E12 - Guillaume: Founder of Gullu and the Freedom of Van Life

What happens when a solo backpacker embraces van life during a global pandemic? Meet Guillaume Lesage, our adventurous guest who transitioned from solo treks to van journeys with his girlfriend. Listen as he recounts their first experience of van life during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal and offers invaluable insights on making van living flexible and enjoyable. Guillaume shares practical tips for beginners, from selecting the right van to setting up essential systems like solar power, all while emphasizing the importance of understanding one's needs.

Living in a camper van isn't always smooth sailing. Guillaume and his girlfriend faced numerous challenges on the road, such as brake issues while crossing the Pyrenees. Through these obstacles, they discovered the power of adaptability and maintaining a relaxed mindset. Their stories reveal how travel can fortify relationships, showcasing true compatibility and resilience. We also delve into Guillaume's entrepreneurial journey, including the creation of the Gulu app, which helps travelers stay connected with friends met on their adventures.

Balancing travel, technology, and entrepreneurship is no small feat, but Guillaume has some fascinating experiences to share. From teaching English in Vietnam to selling French crepes while on the road, his story is packed with inspiration and practical advice. Discover how to manage travel expenses efficiently, the joy of disconnecting from technology to truly immerse in nature, and the benefits of remote work. This episode promises to leave you motivated and equipped with new perspectives on blending travel, entrepreneurship, and the joy of meeting new people. Join us for an enriching conversation with Guillaume Lesage on Travelcast!

Connect with Guillaume (Gullu):

• Couchsurfing: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/guillaume-lesage
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillaume-lesage-%F0%9F%A7%AD-42a238153/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gullu_app/
• Gullu App: https://linktr.ee/gulluapp

Connect with me:

• Igar Garai Instagram: https://instagram.com/igargarai
• or be my CS guest: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/igar-garai

Transcript

Igar: 0:00

Hello, dear travelers, and welcome back to episode 12 of Travelcast. Today I'm excited to introduce you our guest, guillaume Lussage. Guillaume is an avid traveler, one-life enthusiast and the founder of the Gulu app, a tool designed to enhance the travel experience for adventurers like himself. Guillaume, thank you for joining us today. Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your background?

Guillaume: 0:27

Yeah, thank you very much, Igor, for inventing me here in your podcast. I'm really happy to be here. What to say in just one minute? It's not easy to do that exercise. But yeah, I'm Guillaume, I love adventures, I love to meet people and I love to try to think to new projects. So I'm, like they call it, serial entrepreneurs, but it's more like. I love to create a lot of things and now in my life I focus on three main things meet new people, travel a new place and do entrepreneurs projects. So this is kind of my life now. So I have a lot of project about a new trip and new way to meet new people nice, nice, nice man when I met was like what?

Igar: 1:25

two years ago or something.

Guillaume: 1:27

You think that's it.

Igar: 1:29

Yeah, like when I was checking you know research, it was two years already and, yeah, I remember your stories and like I don't know how it changed much for these two years, but I remember, uh, you and your girlfriend was traveling by the van and I would like to open this topic first and yeah, can you, like you know, like tell me what drew you in the van life and, like, in general, can you share the story of your first van trip and what made you to fall in love with this way of traveling in general?

Guillaume: 2:10

Yeah, the story, like I will start a little before. It's before the van. Me and my girlfriend were two solo travelers so we love to just travel somewhere with the backpack and everything. So we did some trips like that when we were together and after that we think like maybe it could be a good idea to try, with camper van, to have our own house and to be able to travel in all the country and everything and to be able to travel in all the country and everything. So when we were the true story, we were blocked in the lockdown in Nepal because of the COVID in 2021. And we said maybe it could be a good idea to buy a camper van and to go to Switzerland to walk there, to earn some money and see what happens after. So this is the story when it starts and we did it for real. So we bought the van in France and after we did all the way.

Guillaume: 3:21

I come from the south of France, the name of the city is Toulouse and the idea was to go to switzerland to work there on the winter. But because we love that much meet new people and going to new adventure we all the way. It was seven months to go to france, to switzerland, and if you are good in geography, it's just like 500 kilometers. So we do all the way around France. We meet a lot of different people, and so it was our first trip in the van, but it was so, so, so nice to be free. You know, like you just go on the road, you don't care where you sleep, you don't care where you end, you have everything with you. You have the kitchen, you have the bed, you have everything. So for us it's really like our apartment, but we are changing city whenever we want.

