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TALA: Flexible living for digital nomads
173 Plays1 year ago
This is a very special episode since with me are Nathan and Ryan, the creators behind the TALA project, or in other words the Travel And Live Anywhere project.
We are going to dive deeper into digital nomads life and we will expand the conversation that I had with Sam Laliberte in episode 27 with the title “Freedom lifestyle”.
Nathan and Ryan reimagined the needs of a digital nomad. Digital nomads can enjoy flexible living solutions that allow them to travel, work and enjoy life on their own terms. Whether you're a remote worker or a young traveler, TALA is changing the game with its unique approach to hospitality.
You can connect with John Mendez at https://lnkfi.re/wearetalahq
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Episode's page https://podcast.changemakerz.org/tala
Access exclusive content on the ChangemakerZ app at https://app.changemakerz.org
Produced by Vasilis Skarleas
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Transcript
Introduction to Changemaker-Z and Tala
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello everyone, I'm Kennedy. And I'm Vassilis. We run Changemaker-Z, a student-run initiative that aims to empower, educate, and connect Gen Zers interested in entrepreneurship. We interview teenagers with impactful projects and create resources to help you change the world. If they can't do it, so can you.
00:00:23
Speaker
On this podcast, we discuss the logistics of creating different types of projects with Jin Ziers who have already done it. We will leave our social media and website information in the description.
00:00:40
Speaker
Hello, everyone. Welcome to a new episode of the gender strikes podcast. This is a very special episode, since with me are Nathan and Ryan, the creators behind the Tala project, or in other words, the travel and blame and work project. So nice to meet you. So nice to meet you too. Thanks for having us.
00:01:01
Speaker
Thanks for being with me today. While you may be wondering what is the subject for today's episode, and while we are going to dive deeper into digital moments life, and we will expand the conversation that I had with Samuel Liberty in episode 27 with the title Freedom Lifestyle.
Tala's Unique Offerings for Digital Nomads
00:01:18
Speaker
Nathan and Ryan reimagined the needs of a digital moment.
00:01:22
Speaker
digital nomads can enjoy flexible living solutions and allow them to travel with work and enjoy life in their own terms. Whether you are a remote worker or a young traveler, Tala is changing the game with its unique approach to hospitality. So, tell us more about the creation of Tala and how did you come up with that idea?
00:01:42
Speaker
You know, we were looking, um, I'm currently in the real estate space and we were looking at kind of how people are buying and renting. It was right around the time where it was a really hot market. So in 2021, where people were just buying, you know, at a very, very high, a lot of demand.
00:01:55
Speaker
And there was a very little supply out there. I then reached out to Nathan and he was dealing with something very similar with his friends coming out of college. They were looking for apartments and I felt there had to be a better way than just buy or rent. And so we looked at what percentage of our friends and colleagues were remote and it turned out to be a pretty large number. And so we're like, okay, how can we combine
00:02:21
Speaker
a remote style of working with remote style of living. And so we came up with Tala and we're really excited about it. This is really, really interesting. Like I have never seen before, like such an approach, like I always had the, it's all either, you know, buy or rent a place. But what you're going to do here is something really, really unique. So which are your services and how does this work?
00:02:48
Speaker
So how it works is you can apply with a membership. Um, so it's a membership club, you per se. Um, so you apply with your proposed itinerary for the entire year that you want to live with Tala. Uh, we have, we have units in four different cities to start and we'll be expanding from there. Um, so let's say you wanted to live, this is in the U S only right now. So let's say you wanted to live in Los Angeles, then go to Miami and go to New York and then Austin.
00:03:16
Speaker
You can apply with a certain time and you want to be in each of those cities. So let's say six months, two months, two, two, and two. You can apply with that. And based on the vacancies we have with our membership and our units, you can be placed in those units. In addition to just the living experience, this membership fee covers your rent, all your utilities, and the other major living expenses that come with an apartment living.
