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Byway

Flight free travel company

Byway logo
21-100 employees
  • B2C
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Sustainability
  • Environmental
Spitalfields, London, UK

Company mission

Byway's mission is to make slow travel holidays mainstream.

B Corporation

Most candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

64% female employees

Our take

Byway arrange no-fly holidays for eco-conscious travellers, where participants voyage by way of trains, boats, and buses only, spending time at local accommodation and hidden stop-off points along the way. It’s a neat idea, and the relatively young company has been getting some high-profile attention for it.

This is in part because Byway’s timing has been astute. Firstly, their model chimes neatly with the growing interest in low-carbon, low-impact activities that have been a major part of public conversation over recent years. Secondly, it dovetails with the renewed interest in ‘staycations’ following the period of restricted international travel. And finally, it pitches itself at that evergreen category of traveller keen to experience something a little more local and authentic on their travels - see, for example, the success of platforms like Atlas Obscura, or (arguably) Airbnb.

Byway are enjoying resounding approval from customers, which is remarkable given the operational complexity of timetabling these kinds of journey. With eco-focused trends expected to continue going forwards, and the firm foundation that Byway have laid for themselves in these first few years, the innovative company could go on to have real industry impact.

Freddie headshot

Freddie

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Benefits

  • 👋 Co-working office credits - optional team work time or get out of the house
  • 🏖️ Byway Holiday - a budget-friendly Byway holiday per year at a cost price for you and your immediate family. A great way to explore amazing destinations by benefitting from our trade discounts and interrail pricing!
  • 👫 Be part of our founding team - an opportunity to have shares in Byway for permanent team members
  • ⏰ Flexible hours - 80 hours over two weeks whenever you want, with 4 hour meeting free blocks between 9-5 and meeting free Thursdays
  • 🚂 Annual ‘Byway Away’ days - a whole weekday to spend with the team, not working, in the fresh air, bonding with one another

Company values

  • Love the journey 🚂 - making slow travel mainstream is a journey we approach with the optimism and openness needed to learn and grow. We look after each other, celebrate wins and strive do better.
  • Trust and be trusted 🤝 - trust in each other is the foundation of our team. We collaborate and support one another in line with our mission. We share insights widely, are grounded in openness, and welcome peer reviews.
  • Mainstream means everyone 🌎 - we're ensuring we're for everyone by seeking out diverse perspectives and listening, respecting, amplifying and supporting all the people our product affects, especially our team.

Funding (2 rounds)

Jul 2024

$6.5m

SERIES A

Jul 2021

$1.4m

GRANT

Total funding: $7.9m

Leadership

Spent ten years at Unruly, ultimately serving as the Global SVP of Data, before moving on to work as Managing Director of Travel and Media at Founders Factory.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Byway

  • We are aware of, celebrate and learn from our differences including ethnicity, gender, age, ability, sexual orientation, religion, background and experience.
  • We do not accept discrimination, hate or harassment (including slurs, hate speech, coded language, micro-aggressions, stereotypes, deadnaming, misgendering, hate symbols).
  • One of our three company values is "mainstream means everyone". By this we mean that we're making slow travel mainstream so our product should be for everyone.
  • We're ensuring we are for everyone by seeking out diverse perspectives and listening, respecting, amplifying and supporting all the people our product affects, especially our team.
  • We value and actively hire for diversity and empathy. We make space for the many ways people prefer to contribute, as we encourage and appreciate everyone's ideas.

Endorsements

All

Meaningful work (2)

Team energy (2)

Inspiring mission (2)

Growing fast (2)

Opportunities to learn (1)

Open and honest communication (1)

Flexible working (1)

Innovative product (1)

Byway 1