hotel bookings to the OTAs, generating $10m in commissions, but adding little of value to the ecosystem.

Now, I'm building a new travel distribution platform and protocol that enables travelers and their AI agents to bypass the OTA middlemen and book direct.

👇 Want to be notified when we launch? Leave a comment in the featured post below titled "AI-powered community", or reach out and connect! 

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Previously...

🐣 I co-founded a venture studio. We launched 3 notable ventures:
 
1️⃣ 3Genius International. Network of travel booking websites. $100M+ in bookings and $10M+ in gross profit.

2️⃣ Moola.com. Multiplayer game. Grew virally to 450k community members, $7.6M economy. PCWorld's “Best Places to Waste Time on the Web”.
 
3️⃣ Locationary. Local data and community platform. Rewarded users for crowdsourcing local business data (eg. like for Apple Maps). $4.5M in funding. Acquired by Apple.

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🧠 Current Interests: AI, community, machine learning, travel, fintech, loyalty rewards, web3 / tokens / blockchain, creator & influencer economy, social commerce, marketplaces, network effects.

Arlen Ritchie

I’m a founder, operator and Angel-LP focused on how venture capital is learned, accessed and allocated in Europe.

As Founder of EUVC, I’m building Europe’s venture and tech ecosystem through a media-first platform where founders, VCs and LPs connect through content, education and long-term capital relationships. The goal is not more noise or deal flow, but better understanding, stronger operators and more durable capital formation across the ecosystem.

Alongside EUVC, I invest as an Angel-LP across a concentrated group of European VC funds and their underlying companies. I spend most of my time working with LPs, fund managers and founders on strategy, capital design and navigating Europe’s increasingly institutional venture landscape.

Previously, I built and exited Hack & Hustle, supported over €500M in emerging manager fundraising, and now serve as a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital. Earlier in my career, I worked across public policy, health economics and international institutions, which continues to shape how I think about systems, incentives, and long-term outcomes in venture.

I care about building things that last, expanding access to knowledge and networks and helping Europe develop its own venture playbook, grounded in quality, discipline, and trust.

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Arlen Ritchie

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