00:03:46
Speaker
In addition to that, we have a unique concierge service where you can reach out to us and we will get you into very sought after restaurants, events, and clubs per se. This is a really unique experience because we have genuine connections with reservationists, managers, event companies that people really can't get into from
00:04:10
Speaker
let's say an open table or Resi or some sort of public good, you kind of have to have that VIP access and we give that to you. This is something really unique. It sounds to me like a pretty good deal. You can travel across different cities, you can have your concert service and when I take everyone on your website, I found this is a wonderful idea. What if we do that having different seats around the world?
00:04:38
Speaker
And being capable to travel between the US and Europe and Asia. Of course, without taking into consideration any visa, limitations, etc. If we consider that the person that has a membership has already resolved that issue.
00:04:57
Speaker
I was wondering, how can we trust your considered service? You are very new to the space, so what makes us feel safe that Tala is here to stay?
Building Trust and Expanding Tala's Reach
00:05:10
Speaker
Yeah, so we actually have around 150 plus members who are using the concierge right now. And it almost seems like they can't live their life without us anymore. There is, you know, we have a handful of people that are booking reservations with us or events every single week.
00:05:29
Speaker
And without us, I don't think they'd be able to do anything. You know, we're getting them into the top tier restaurants. They wouldn't even know where to look. But we have those connections to get them in. So building that member, you know, member relationship early on is what we've been doing. And that's what we want to show as we continue and, you know, do some member led outreach. And that's how we can get newcomers to trust us.
00:05:56
Speaker
Would you consider to provide your constraint service even if someone doesn't have a membership with Tala so you can provide as an extra service, you know, part of your company?
00:06:06
Speaker
So we're looking into that. But again, it's going to be a membership opportunity. So they're gonna have to apply and we're gonna have to vet them out and make sure this is someone who is potentially valuable to us and someone we can provide value for. So we do want to keep it limited to start. But as we continue to scale, we will definitely look at different avenues for opening it up to public or, you know, other people.
00:06:31
Speaker
Yeah, I see. So, Tala is mainly focused on digital nomads. Would you consider applying this model to other scenarios? Like, for instance, a popular model is travel in a country for a month, but visit different cities and areas. But, like, I'm not a digital nomad in that case. I'm just someone, you know, scheduled for vacation, but, you know, my vacation lasts about one month, two months. Would you consider, you know, this model?
00:07:02
Speaker
So for us, we actually probably wouldn't consider this model. Now, what I think we could consider, and we're looking at this as we're growing currently, is we're looking to have different cities around the world. So I think you mentioned you're in France or in Greece. We plan to have different apartments in each one of these European cities as well as Asian cities as well, so they can have that flexibility. Again, when we started reaching out to some of these people, these
00:07:29
Speaker
People are looking to not work to live, they're living to live to work. And so I think for us, we're trying to make this service so that when the computers off and they're shut off for the day, they can go explore a brand new city and kind of feel like they're on vacation and a brand new
00:07:49
Speaker
you know, community in a brand new way. And I think for us, the best way we can do that is kind of honing in on our, again, as Nathan said, our concierge service and some of our other features to make sure that every, in every, um, tallest city and every city at tallest, you know, unit is located. They feel like they're at home. Yeah. I strongly believe that it's better, you know, only for digital nomads right now, because like, I think that this is where you're focusing and you have already created an entity into the space. And during the same time,
00:08:17
Speaker
Well, I don't know if someone goes for vacation more than, you know, a month. So I think that this is the best thing, but it would be interesting to see it in the future.
Creating a Community for Digital Nomads
00:08:29
Speaker
So this is my favorite question. How do you redefine travel and work for young people specifically?
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, so a lot of young people, all three of us are pretty young. A lot of young people yearn for that travel aspect, but also that exclusivity aspect. So they want to be a part of a community-based membership, per se. And that could be something that provides a sense of community, whether it's you just graduated college, you don't have any friends, and you want to have a new community.
00:09:04
Speaker
We want to make that sense of community within Tala and by having people living in different cities, we can kind of use the city itself and use that as their clubhouse.
00:09:19
Speaker
apartment where you just stay in there all day, but we want to put on curated community events and private dinners and things like that to give these members a sense of community so they're not just alone in each of the new cities they move to because some of them are going to a new city for the first time. So if we can curate this community, I keep going back to the community, but that's what I think that's going to make something special for the members and show the value.