Igar: 4:20

Well, this is sweet, this is very sweet. Like this is sweet, this is very sweet. And, yeah, like I like the flexibility what one gives you, as you said, like you don't really care about many things, you have your apartment with you, and well, maybe you can give some like some practical tips and like essential preparation that like people who would like to get into one uh, what would what they should be aware before they starting this?

Guillaume: 4:53

yeah, the. The first thing really important is to know what you need. So with that you will be able to know what size of camper van you can have. Because, like a lot of people ask to us, yeah, maybe, like there is, there is different size. So there is the tiny van, you know, like the volkswagen, the basic that this one is nice if you want to do big trip, go to highway across the country in one day and stuff like that. That kind of van is better. If you just go traveling for the weekend or stuff like that, that van is nice.

Guillaume: 5:32

After there is the I don't know how to say in english, but it's like forgo in french. We say like you know the, the big white from from, like where you can be stand on the, on the van. That is better but it's still a little bit expensive. But if you, if you have more money, and it's nice also. But as we have a camping car and we, we buy it for only 4 000 euros in france, so it's really not expensive and we have everything on it. We have the bedroom, we have the, we have the shower, the kitchen, everything is inside. But it's not that big, it's not the new uh, the new camping car at 50 000 euros, it's not that great. The old one I said the old one is always better, but everyone, everyone follow his own philosophy, but yeah, it's, it's really nice, like on on our camper. We have everything to be happy in life.

Guillaume: 6:42

I think I can say like that, and we have, like solar panel, a small solar panel we fix on the roof and we collect water on the free spots all around France. So we are totally autonomous and we just need some petrol and after we can go whenever we, wherever we want. So that's really nice. So another advice it's to first think about what kind of stuff we need to be happy in life, and for us it's just a table and a roof and the shower and toilet, stuff like that.

Guillaume: 7:26

And after you think, okay, how I can implement that on my travel partner. So if it's a camper, you can say, okay, I need to be stand, I need to be able to go to the toilet, I need to be less than five meters and stuff like that. But the most important it's to experience and that, uh, I will. I think I will repeat it a lot on on all the podcasts, but I can give you all advice I want but if you don't try yourself and you don't experience that, it's really hard to know if it's it's a fit with you or not this kind of travel interesting, interesting, like, and actually I think I pronounce it like one life, uh, like experience, but like, yeah, you have more like a camper, it's actually good, good, uh, note for me and uh, but for me it's still, you know, like, still the same category.

Igar: 8:26

I know many people like might demand on me that I pronounce it correct no man, this is camper, this is house on the wheels or something, but you know, still, it's from the same category that you have a car. What is moving, you know, and like yeah, and you live there. And well, I wanted to ask you know which part you mentioned about solar panels, and is it enough for you to produce electricity all you need? Maybe you don't need even much, I don't know, but like, in general, like light or like yeah, yeah, when you live in camper van, naturally you are like in a minimalist mindset, you know like it's enough for us and we have only 200 watts of solar panel.

Guillaume: 9:12

That is really small and but the needs we have it's only to recharge our phone, recharge the laptop, and we have a little water pump. It's really like like nothing. And after that that's it, because we have the gas for the kitchen and for the heater, so we don't really need that much of electricity. So it's recharging and lights and lights. You, you, you had like led lights, right, it's, it's like nothing. So, so we don't need that much of energy. You just have like a battery, another battery you know, like exactly like the battery of your car, but you put it inside your van and after you connect the solar panel and it's really so easy to to do, like the solar panel is just really light you put glue on it, you glue it on the roof, you have one cable, you put it on the battery and that's it.

Guillaume: 10:16

You are autonomous, like when I realized that I was like, wow, how is that easy? Well, I put the cable on the bank power and it's okay. Okay, let's do it like that but did you?

Igar: 10:32

do you collect the electricity, like if it's like some extra this batteries? Yeah, okay, okay, nice. And what about the heating? You mentioned the like. How do you hit the one if needed, like with electricity from these solar panels or some other way?

