Johannes Reck

When Johannes and his co-founders launched GetYourGuide in 2008, they weren’t riding a wave of momentum or market buzz. They had no bookings, no traction, and no external support. What they did have was a painful insight: after losing an entire day to tourist traps during a student trip to Beijing, they realised it was far easier to book a flight across the world than plan a great day once you arrived. That frustration planted the seed for what would become one of Europe’s most enduring travel tech platforms.

Today, GetYourGuide powers over 200 million travel experiences in more than 12,000 cities around the globe. The company has raised over $1bn (£780m) in funding from investors including SoftBank and KKR, and serves as a category leader in curated tours and activities. Behind that growth is a founder who took the long road, often literally.

Johannes was born near Cologne in 1985 and studied biochemistry at ETH Zurich, one of Europe’s top science and engineering universities. His academic career began in the lab, but it wasn’t long before he found himself pulled toward a different kind of problem-solving. While still finishing his studies, he and classmate Tao Tao began working on GetYourGuide. They would eventually turn down academic careers to go all-in on building the company, driven more by conviction than certainty.

The early years were difficult. Their original peer-to-peer tour concept failed to resonate with customers. Bookings were minimal, resources even more so, and they spent long stretches without salaries or investor interest. Eventually, the team pivoted toward a marketplace model, focusing on verified suppliers and high-quality experiences. It was a quiet shift that changed everything.

Operating out of a small apartment in Berlin, the founding team worked in close quarters – writing code, emailing customers, iterating on product, and slowly learning what actually moved the needle. Rather than pursuing a blitzscaling model, Johannes leaned into something different: high learning velocity. Company culture centred on the concept of “educated failure” – an internal mantra that normalised mistakes as long as they produced insight.

That mindset became a competitive advantage. While other travel startups burned through capital chasing growth, GetYourGuide scaled steadily – optimising for trust, service, and operational depth. By the time the global experience market began heating up, GetYourGuide was already well-positioned, with a robust product, loyal user base, and strong supplier relationships.

Under Johannes’ leadership, the company has grown to over 800 employees, with international offices in Berlin, Zurich, Tokyo, Seoul, and New York. But despite its global reach, GetYourGuide has retained a strong cultural identity rooted in transparency, speed of learning, and what the team refers to as “infinite curiosity.”

Beyond GetYourGuide, Johannes is known as one of the most outspoken advocates for Europe’s startup ecosystem. A member of the German Startup Association and an informal mentor to numerous early-stage founders, he has pushed for greater digital sovereignty, smarter regulation, and more homegrown ambition within the continent’s tech scene.

He’s also a regular contributor to conversations around responsible growth, often highlighting the importance of long-term thinking in a sector obsessed with short-term wins. His own story – a scientist-turned-founder who scaled quietly, deliberately, and against the odds – offers a compelling counterpoint to the stereotypical blitzscale playbook.

Now in his early forties and a father of two, Johannes still calls Berlin home. He’s a dedicated long-distance runner and often draws parallels between running and building: both require pacing, resilience, and the willingness to push through the parts no one sees. His focus remains on building a business that helps people experience the world more meaningfully – not just through travel, but through perspective.