humans behind the tech

Tech made by humans to empower humans

our story

In 2016, YouLi founder, Jennifer Fein, planned an epic destination wedding to Jordan. She married the Jordanian man she met in Australia in front of friends and family from the US, Australia, Argentina, Asia, and Europe - because, like many of us today, her community is spread all over the world.

Jen couldn’t believe there wasn’t an easier way to coordinate her trip besides spreadsheets, emails, and Word documents that no one ever read. So she created the first version of YouLi and tested it out on her guests. She was able to deliver an unforgettable trip for her wedding guests and was inspired by their feedback to solve problems for anyone organizing group travel.

Jen has gathered a team as passionate and diverse as the travel businesses we empower. Fully remote and located throughout the world, the YouLi team is here to help travel professionals rediscover the joy of group travel.

Today, YouLi helps thousands of travel professionals provide their clients with unique, customized & transformational experiences from weddings, to study trips to adventures and retreats.

Our mission is to empower the creators of experiences...


Our mission is to empower the creators of experiences, so they empower travelers to TRANSFORM THEMSELVES & THE WORLD.

We support group adventure businesses in rebuilding the industry post-COVID with affordable software tools that streamline repetitive tasks and successfully integrate group bookings into the company’s marketing funnel, accounting workflows, and operational processes. All while saving time and bringing joy to both, planners and travelers.


a trusted & sustainable tech solution

As a software provider that cares about building a more sustainable industry, we recognize that it is the small companies creating transformational experiences, that can take the time to educate their travelers to be more responsible and to select ground operators that align. These are the things that can get lost at larger organizations.

By working with unique group operators and travel advisors, we are helping to build a SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL INDUSTRY. While we offer starter plans with booking fees, we prefer that our customers pay fixed annual fees instead of booking fees so they can capture more of their growth and give back to the local communities their experiences operate in.

Partners helping us build a Sustainable Travel Industry

Our values

Joy of Creation
Empowerment
Humour
Learning
continuous improvement
connection
diversity of perspective
Travel as a consequence

meet the team

JENNIFER FEIN
:
Co-founder & CEO
Product Visionary & Digital Nomad

Jen believes that technology should empower everyone, not just "tech people".

After building email marketing platforms for large corporations in NYC, she spent time working in APAC and learning how to build products for international markets.

Her transformational journey from Software Engineer to TravelTech founder is made possible by her partner, her team, her investors, and ultimately, the clients she strives to empower.

Jen is an American living in Australia, but ultimately a digital nomad who can live and work from anywhere.

Connect with Jen

BRON THULKE
:
Co-founder & CTO
Creator of Accessible & Joyful Technology

After running her own company for 10 years, Bron joined YouLi and built our product from scratch. It has evolved from a concept to a working prototype, to minimum viable product and now to reliable software as a service (SaaS) platform.

Without her keen eye for aesthetics, her mastery of frameworks, and her ability to make it all work smoothly, we wouldn’t be delivering the online experience our clients expect.

Be sure to check out her talk on how we migrated clouds - it's much better than the tech talks you're used to.

Bron is also a gifted gardener and an avid gamer.

Connect with Bron

SALLY MCKENNA
:
Global Head of Sales and Marketing
Growth-minded & Empathetic Leader

After 20 plus years of successfully leading and managing sales and marketing teams across the globe in a myriad of companies, both big and small, Sally decided it was time to put all that knowledge, life experience and success into something she owned.

Back in 2018, Sally stumbled across a new group travel platform at a networking event in Melbourne. It didn't take for her long to invest. Fast forward 5 years and Sally has taken the leap and joined full time YouLi to work alongside the co-founders to take the company to new heights.

Connect with Sally

CLAIRE WILLIAMS
:
Head of Operations & Customer Success
Master of the Operational Flow

Claire Williams is committed to our clients' success using YouLi. She is based out of Buenos Aires, but always roaming.

She welcomes new clients to YouLi, by showing them how to use our tools most effectively & keeps internal operations running smoothly.

Following a history of involvement in social justice movements & nonprofit work, she now enjoys working in a field that is such a big part of her life -- TRAVEL! She sees travel as both a thrilling & important opportunity for us to learn more about each other and the world around us.

Claire has visited over 25 countries and has a big heart for volunteering, cooking, ceramics, aimless walks, yoga, dancing, and meeting new people.

GEOFF CRAIG
:
Enterprise Sales & Partnerships
Passionate Global Traveler & Cricket Tragic

Geoff is a passionate global traveler, cricket tragic & dog lover. His first job out of university was selling souvenirs so a career in travel was always on the cards.

He is also a channel sales professional with over 20 years of experience in hardware, software, and services.

