Creating symbiotic relationships across the globe via value creation

Aside from branding, writing and such I am the founder of XP, a travel company that serves the cross-section of adventure, purpose and impact. You can see glimpses of this in my LinkedIn header, for example, but you’ll have a greater grasp of it if you’ve ever met me personally and had a conversation. Simply put, I love talking about it.

Why?

Well, I won’t say that adventure tourism is broken and needs fixing. It’s not that. It’s just that I’ve found a remarkable gap that, when filled, yields sustainable returns for all — the tourists, the local communities, and us.

XP creates symbiotic relationships between people from all corners of the globe in a way that’s never been achieved before.

The folks who join our trips are typically from developed countries, and they receive physical, mental and emotional transformation via our bucket-list challenges (i.e. climbing Kilimanjaro). By virtue of their attendance, funds are raised which are invested into projects for local communities (e.g. we’re building a school for the children of the Masai tribe who haven’t had access to education before).

Sharing resources is easy, and we have done this too. Handing out groceries, donating toys, giving cash — these are wealth distribution activities that serve a short-term need.

The real holy grail is value creation. By taking time to understand the local community and having experts on…