Guillaume: 10:47

no, it's with the gas and uh, and it's really nice because we we buy the camper van three years ago, but he it's a really old one, like from the 80s, so it's more than 30 years. But the the woman would sell her, so sell the camper say to us, yeah, I never tried the heater, so I don't know. I don't know if it's working and we try and it was working, so we just click on the button 30 years after he was working with it.

Igar: 11:23

Wow sweet, sweet, sweet, as you said. All this work then all doesn't matter, I see.

Guillaume: 11:35

I see Living in the camper can be easy life. It's just a question of mindset.

Igar: 11:43

You know, man, I know that this van life and camper life in general it's often romanticized, but you know it comes with like pretty much a lot of challenges, especially us like when you with partner and like in the same small uh place, let's say for a long time and in general all like, in general, like even technical, yeah, not like not necessarily between people. So what are some of the biggest like obstacles you have faced while traveling, like with the man and like you know, how, in general, did you overcome?

Guillaume: 12:21

and then you use like what, what is the other thing we experience on the camper? Uh, right, right, like kind of what kind of? Uh of difficulties I can? It can be mechanical, like, for example, when we cross the pyrenees so it's the big mountain in south of france the brake was not working anymore, so to be able to stop the car I needed to pump the thing I don't know how to say in English, but I need to pump the brake and after it was just stopping a little bit the car and that in the middle of the mountain it was really powerful.

Guillaume: 13:29

But we took the time to do it like safely, because that was our more, like that was the thing really important in that trip, that a lot of things to us. It's like we add the time, so nothing is really important, like it's really uh, uh, how to say, uh, nothing will uh change all, all the trip because you have time to solve problems. So every time when we have a problem, we do like that okay, how, how to solve it, we can do it now. Okay, we need to wait five days? Okay, it's okay, so we will find solution, like that. So when we add the problem with the break, we stopped in spain and after we had to go back to france to find the the little thing to change on the break and everything. So it took like one week but it was okay because we met some people on the way and stuff like that. Interesting.

Igar: 14:33

Well. So, yeah, it's actually a good approach what you said, when you analyze, hey, can we fix it now or later? How much time we have, very interesting, yeah. So usually, as you mentioned, and as I understand from your words that you don't really, you're not really in the rush right, like when you travel by one, you're not, uh, into some schedule, I guess. So you're more like chilly, and so it also helps, I believe, when you have some stress, because usually time is one of the reasons to travel is to stress out in any situation, unusual situation or like some schedule or some plane or something else, something here, something there.

Igar: 15:18

Yeah, and you're kind of interesting, it's actually interesting. Also, approach another pros to the one you know, yeah, interesting, it's actually interesting. Also approaching another pros to the one you know, yeah, and partner-wise, like because you're pretty much 24, 7 under I don't know 10, I don't know how many square meters, let me, don't say it, but pretty much like anyway's 10, and you're always with your partner, like, have you ever faced some difficulties? If so, how did you overcome them? Just, yeah, I'll say always interesting for me this part you know, like human Difficulties, human relation difficulties.

Guillaume: 15:59

Yeah, yeah it was really interesting, but it's it's part of our relationship with Juan. We really started like that because the story is we met in a camping in France. We were walking together and stuff, like that friend and everything we met because uh, her, uh, her friend, from his, her apartment was a positive of covid, so we did lockdown together in the little caravan in the in in the camping. So we start our story like that. After one year going in the camper van, it was easier and like we do like the after three months of relationship, we have been to Nepal. So we travel together. But you know, when you travel with someone, you know him in like in all the details. So we were really close even before the camper and after. Yeah, living with the camper is really challenging, but I think it's a really good challenge and if it's complete, well, it's a good sign.

Igar: 17:20

Man, I really agree, I really agree with this, just like another, yeah, yeah go on.

Guillaume: 17:26

Agree with this, just like another? Yeah, go on. The funny thing is, if I can advise something, it's try to be kind with your partner when it's raining outside, because it's really when it's raining outside and you are like not agree and going hungry and stuff like that, you need to fix it really, really quick Because, like it's like you say the square meter, we don't really care, but it's more like there is only one room, so when you are not agree, we can just like turn around. It's not really working like that. So it's really nice to to, to the to to, to solve problems and stuff like that. So yeah, sometimes we are where there is some problems and some someone go to the room and the other ones they stay down, but it's not for a long time, you know well, and what about?