Geoff loves bringing YouLi technology to the travel and experience businesses that are ready to scale their group travel and unique travel offerings.

Ask Geoff about his cricket club, the mighty South Yarra ‘Vincibles’, his homemade honey, or vintage Matchbox model kits & die-cast cars.

Connect with Geoff

SEAN KELLEY
:
Product Expert

YouLi Product Expert & Proud Furparent

If you open a ticket with YouLi, you'll talk to Sean. He's our helpful Product Expert and frontline support, making sure you get where you need to go inside YouLi.

He's an experienced audio engineer & member of a band - be sure to ask him where he's playing next if you live in the Philly area.

He is also a digital nomad with a passion for traveling; currently, you can find Sean residing in Philadelphia. When he isn't home, he's most likely in his favorite travel destination: Medellín, Colombia.

Winston the pup is his furbaby; his cuteness knows no bounds!

XIAOTIAN (CHRIS) LU
:
Tester & Developer
Master of Technical Details

Chris' job is to ensure YouLi software gets delivered to our customers at the highest quality, and that means very, very, VERY detailed testing.

His mother named him 陆孝天, but he goes by "Chris" for those of us who don't speak Mandarin.

Chris developed this website. So if you like how it looks, he can help you do the same.

YouLi clients love his attention to detail, and we love his sense of humor.

Ask him 3 fun facts about wombats and you won't regret it!

STEPH CHUNG
:
UX/UI Design
Curator of User Experiences & Master of Color

Steph is the designer behind the beautiful custom websites, interfaces, and flows throughout the YouLi platform.

Before becoming part of the YouLi team, Steph worked extensively with social enterprises to build remote volunteer opportunities and support women & girls to thrive in the STEM space.

Steph has lived in the US and Japan but now calls Melbourne her base.

She loves cooking and eating her way through the cuisines of the world.

Ask her about mermonkies to discover a world you never knew existed.

it takes all kinds to build great things

The YouLi team has changed over the years, but we still appreciate the contributions of early staff. We have also been lucky to count on incredible advisors to steer us in the right direction, through the worst of 2020 and beyond.

OUR SUPPORTERS

Dr. Paul Boxer
-
Advisor & Investor

Dr. Paul Boxer is a Melbourne Angel, the founder of Sentient Vision Systems and an eternal optimist.

He is passionate and enthusiastic about great teams and great people striving to achieve inspiring goals.

These days he spends half his time guiding his own companies and half his time helping new entrepreneurs and founders achieve similar results.

Sallie Fraenkel
-
Advisor

Sallie is the founder of Mind Body Spirit Network, offering consulting and coaching services to wellness-oriented businesses.

She is the former CMO & COO of SpaFinder and EVP of the Global Wellness Summit. She has over 30 years of experience in the spa, wellness and entertainment industries. Sallie values creativity, ingenuity, authenticity and integrity in her work and that of others.  She aspires to visit every destination spa and fully immersive wellness resort in the world!

Connect with Sallie

John Merakovsky
-
Advisor

John Merakovsky built and sold an Australian startup in the first internet wave. It was a first generation Learning Management System still in use today!

He moved on to grow the Experian Marketing Services business in APAC with Jen Fein's help from New York.

Today John is the CEO of Flybuys.

Paul Baron
-
Advisor & Investor

Paul Baron is a Melbourne Angel, President of the Australasian chapter of IFITT (International Federation of IT travel & Tourism) and was previously Head of Digital at Visit Victoria.

He is working with startups, like YouLi, in travel and digital technology to help them take over the world.

Caitlin Wynne
-
Co-founder

Caitlin Wynne brought her Danish trained design skills to bear on our startup challenge of making complex information easy to access.

Her original design still shapes the YouLi platform you use today.

Issac Trotts
-
Advisor & Investor

With roots in studio art, computer graphics and math, Issac’s career has ranged from research at NASA and MIT to App Engine and the Go Cloud Team at Google.

Issac developed the mobile app experience for YouLi on iOS and Android devices.

He can't stay still and you never know where you'll find him, but he has always been there for the YouLi team.

work with us!

In 2021 we exanded the team with more customer support and developers. We look forward to growing the team further as the industry rebounds.

see jobs

ACKnOWLEDGMENT

YouLi acknowledges that as travelers and nomads we are often experiencing places that are not our ancestral land.

When we travel we show our respect for the people who welcome us and recognize their right to determine the rules of our engagement and the best way to be stewards in those places.

We would also like to recognize and pay respect to the traditional owners of the lands where our staff call home; from the Wurundjeri people found in present day Melbourne, Australia, to the Lënapehòkink land, ancestral homelands of the Lenape peoples, now called Philadelphia.

We honor their Elders, past, present and future.