Like Airbnb for fishing: Captain Experiences can put anglers on the trip of a lifetime

Several years ago, Jonathan Newar's buddies put him in charge of booking a chartered fishing trip for the group.

Newar, then living in Houston, created a six-page Google Doc with a list of charters, captains' names, the sizes of the boats, the target species and other information as he set out to schedule the outing.

But he hit a wall when he couldn't connect with the Galveston charter companies.

"I thought, 'If you can book an Airbnb or an Uber, why am I playing phone tag with these guys?’ ” Newar said. "Why isn't there a platform that makes it easy for people to book fishing trips?"

So Newar, who had worked in oil and gas finance, decided to do it himself. First, he visited docks, where he found that charter companies needed a better way to respond to potential clients.

"A lot are doing two trips a day, and they get off, and they're tired and have to rerig all their tackle. Then they get home, and they've got missed calls, and a lot are from people just kicking the tires or trying to schedule times that are already booked," he said.

Captain Experiences sets sail

Newar moved to Austin, Texas, in 2019 to tap into the startup scene and begin building out an online platform. He met fellow fishing enthusiast Attison Barnes, who became his co-founder. In 2020 they launched Captain Experiences.

The site lets users enter their destination and date — or browse by location, species or trip type — and Captain Experiences delivers a list of trip options with details including price, length, group size, boat type and a profile of the guide. Trips are booked and paid for over the platform.

Today, the startup offers 1,300 guides across the U.S. including in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, the Great Lakes, Colorado, Alaska and New England. International charters can be booked in Central and South America and the Caribbean. In Africa, the company offers charters in Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia.

To date, Captain Experiences has booked and carried out 80,000 fishing trip hours, Newar said.

The company earns a commission on every executed trip scheduled by clients, who run the gamut from avid anglers to family groups and bachelor/bachelorette party planners looking for an unusual outing.

What's next for Captain Experiences?

Thanks to a recent infusion of seed funding, the company is branching out from fishing charters.

Earlier this year, Captain Experiences raised $2 million in a round led by Bullish, a New York-based consumer investment firm that has backed eyewear retailer Warby Parker, exercise bike and fitness firm Peloton, and shaving and male grooming company Harry's.

Captain Experiences is putting the investment toward booking trips in new outdoor markets. The company recently launched hunting trips in Texas and the Southeastern U.S. and plans to add backpacking, bird-watching, mountain biking and rock climbing.

"These same problems plague all of these outdoor sports verticals," Newar said. "What keeps us up at night is thinking about how many people are in the office on a Friday afternoon and go, 'Hey, let's go on a duck hunt. But I don't want to deal with calling all these guys.’ ”

Challenges, and the advantages of being a Texas-based fishing company

The first major hurdle Captain Experiences faced was its March 2020 launch.

"It couldn't have been a trickier time," Newar said. "It was the height of the pandemic, and that really threw a wrench in things. The boat ramps were closed by local governments."

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Still, that gave the company more time to get ready to augment the platform in preparation for what was to come when travel returned the next year.

"There was so much demand. People had been locked up indoors and confined to their homes and were really looking to get outdoors," Newar said. "People had a lot of time on their hands. It turned out to be a tailwind in 2021 and 2022."

Now the company is focused on growing its customer base for fishing trips.

Charter companies have embraced the concept, Newar said.

"Getting our guides is one of the most seamless parts of the business," he said. "The pitch is we'll bring you more business without the hassle. You set your own deposit and cancellation policies. We only get paid when there's a trip."

Reaching clients for the trips requires more work.

"The biggest challenge is expanding our audience and spreading the word, getting it out there that Captains is a platform that exists," Newar said. "There is so much more that we need to do. The majority of anglers have never heard about Captains, so it's just about driving that awareness."

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Newar said Austin has been an ideal place to found the company, which has eight employees and offices off East Seventh Street.

His work helped land him on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 Local Austin list for 2023. The list highlights a diverse range of young Austinites whose ideas and innovations shape the city and beyond. The 2023 list comprises entrepreneurs, influencers, musicians and more, ranging in age from 20 to 29.

"Austin has such a vibrant startup ecosystem," Newar said. "Not only did I meet my co-founder here; it has been really helpful for us in meeting investors, advisers, employees, all of it."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Where to fish: Captain Experiences helps anglers book trips across U.S.