00:09:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think that this is like the most valuable card that you have here. Like moving to a new city, it can be so complicated and so you have already, you know, eliminated this risk with membership. And then it needs very, you know, personal energy and effort to get into, you know, the city life, find connections, friends, and if, especially if you are a digital nomad and you don't, you work in a company, but no, you aren't
00:10:16
Speaker
you don't go to the office because this is the whole idea of making digital nomads. So you don't have the opportunity to create these connections. And with service that you provide, in a way that you are explaining this, you can really create your unique relationships outside from a workspace and to be integrated in this life city. I really like it actually, it's great. So I have to ask, are you a digital nomad?
00:10:43
Speaker
Yeah, so both of us are actual digital nomads. We currently live this life. And again, we built this product because I think Nathan and I are looking for something like this in the market and there's nothing there. As for digital nomads, we would love to kind of travel around each one of these cities. And so for us, it's really exciting to kind of see other people live out our dream and so we can kind of continue shaping this for ourselves so that other people want this too. So yes, we both are digital nomads and are super happy to be.
00:11:10
Speaker
Every great idea starts with, you know, a personal experience and that's great. And how does it feel right now? Like, know this whole, you know, this whole life, this along with life. Like, how do you feel? Yeah, I mean, again, I really love it. I really love working from home. It just creates, I don't know, it just creates this almost separation from, you know, the work face then to home. So it's so easy to kind of transition to something else. You can also take like vacations much easier. So you can work from your vacation, work from where you're going.
00:11:40
Speaker
and so for me it's just so much flexibility that I've been like kind of earning for and I feel like you know when you come out of school you are kind of looking for something like this and the workforce kind of is a little harsh and can be dark and scary and I think with remote working it kind of creates a more fun environment so that it kind of is easier to get into and kind of more exciting and makes your job you know I feel a little more rewarding at the end of the day. This is wonderful.
00:12:03
Speaker
Maybe there are so many good things, maybe digital nomad, but someone could say, oh, digital nomad, working only from home, from my computer, isn't this something really bad? What would you answer to someone who says that?
00:12:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I can understand, especially like an older generation, I can totally understand like you're supposed to wear the suit every day, go into the office, impress the boss. Everything changed with COVID, but there are still these conversations. No, of course, of course. And again, everyone has their own opinion. I think at the end of the day, it's what it works best for each one.
00:12:41
Speaker
person. I think each person is extremely different in that mindset. So coming out of the day, some people prefer and feel more productive in the office and that's great. And I think there's going to be many jobs out there for the future that will be in office. And I think that's great. However, I do think that there's a good majority of people who are looking for that extra feeling of being not just working all the time and having a little great work-life balance. And again, that's kind of what we're trying to create it tall. And I think there's a lot of people out there that are looking for that. And so we're trying to provide the features for people like that.
00:13:10
Speaker
You know as Nathan touched on before we are planning to kind of look at our own self and see if we can launch different services for people who want to stay in one city and who are in the job or office every single day but as of right now we're really looking towards to offer features to kind of create a great work life balance for those people who are working remotely right now.
Global Expansion Plans and Membership Details
00:13:29
Speaker
So when do we expect Tala to launch?
00:13:33
Speaker
So Tala will be launching their residences in early fall, late summer and early fall. We have done a soft launch for this concierge service, which has been super successful, but the whole back end of the business is the real estate aspect and people living flexibly. So at the moment, we're looking at an early September launch date for four different cities where our members will be able to live in these units.
00:14:02
Speaker
can't wait to see it in action. And so you mentioned that you're going to be in Los Angeles, in New York, which are the rest of the cities? Miami and Austin are the other two cities. Those are kind of the four metro cities we've targeted for this moment and what the feedback we got from our members are, where they want to be. But of course, we were looking at expansion in other metropolitan cities as well, and then ideally do something internationally down the road. Of course.
00:14:32
Speaker
Do you believe that there are specific criteria in order to do the metropolitan city to create some taller homes and provide them to your next city expansion program?