Igar: 18:27

yeah, because you also say it's like one space that you're under. How about this question? I don't know if you have such, but like about the private space and like some, let's say me time, like, have you ever faced such? If so, again, how, how, how to have this time? Because you know, we are still human beings, we are still pretty much individual being and sometimes maybe I don't know how it works with you, but personally with me, like sometimes I would like to have my time, some private time. It's not necessary a reason, it's absolutely not reason of partner, but just it was me.

Igar: 19:02

I just want to, like, you know, maybe chill, maybe just be by myself, around, you know, energetically yeah, yeah so yeah, how is uh, how is this part, how to do it, I love to when I need my time.

Guillaume: 19:17

I love to go running and one don't do running so I'm alone. So that was really nice to do when we were traveling in campervan, because, you know, running is nice and running in new landscape every time it's also really really good experience. So running was one of my escape and also like even like we were walking together on the same table, but you know, when you are on your thing and everything, it's like you are alone. So sometimes we say the yeah, it's not that true, we never said like I need to be alone for one hour, but it's like natural, no-transcript, smooth you know, all right, right, got it, got it.

Guillaume: 20:19

Not, not that much, not too much in. Uh, the. I think the key is to be like okay with yourself and don't go too much on the zone of your partner, but you, you, you need to feel it how it's going I don't think there is a rule for everyone.

Igar: 20:41

Man interesting. Do you have any cool stories, memorable stories or experiences while living or traveling with the camper?

Guillaume: 20:53

With the camper Right. I have so many One cool experience we had. I will try to explain it better the best as.

Guillaume: 21:11

I can in English. We were in Brittany. It's in east west of France. It's a really cool place. It looks like really another country with other people. Everyone is really sweet and really welcome. Whenever you go somewhere, the speciality is Crips and there is boats everywhere. The sea is beautiful. I really advise people to go at that place. 's really nice. But we never been with rohan and I, so we decided to go to to stay there for the winter because it's never snowy, it's never minus zero, so it's really a good place to go with the campervan. So we have been there and we had a little problem with our shower so there was flooding and we need to change all the things on the shower. And when we start to repair we realized that we need a little piece of wood to fix something. So we checked on the Internet where to find this piece of wood and we say we find a place in the little town and we go at that place. You know it's like a garbage garbage place when you when, where you can collect kind of thing. So we go at this garbage plate place and when we arrived we were just in the center of basic town and there was no garbage place at all, like I don't know how we ended there, but there was one old guy. So we stopped him and we say, yeah, yeah, we. We say we, we want to have a little piece of food. We are here, we don't know why, and everything. And he said to us okay, I'm living here. You know what? Uh, I will check in my garage if I have that piece of food. We can meet up up in one hour in that coffee, I will be here. So we say okay, so we park the camper, we go into the cafe and everything. We met the guy. He have the piece of food and we said, okay, thank you, we will try to do it. And he said you know what? I go with two other friends and order coffee for for the, the lunch. If you want, you can come with me. So we have been with him and we stayed with there, with his friends, for two months. And that was crazy because it was all uh, like I don't know how to say, but it was a group of old people and there was all. There was all uh, really welcome, because you know, like they, they don't have family, but they have a lot of story to share and we, we, we were there to listen story of people, there to listen story of people. So we have been like two months, uh, hosting everywhere we like. There there was fishermen who, uh, offer us a lobster from the sea. Uh, we, we, we create, um, how to say, uh, a car, a car loop for old car, in the little town of Brittany. We did like a lot of crazy experience in that place and everything was just like free and the exchange was really nice because we give time and listening and they give us stories and a good experience. That experience was so strong and so powerful.

Igar: 25:04

I love it to to go back on those memories man, that's interesting and yeah, like I, I like this kind of stories when, uh, older people involved, you know, because it's like it's kind of I don't know more unique.

Igar: 25:15

You feel kind of I don't know like the people really live life and they, you know, because, like as young people maybe sometimes we think like hey, I know like what you can teach me in life. Like, oh, you're different you all, but when you meet these people and like then they show you or tell you the stories or something, you're like oh man, you kind of the people have amazing life and people have in a lot of stories and you are not different than them, kind of just age wise, but as a Human being experience. They also had, like most probably much more than you, and like, yeah, they might, might look old and humble outside, but they have wild stories Super cool, happy, happy to hear that yeah, wow, uh, you know what gulu uh, let's uh just like like super fast. I wanted to ask a practical question about the camper life and how much it uh like cost like monthly, I don't know to to have such a life.

