TravelAge West
Search Sponsored by

Explore TravelAge West

Destinations

Back
  • Africa & Middle East
  • Asia & South Pacific
  • Caribbean
  • Central & South America
  • Europe
  • Hawaii
  • Mexico
  • USA & Canada

Travel Types

Back
  • Family
  • Adventure
  • Cruise
  • River Cruise
  • Tour Operators
  • Luxury
  • Hotels
  • Culinary
  • Romance
  • Wellness
  • Sustainability

Directories

Back
  • Hotels
  • Cruise
  • Job Seeker Center

Interactive

Back
  • Click & Win
  • Geo Quiz
  • Slideshows & Video

Professional Development

Back

Industry Insight

  • Business Features
  • Interviews
  • Events
  • Opinion
  • Tech
  • Podcasts
  • Coronavirus and Travel
  • Need to Know Research

Education

  • Certifications
  • Digital Guides
  • Fams
  • Thought Leadership
  • Advertiser Spotlight
  • Webinars
  • Immersive Family Experiences

Events

  • Global Travel Marketplace
  • GTM West
  • WAVE Awards
  • Future Leaders in Travel Retreat

Get Us in Your Inbox

I accept the T&C and Privacy Policy.

Search TravelAge West

Clear Field
Valerie Chen
Valerie ChenContributing Writer

Share

  1. Home
  2. Podcasts
  3. Humans of Travel

Bruce Poon Tip on Lessons From Getting Fired, Asian Representation and Founding G Adventures on 2 Maxed-Out Credit Cards

Apr 27, 2020

Subscribe now using your favorite service:


Across the travel industry and beyond, most people know Bruce Poon Tip as the founder of G Adventures, the world’s largest small group adventure travel company. He also established Planeterra Foundation, G Adventures’ nonprofit partner, which channels travelers’ dollars into underserved communities around the world. Through these accomplishments, he has addressed the United Nations and World Bank; delivered keynote speeches at TEDx events; and much more.

But what most people don’t know is that Poon Tip’s entrepreneurial drive began far ahead of G Adventures’ launch in 1990. Growing up as part of a Chinese-Venezuelan immigrant family in Calgary, Canada, a young Poon Tip started three businesses before even turning 13 — including contracting 11-year-olds to deliver his newspapers on multiple routes. Not to mention, he bred rabbits in his parents’ backyard.

Credit: 2020 G Adventures

Get Us in Your Inbox

I accept the T&C and Privacy Policy.

At age 16, after getting fired from Denny’s two weeks into the job, and then getting fired while training to work at McDonald’s, Poon Tip realized that he was better off being his own boss.

In this episode of Humans of Travel, Poon Tip shares with listeners the roots of his early ambition, as well as G Adventures’ genesis story. He also explains how being a minority has influenced his career — and reveals a clever strategy that was necessary to move his business forward.    

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Bruce Poon Tip’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/brucepoontip 
Bruce Poon Tip’s Twitter: www.twitter.com/brucepoontip 
“Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business” by Bruce Poon Tip: www.amazon.com
“Do Big Small Things” by Bruce Poon Tip: www.amazon.com

About Your Host

Valerie Chen is the Deputy Digital Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. TravelAge West also produces national trade publications Explorer and Family Getaways, as well as events including Future Leaders in Travel Retreat, Global Travel Marketplace West, the WAVE Awards gala and the Napa Valley Leadership Forum.

About the Show

TravelAge West’s new podcast, Humans of Travel, features conversations with exceptional people who have compelling stories to tell. Listeners will hear from the travel industry’s notable authorities, high-profile executives, travel advisors and rising stars as they share the experiences — the highs and the lows — that make them human.

Tell Us What You Think! forum

Related Content

FINAL_Podcast-Cover-1540px-x-866px-horz_Arnie_part23

Arnie Weissmann Reflects on Life Before Travel Weekly, From Interviewing Muhammad Ali to Visiting North Korea (Part 2)

  • Most Read
  • Most Shared
  1. When Will the Brightline to Orlando Open? New Details Released
  2. The Top Hotels in Mexico for a Romantic Getaway
  3. A Travel Agent's Guide to Pet-Friendly Travel Planning
  4. What to Know About Waikiki Beach Marriott's Renovation, According to Its New General Manager
  5. What to Know About Riding on the Alaska Railroad
  1. 6 Unforgettable Chateau Experiences in the Loire Valley
  2. The Caribbean’s Newest Theme Park: Katmandu Park Punta Cana
  3. When Will the Brightline to Orlando Open? New Details Released
  4. The Top Hotels in Mexico for a Romantic Getaway
  5. What Is It Like to Travel to Saudi Arabia?

From Our Partners

More Stories Like This

Humans of Travel Will Return on March 13, 2023

Humans of Travel Will Return on March 13, 2023

Celebrity Cruises' Dondra Ritzenthaler on the Importance of Being Brave, Not Perfect

Celebrity Cruises' Dondra Ritzenthaler on the Importance of Being Brave, Not Perfect

How ASTA’s Eben Peck Is Protecting Travel Advisors

How ASTA’s Eben Peck Is Protecting Travel Advisors

USTOA’s Terry Dale on Farm Living, Responding to 9/11 and Transforming the 'T Word' (Touring)

USTOA’s Terry Dale on Farm Living, Responding to 9/11 and Transforming the 'T Word' (Touring)

Royal Caribbean’s Vicki Freed on Breaking Into the Cruise Industry — and Meeting the Boss Who Helped Shape Her

Royal Caribbean’s Vicki Freed on Breaking Into the Cruise Industry — and Meeting the Boss Who Helped Shape Her

Antoine Wilson on Life as a Travel Advisor, a Safari Operator and an Air Traffic Controller

Antoine Wilson on Life as a Travel Advisor, a Safari Operator and an Air Traffic Controller

Humans of Travel Podcast Cover Julia Kulik

Julia Kulik, of JC Travel Ukraine, on the Perils of the Russia-Ukraine War and Living as a Refugee

Edyta Teper Humans of Travel Cover

Edyta Teper on Escaping Communist Poland and How to Travel to the Edge of Space

Humans of Travel Podcast-Cover-Adam Sachs

Culinary Journalist Adam Sachs on Storytelling Through Food and Directing Silversea Cruises' S.A.L.T. Program

Host Agency Expert Stephanie Lee on Life Before Travel and the Diagnosis That Changed Everything

Host Agency Expert Stephanie Lee on Life Before Travel and the Diagnosis That Changed Everything

TravelAge West

About TravelAge West

  • About Us
  • Contributors
  • Sales Team
  • Contact Us
  • My Profile

Advertise

  • Advertise With Us
  • Write For US
  • Media Kit
  • Upload Ad Material
  • Digital Ad Specifications
  • Reprints
  • Subscribe to Print

Stay Connected to TravelAge West

Get Us in Your Inbox

I accept the T&C and Privacy Policy.


Northstar Travel Group

Northstar Travel Group

  • Travel Weekly
  • Travel Weekly Asia
  • Travel Weekly China
  • TravelPulse
  • TravelPulse Canada
  • TravelPulse Quebec
  • Meetings & Incentives
  • Travel Technology
  • Corporate Travel
  • Hotel Investment
  • Data Products
  • AGENTatHOME

Copyright © 2023 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 301 Route 17 N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ 07070 USA | Telephone: (201) 902-2000

Load Carousel Here
Load Video Here