Travel trends

Chris Harvey's travel insurance software company Squaremouth is known as a cool place to work in St. Petersburg. With unlimited paid vacation, free flowing beer, and mandatory birthday bonuses that must be spent at a bar or restaurant, Harvey has managed to make what some may assume is a boring industry into something fun. Every time Harvey posts a job opening he receives more than 300 applications.

But building the 26-employee, $14 million “cool” company didn't happen overnight. In fact, the company spent its first five years virtually penniless, according to Harvey. In an industry that's growing, it's tough to predict what's around the corner, other than just assuming the same 10% to 15% growth that it has experienced in the past.

Squaremouth provides a comparison tool for travel insurance products. There are 100 different product offerings, from 20-something insurance companies, and Squaremouth receives a commission based on the product sold. Over the last 30 days, the site has had about 90,000 visitors. With steady growth in sales and staff, Harvey says his goal is to reach $1 million in revenue per employee.