Guillaume: 26:24

Maybe I believe listeners will have this question, you know so, and for us it's really, really cheap, uh because, but what is interesting in that question, it's to know what you need and to fix your life with that. Like for us, for example, we start with the camper with no income, with no money and only some save money, but not that much. So it was. It was funny to to think like that, like before working, we first starting to think, uh, how much money we need to be happy. That was the the first. And when we were traveling in that trip it was like the cost was around 500 euros by month because our, as I said at the beginning, we have only one thing to pay it's the gas, it's the petrol, so we pay. We have only one thing to pay it's the gas, it's the petrol, so we pay 120 euros for 500 kilometers. So that is the biggest thing. And after you have the food and the food, we don't love crazy stuff to eat, so we eat simple, like pasta, vegetables and stuff like that.

Guillaume: 28:04

So we have like I don't remember how much, but it's less than 100 euros of food for a month, and after the petrol it's depend of how many kilometers we do on the month, that's. It's like maybe not more than 1,000 a month.

Guillaume: 28:24

So, it's like 200 for the petrol and 100 for the food and after you have some other stuff. But you know when you are. It's what I love when we are traveling, we don't really need to have um, a lot of uh, extra money, activities and everything, because we are like loving every time we see landscape, and so it depends of what activity you you like in your life. But if you want to live really simple, it's easier with campervan.

Igar: 29:00

So and like I know that since, like those times and like pretty much prices rise up and everything, and nowadays, let's say this year or like, do you feel any changes? It has got up, or like still the same or less amount.

Guillaume: 29:18

It's a little bit. But when you have only like, it's like the, the, the, the price, when he's go high, it's really hard when you have a house and you have a lot of different things to pay. But when you have just a little bit of thing, it's not changing everything. Like, for example, when we were traveling in the camper, it was exactly at the moment where the petrol go high as crazy. It was really really expensive. I don't know how it is in Poland, but in France it's more than two euros a liter, so it's like more than two euros a liter, so it's really like expensive. But still, when you do the full tank, if it's 100 euros or 120, it's okay, it's not that important.

Guillaume: 30:20

Yeah, I think it depends on what is your habits of life and how you consume things. The van life is really nice to go back to the simple thing of life.

Igar: 30:39

And this price, what you say, is it for one person or for two people?

Guillaume: 30:44

It's more for two people 500 euros, it was for two people.

Igar: 30:48

It was really really cheap. Tempting, tempting.

Guillaume: 30:53

After. It depends on what car you have and what activities you do. But if you want a really simple life, it's like that. But if you want, really simple life. It's like that and I'm sorry to buy some beers and stuff and this can be, cool but like one thing like we we used to do it's uh, we didn't have a fridge on our camera, so it's only, like you know, the food it's not uh, it's only simple food, uh, dry, and stuff like that. Mm, hmm.

Igar: 31:30

Oh, like fresh, like from supermarket, like right away, you know kind of. Yeah, I see man. Uh, I would like to move to another topic, and the topic is another activity is the Gulu app, and I would like you to tell more about it. What is it about? And, in general, how did you come up with this idea? Because I know that this application is for travelers and from travelers.

Guillaume: 32:05

So yeah, Gulu app is a big part of my life and it's meaning a lot for me, and so I don't know how to start this time. And so I don't know how to start this time. But the thing of Gulu is to change our way to connect with people and to stay connected with them. The idea is coming from, like you know, like me, you love traveling and you love to meet people, and like you know what is special when you go to travel, it's not really the landscape, it's the people you met there. And like, we have all a lot of stories like man, I was somewhere and I met this guy. It was incredible. We share a lot of stories and things. So this is the thing we create like unforgettable moments and stuff like that. So me, I was traveling as a solo backpackers.

Guillaume: 33:06

I met a lot of different good people everywhere and after I realized that it was really hard to stay in contact with friends because we like me and I, igor, igor and i- for example, we met, I know we, we had a really good relationship and everything, but I don't really know where I where, when I will see you again and I think that is the most important thing to um to to, to, to be able to judge a good relationship, it's to be able to see you again.

