ConsenSys is a technology startup creating Ethereum-based blockchain infrastructure, applications and practices that will "enable a decentralized world," according to its website. Travel manager Mat Domaradzki joined a year ago, and now he's launching what he calls Travel 2.0, which calls for a more cost-conscious approach to travel and narrower lanes for booking and supplier choice. As a tech-forward company, however, ConsenSys looks for partners that can handle its deep drive to innovate and its commitment to what Domaradzki calls "radical transparency." He spoke with BTN editor-in-chief Elizabeth West.
BTN: What's your role as a travel manager for a midsize program in a rapidly growing organization?
Domaradzki: I want to help ConsenSys grow its business effectively, and I don't want to be a friction point. The travel experience should be as seamless as possible, but at the same time, we are a business. We have four things we think about: We want to consolidate spend and gain visibility; we want to take care of our people with duty of care; we want to consider cost savings and be able to negotiate rates; and we want to manage our meetings and event spend.
BTN: That last part is interesting for what I would call a nascent travel program. Why are you focused on meetings and events?
Domaradzki: We are a remote-first company with many people distributed around the world. We call it a "mesh," and ConsenSys employees are members of this mesh. From time to time, our people need to get together to get on the same page. This is the same with any kind of company, but with a distributed company, it's even more important. We want to provide effective, cost-conscious solutions for getting our people together. Especially for a young company, the collaborative mission and engagement is really important.
BTN: ConsenSys produces blockchain technology for many industries, and you even have some emerging solutions for travel management. Is your program used as a test ground for those?
Domaradzki: We have an incubation to create solutions for the greater world using blockchain, from supply management to finance and including travel. We do test our solutions on our internal travel program. Right now, Ansero [which works on blockchain travel solutions] is learning a lot about how to build out its Smart Hotel Rate solution by working with us. We know the hotel negotiation and RFP process is not all hunky-dory; we think blockchain can help.
BTN: How does the drive for innovation and what you call "radical transparency" affect your travel supplier choices?
Domaradzki: I've worked in travel my whole life. The industry is built on old technology, and we want to see that change. I was disheartened in the supplier meeting [at the Association of Corporate Travel Executive conference] on Sunday. So many people complained about new technologies. We want to work with like-minded suppliers that want to revolutionize managed travel. We are working with Troovo on virtual card and payment systems. We are talking to Zeno to potentially replace our current Concur system, which really needs a heavy investment in the user interface and [mobile solutions]. I would tell anyone out there with a great new travel technology to come talk to us. We are willing, able and excited to try new things.
BTN: Does working in a flat organization present challenges in terms of not being able to leverage top-down authority to implement or enforce the travel program?
Domaradzki: We are called ConsenSys. That's literally who we are, right? We tell everyone internally how much we've spent on travel. Every three weeks we send out updates on everything travel: HR has a slide, finance has a slide. We look at advanced bookings. We celebrate people who have been spending frugally. We look at whether there has been a spike in spending. We have healthy debates internally about what we should be doing. Those debates have culminated in a strategy around Travel 2.0, which is aligned with a larger [corporate initiative underway] called Consensys 2.0.
BTN: What are the goals or elements of Travel 2.0?
Domaradzki: In 2017, our compliance was about 50 percent, but in 2018 it fell to 30 percent. We told people how they should travel, but in a fast-growing company it can be hard to focus on those guidelines. It's time now to put processes in place and time to mandate them. It's never about telling people no, but we're setting up notification reports to team leads about travel that has been booked against their budgets. We are looking at pretrip approval so [team leads] can approve what travel is hitting their budgets. That's a tough one for a startup. Internal events have been a priority [because] we needed to spread the word and build the company. As we mature, we want everyone to take a second look to see what is really needed for their business. We've put in a lot of partnerships that are easy for our travelers like Airbnb for Work or Uber for Business and Lyft for Business. We saw a huge shift into the program after implementing Airbnb for Work and gained more visibility, as well as savings. That's not the right solution for every company, but it works for us.
BTN: What's the best thing about managing travel at a strong startup?
Domaradzki: Everyone understands they are like an owner and they are working to build a company. We trust people's judgment, and I am not the only one building the travel program at ConsenSys. We are all contributing to that effort because we want ConsenSys to be a healthy company for the long term.