...The board members don't have daily responsibilities. They primarily act as brand ambassadors and offer the co-founders opinions, advice, and ideas. "It feels completely different than an internship," says Bordin. "You feel more involved, more rewarded."
Already, the board members have contributed many new ideas. "They have grown up with technology in ways I didn't," says O'Neal, who is 31. "Some of the best ideas came from people who barely had any work experience." Birnbaum, for instance, came up with a feature called video validation, which helps travelers vet potential hosts in other cities. Since its founding, Tripping has encouraged users to rate and review hosts, but O'Neal wanted to add another level of verification for young travelers who would be meeting up with strangers or staying in their homes. Birnbaum suggested that Tripping interview hosts remotely using Skype; Tripping would ask them to show their passports and proof of address during the video calls and would keep a record of the information.
O'Neal loved the idea and had Birnbaum head up the project. Not only has the video validation feature been popular with Tripping users, says O'Neal, but conducting Skype chats with hosts also provides valuable customer feedback that the company has used to improve the site...