Guillaume: 33:44

So the idea is to find a tool to do that. So you have your friend, you met him, you take a selfie, so you have a photo with your friend, with the face, with the place you met and everything, and after you have a map where you can see directly in which city your friends are, because I think to have a good relationship with your friends, you don't need to have some news, to have some photos, to have to to know what he's doing now. You just need to know if he's nearby you. So that is the main thing of guru it's a map where you can see if a friend is nearby so and is it like uh likely sharing this uh location?

Igar: 34:34

and then you can see, right, like, like, when you travel. Then like, hey, who may be somebody I know in the city right now and you don't see the id?

Guillaume: 34:44

the id is when it's the like if, if I'm travel somewhere, I put it on the app where I am. The the id it's not to follow your friend, it's to see where you are, if there is someone nearby. So it's not like uh following your exact location, it's just the city. The like guru put you on the city nearby your place and you can be. It can be automatic or you can decide like, yeah, I want to be, uh, placed on that city. You know, like you are really free to be wherever you are and it's really important for us to don't follow, like, all movement of people and stuff like that.

Guillaume: 35:33

So how it works is you are like, for example, you are going to Paris, you open your map and you can see which friends are in Paris. So it can be someone who lives in Paris and it could be someone who are just traveling in Paris. So, for example, you are going in Paris, you can see Pedro. You don't remember who is Pedro because you met so many friends. So you click on the profile of Pedro and here you can see the selfie you took with Pedro and it was like 10 years before when you were traveling in South Africa and you see the little picture of the hostel where you met that guy and you say, oh, maybe it's going to be amazing to meet him and you text him directly on the app. Oh, maybe it's going to be amazing to meet him and you text him directly on the app and so much happened.

Igar: 36:25

Nice, nice. So the main features is the location-wise selfie and you can also do a chat there, right?

Guillaume: 36:34

Yeah, and like there is the location thing like approximate location. There is the location thing like approximate location. There is the chat and the more important thing is the selfie to add someone. So to add someone on Google, you need to meet him in real life, to take a selfie and to tag him the selfie to send a friend request.

Igar: 37:03

Interesting man, interesting that is the thing, yeah yeah, and how is going your development of this application Like since when you launched it and how it all goes so far?

Guillaume: 37:22

That was a crazy adventure because I'm not a developer, but I finally did it to launch it live, live. So I it takes two years to to to be able to go to to develop it in like just the first version. So I worked with some friend I met during travel, so I've been traveling in india for one year so I travel. I developed that app with some Indian friends. We worked together for two years and after they quite the project because there were other projects and we they don't have time anymore so I need the. I needed to find another developer so I found it here in France, in Toulouse, so he helped me to launch it.

Guillaume: 38:20

We worked together for three months and now we are like in a in an odd period where, like I didn't, I don't have that much of time to continue like full time on the app and the bad thing is I don't have a developer with me. So like I think in one or two months, when I'm ready to go on the Gulu adventure, to go back on the Gulu adventure, I will like go in all social network and put advertisement like, hey guys, I searching for a travelers developer who wants to launch project with me and this is the thing I, I I need now because, uh because, like I, I'm not a developer and I don't want to to be a developer, because it's a lot of stuff and a lot of work. And me, what I love it's to meet people. It's all the commercial thing, but in in a good way. You know, I meet people and sell stuff to events and stuff like that. So that is my path. Now I'm searching for the other part of my project.

Igar: 39:31

Man, actually it's an interesting topic. You touched, yeah, let's say, the tech and like the traveling. So and like, as someone who has combined this like passion for travel with technology, how do you see the role of technology involving in the like travel life in general? Do you think it's like giving the travel experience, making the travel experience better, or like it's something take from us?

Guillaume: 40:06

I think I love it the technology when we have the choice, because when you can choose to use it or not, it's amazing because you have, like you can upgrade or not. I love to be simple on my travel, like no technology, no phone, just go anywhere to be lost on the nature and everything. But I love also to be able to just open the GPS and go wherever you want. Like, for example, when we travel in camper van. We are cheating every time. We are using apps where we can see where we can stay for the night, because, like we don't want to, like we, we really don't care to be in the perfect instagram place to put to do the, the best picture and stuff like that. So that is not our way of traveling, because still, we have time and we do that every time of your life, so it's not like we need to to do the perfect picture of the perfect weekend and stuff like that. So we really love to use app like the the really thing on his park for night and we use that. So we really we don't need to think like where to where to stay if someone, if we borrow someone, someone, uh, if we, if the police can come and all that stress, so we don't need, we don't need to have. So thank you the technology for that and uh, but I think it's always a meaning of balance.

