Great to have you on this blog! You may have wondered who’s behind NiceGuides. Voilà! Here’s the founding story of Lovis, Niko, and Chris—the Nice Guys of NiceGuides.
All good things come in threes
Interestingly, it took a pandemic to bring these three guys together. Before that, Lovis was organizing gin festivals and studying industrial engineering, Niko was working in finance, and Chris was planning to get a Ph.D. in archaeology but found himself running guided tours primarily for American tourists on their river cruises. Then came COVID-19, throwing a wrench into everyone’s plans. Lovis and Niko promptly founded “Aspilos”. Lovis likes to call himself a serial entrepreneur humorously (his first project as a teenager: bicycle upcycling). Aspilos quickly became an essential part of the testing and hygiene landscape in Heidelberg and its surroundings. Although the company had over 200 employees at its peak, the next startup idea was born with Chris working in the testing center and soon in sales.
Intuitive app for better tourism
Even before the pandemic, Chris recognized shortcomings and opportunities in the tour guide business: Why does everything have to be so overly bureaucratic? Why is the job considered too poorly paid to make a living from it? Why can’t one start a tour easily with their own ideas?
Together with Lovis and Niko, who brought their expertise in business and startups, the trio aimed to revolutionize the tourism industry fundamentally. Moving away from confusing, cumbersome bookings towards an intuitive app solution. Shifting from the inflexible, poorly paid work of guides to a model that allows decent pay, straightforward creativity, and the opportunity to offer unique tour formats.
From Heidelberg via Frankfurt to New York & Tokyo
This is NiceGuides! The app is still in its infancy and the focus is on Lovis’, Nikos’ and Chris’ hometown Heidelberg. But the way towards Hessen and other southern German cities is already paved: Soon NiceGuides will be available in Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich – and from there it’s not far to Budapest, New York or Tokyo.
Stay tuned and follow the Nice Guys journey on this blog! Here we will keep you updated on the app’s latest news and provide travel tips to make your holiday planning easier.
