Native, the buzzy startup of the local startup community, has changed its name to , which means good friend or confidant.
That does make more sense considering Pana’s is a concierge that uses a mix of humans and artificial intelligence to get to know you so well, it knows your favorite hotels, restaurants and travel routes.
But besides managing to grab a 4-letter domain, there was another good reason for the switch: Search engine optimization, said Devon Tivona, Pana’s CEO and co-founder.
Pana, formerly Native, wants to be your travel buddy. Denver app is currently looking for beta users.
“Because a ‘native app’ already describes a type of app (how it is coded), we were always competing for SEO against coding articles and developer tools. ‘Pana’ means good friend or confidant in Latin American Spanish, and we liked how that could serve as a message about how we do customer service,” Tivona said in an e-mail.
The company launched , and put out the call for new beta members. Service is expected to roll out over the next couple of months.
Pana isn’t your ordinary travel app. If your plane gets canceled, it’s already rebooking you on a new flight. It learns your preferences and will find restaurants, hotels and other travel options based on what you like — and book them.
The company now works with 15 travel agents, but it also heavily relies on AI technology to do the busy work. Requests are handled and answered typically within 30 to 60 seconds, according to the company. Tivona estimates technology handles about 50 percent of the work flow.
With no marketing budget, the young company — Tivona and co-founder Lianne Haug developed the app while they were — had attracted 1,000 users as of January, including 300 willing to pay $20 a month.
During pitch competitions in the past year, Pana, or Native, as it was known, often took the top prize. It was a member of class, won in January, and in May, it during the Blue Ocean Enterprise Challenge during Fort Collins Startup Week.
But perhaps most attractive to investors, Pana built in a revenue generator from the start. It charges membership fees. are $25 a month for standard users and $250 a month for deluxe (includes “global crisis protection,” among other special perks).
To date, the company has raised $1.35 million from Techstars, , (part of prolific investor Brad Feld’s Foundry Group), , and . It currently employs seven people and .
“With the rebrand, we have also added a bunch of suppliers for hotels and flights, so members will have access to exclusive pricing, perks, and rewards not available to the general public,” Tivona said.
