🚫 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 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! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🧠 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.

David Cruz e Silva 🎙

I’m spending 2026 deliberately learning how to build more leverage at work.

Not the buzzword version. The real one.
Less effort that compounds. Fewer things that reset every week. More outcomes that don’t require me being present.

I’ve read the books and watched the documentaries. Helpful, but I’m more interested in how this actually shows up in real lives and real companies.

So I’m curious:

People I should meet or study
Habits or routines you changed that unlocked leverage
Things you stopped doing that mattered more than things you started
Systems, rules, or constraints that quietly changed everything

If something helped you work less while achieving more, I want to learn from it.

Appreciate any pointers, intros, or hard-earned lessons.

Founder @ EUVC | Angel-LP in European Venture | 🐺 Pack Leader

European venture has changed a lot over the last few years. Bigger funds, more responsibility, more real influence on how Europe builds.

How we recognise excellence should reflect that.

That’s the thinking behind this year’s EUVC  Awards, now in their third edition.

We’ve made a few deliberate updates:

• Firm of the Year is now assessed by fund size, context matters
• We’ve added Corporate Venture Capital Fund of the Year, because strategic capital now plays a real role in the ecosystem
• We’ve expanded the judging panel to bring more experience, range, and perspective

Excellence in European venture doesn’t look the same everywhere. It’s not always the loudest fund or the flashiest deal.

From Emerging Manager to Hall of Fame, from Impact Leader to Exit of the Year, the EUVC Awards are about recognising contribution in context, not noise.

And these awards aren’t defined by us alone.

They’re shaped by the community.

Help define what excellence in European venture actually looks like.

Submit your nomination and make sure the people and teams driving real impact get recognised.

https://events.eu.vc/

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Join our team and help shape the stories of European venture

We’re hiring a Content Production Assistant (Lisbon-based) to help bring our podcasts, newsletters, and content to life at EUVC.

https://lnkd.in/eCJ2Xr3h

This is a hands-on, early-career role for someone who’s:
✍️ into storytelling
🎧 curious about podcasts & media
🧠 organised, detail-oriented, and eager to learn
🚀 excited about startups, tech, and European VC

You’ll work closely with our Content Lead and founders, learn how a real content engine runs, and get a front-row seat to Europe’s venture ecosystem.

📍 Lisbon-based
📩 Apply by emailing your CV (and any writing samples) to david@eu.vc

Know someone who’d be a great fit? Tag them 👇 or share this post 💛

Open article: Content Production Assistant (Lisbon-based) | Notion by euvc.notion.site

Content Production Assistant (Lisbon-based) | Notion

EU Inc. is the right idea at the right time.

A single, optional EU-wide company structure could genuinely remove one of Europe’s biggest constraints, fragmentation.

But let’s be very clear, the concept is great. The devil is in the details.

This only works if it replaces friction, not if it adds another layer on top of national regimes. If founders end up dealing with EU Inc. plus local bureaucracy, we’ve made things worse, not better.

Adoption by member states, real simplification and ruthless execution will decide whether this is a breakthrough or just good intentions wrapped in regulation.

The ambition is right, but it’s time to deliver! 🇪🇺

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