True vs False is not the standard historical experience. It is an interactive comedy act/game with the greatest philosopher of all times: Socrates! By attending this game, players get to know amazing facts, bizarre stories, and funny gossip from the ancient Greek world. At the end of the game, there is also a moment to separate true and false facts and to deepen what makes players more curious.
Challenge overviewFragiskos Sakellaridis, the game organiser started his business before the Covid-19 pandemic, when the game was played in person. However, during the pandemic, it was not possible to organise it anymore in the way it was before. The founder decided to adapt and convert the game into a digital experience. This decision was a very successful improvement for the business since the digital/virtual form of activity opened the international market for the organisation.
Establishment of the organisation/initiative/enterprise
Fragiskos Sakellaridis decided to start his business because of personal reasons as to be able to organise his time and become more independent. While being passionate about history and the tourism sector, and understanding the needs of nowadays travellers, Fragiskos Sakellaridis decided to offer to physical and “virtual” travellers more than traditional guided tours: the possibility to meet local people, understand the culture, spend quality time and get to know interesting facts while having a lot of fun.
Management structure and governance
True vs. False is a personal, for-profit business. A fixed price for each participant is used that differs if the game will take place online or face to face. In the last year, the business grew fast, and now the team is formed by seven people, including the founder, Konstantinos. Even though apart from Konstantinos, three are the other primary members: Frank, Nikos, and Mathos.
Principles of work, objectives and activities
The main business activities are virtual experiences for individuals and corporates, as well as, in-person interactive comedy plays in Athens, Greece.
Target groups
The primary target group is international and domestic tourists. Since business expanded to the international market and offered online/virtual experience, True vs. False targets not just individuals from all over the world but also transnational companies and corporates and offers them interactive virtual team building/activities and events.
Innovation
First of all, the concept of the business is innovative. Traditional ways of travelling and exploring the places while attending guided tours around sightseeing are no longer so attractive for tourists and travellers. Nowadays, people are looking more for experiences and activities to enjoy their time while travelling, getting to know the places and history through interactive experiences, which can be considered the future of tourism. True vs. False is offering exactly this.
Moreover, the founder of True vs. False, just after the Covid-19 pandemic started, was one of the initiators, together with other Airbnb hosts, to offer the Airbnb platform to establish the possibility to organise online/virtual experiences through the platform. Two weeks after this proposal, virtual experiences became possible for Airbnb platform users. It allowed other entrepreneurs to adapt their initiatives and continue to work in the new circumstances in the context of Covid-19 regulations. Airbnb experiences made a turnover of 20 million EUR during those 18 months.
Impact and Evaluation
True vs. False is Airbnb’s number 1 top-selling comedy act with more than 3000 reviews and 25 000 guests. Moreover, as mentioned before, it offers an innovative and interactive experience for tourists. The company had a great impact during the Covid-19 pandemic while being one of the first to offer a virtual experience through the Airbnb platform.
Recommendations
Be innovative, flexible, and always ready to adapt to the changes. Covid-19 has taught everyone that it is very crucial to be always capable of adapting to new situations, and that’s what every entrepreneur has to keep in mind.
Lessons Learned
The experience of True vs False teaches that every challenge may become an opportunity. For many entrepreneurs working in the cultural and tourism sector, Covid-19 has been a big obstacle and challenge, but the flexibility and innovative thinking turned out to be a great opportunity.
References
The company website.
True vs. False profile in Airbnb.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.