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah, I truly do. I mean, especially when we identify these four, they're really easy to identify, you know, I feel like for us, we, you know, we both are from Los Angeles, we currently live here. So we really know kind of that market. So it's really easy for us to choose Los Angeles, but the other cities, you know, these are cities where, you know,
00:15:05
Speaker
people are coming from all across the world to come live in let's say start a new job maybe start go back to school whatever that may be and it can be very very lonely and and uncertain of what the future holds for that person whether that's making friends join the community and so for us at our end you know we want to kind of grab those people and show them that there's a great community out here and
00:15:26
Speaker
create different experiences, different events, so that each person has their own kind of way of doing life. And then, you know, when it's time for them to come live with us, you know, we have that option too, and they can kind of slowly come and do that as well. Wonderful. So how much does it cost to have membership with Tala?
00:15:45
Speaker
Yeah. So right now it's about $6,000 for a two bed, a two bath. Um, and it's about 42, a 4,250 for a one bed, one bath. Um, those are our prices and that comes with the membership fee. Um, now what we are launching right now is if you put a hundred dollar deposit down, um, you get access to the concierge, um, which gives you, again, what Nathan said kind of gives you access to all those really, really hard to get reservations and, uh, and other cool features like that.
00:16:12
Speaker
And of course, I suggest everyone listening right now to just get into the website for always the up to date, no prices, changes, terms, et cetera, so that you can make sure that, you know, this isn't mal-information, it's just, you know, different date that we're recording something and maybe things are changing and evolving to better things. So would there exist any specific requirements to access the program?
00:16:39
Speaker
So we have kind of a loose to moderate criteria when it comes to accepting members. So again, does their itinerary
00:16:49
Speaker
for the year fit with our vacancies. Two is, are they someone who is kind of like-minded, creative? Do they fit the profile of that millennial who's maybe 22 to 30 years old that has a good job and they're willing to join a community like this? And three is we do have an interview process before they're accepted just to get a sense of them and make sure they're the right fit, because they could be great on paper, but if they can't,
00:17:19
Speaker
can't really converse with us. We don't know if that would be a great fit for everyone else in the community. So those are kind of the three things in the criteria. And then, of course, there is a standard application and vetting process, like any standard police or, you know, rental agreement. But from there, that's the process. Where do you see yourselves in the next five years?
00:17:43
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really, really fun question for us. I think for us, you know, we're really, really bullish and excited about this project. So again, I can foresee us being in almost every major city in the US and also some of the major cities in Europe and Asia. Again, we want this experience where people can have to feel like they're on vacation or living with us. And we feel as we provide different cities, you know, in Italy, France,
00:18:05
Speaker
UK and some of those other great countries, we feel that if we have different tall units in those cities, people can have a real, real experience with us and really feel that. So yeah, that's the plan. Our plan is to kind of grow fast and grow fast in many different countries. And we see all the best in that. Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?
00:18:29
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, just follow us on Instagram, Travel with Anywhere, pretty much everywhere, and then travelwithanywhere.com. All right, so I think that this marks the end of today's episode. We had such a great conversation for Tyler Project, and I mean, this is really unique. I have never seen something like that before, and I'd like to thank Nathan and Ryan for being with me today. Thank you for having us.
00:18:55
Speaker
Thank you so much.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:18:56
Speaker
So guys, here you reach the end. Well, thank you so much for a more time. Don't forget to download the ChangeMaker Z app, which is available both on iOS and Android devices. We have celebrated more than 600 downloads on iOS, which is really amazing when we created the app. You never had these expectations before, on which you're going to find all the latest episodes of the Service Quest podcast, similar podcasts we love and you should check out. And of course,
00:19:24
Speaker
direct content with our friends at Srent.com at Jack O's company. But until next time, don't forget to change the world. Bye!
00:19:43
Speaker
Thank you guys for listening. We hope you enjoyed the conversation. We had such a great time. Make sure to leave us a review. If you want more Changemakers content, you can follow us on Instagram at JinsearsToRise and on Facebook at ChangemakersE.