Guillaume: 41:51

Also, as I said, all the Instagram feed and everything, all the addiction of social network and all that stuff. It's not that good for traveling A lot of time. I felt like not good to be like in an amazing place whenever it can be in France or in Europe or all over the world, and you know you are scrolling in your phone and not in the right moment and stuff like that. So I think that is the limits of our technology. Yeah, I think, if you take care of what you want and what to do and to yet to be able to balance yourself on that, it's really interesting to have a new technology and and it's it's it's why I try to do with glue, to use it in the in the good way, in a simple and good way, and it's why, like, for example, the Gulu, it's our first social network without feed, so there is no addiction.

Guillaume: 42:58

There is no stuff like that so this is what I try to do in my life to find the balance.

Igar: 43:04

Use the good thing not too much the bad thing, yeah and yes, also, I would like to touch like, maybe go a little bit different. It's like balancing online and offline, uh, like in general, because, again, you need to develop the app right. Uh, you also need to like, as you say, sometimes use some tools like for here, there. And how do you balance in general, like the use of technology, like, and with your desire to stay present and enjoy the simplicity of life?

Guillaume: 43:47

How I do, I don't know exactly. But when you say everything, I also thought about one really important thing of technology it's to be able to work remotely and to work during traveling and everything. So without that technology, it was not possible to no, everything is possible, but I think it's really hard to develop an app with an indian team when you are not using technology right. So, yeah, the the the thing, like in my lifestyle, I try to use technology and to be in I don't know if it's possible to say in english, like to be in consciousness of using technology. Okay, so now I use my laptop for two hours, so maybe I need to go outside, or I I did like if, if I'm using my phone now, if it's really because I need it or it's habits or stuff like that. So I try to analyze a lot of uh thing I do and to to be able to don't go too much deep on on my consumption, you know interesting, make me think yeah, because I also kind of try to do the same.

Guillaume: 45:10

But, like the same, I totally value there what technology gives us One big thing I did I don't know if it's really the subject one big thing I did since three months, something like that. It's like cut all, uh, I put off all the notification from everything like mail, whatsapp, uh, facebook, social network. Everything is shut off. So I have no notification on every on all my phone. So when you at the at the beginning of the podcast, you say, yeah, put all your notification off, I was like, yeah, it's okay it's already there.

Igar: 45:55

Yeah, same for me, being honest, yeah, yeah, yeah, I also turn it off and I found like only policy, parents and stuff it's on. But yeah, for for all others.

Guillaume: 46:09

I see I see if you want to call me on my phone number or if you want to text me, I will have the notification and all the other stuff. It's just like I want to be able to go to check when I need and not as a reflex but, sometimes it's not working, Like you just open your phone and you go on Instagram and you're like oh, why I'm here.

Igar: 46:38

Man, I also would like to hear a little bit of your story from Vietnam. I know that you did some like motorbike trip, yeah.

Guillaume: 46:54

How was that? This was amazing because I had the opportunity to travel a lot with my school, because it was like when I was studying business school in France, they give us some times to experience life. They didn't present it like that, but it's how I feel it. So in my first year they said you have two months to learn English and you can go whenever you want, wherever you want, but you, you need to, to to to find yourself. You, you need to, you need to do all yourself, all by yourself. So the first two months I go. I did the two months trip in Ireland and I was working in a young hostel and there I learned English. That was an amazing experience. And just after that they said to us you need to go to do human charity wherever you want for three months. So there I decided to go to Vietnam and I've been there with two friends of I and that was amazing experience and we were English teacher for children for three months and that was one of a really, really special experience.

Guillaume: 48:27

And we were staying in a big house in Hanoi, in north of vietnam, and the house was, you know, like, like I don't know, three, four, four floors, I think, something like that, and the two last floor was only for foreigner. Who, uh who will come here to teach english? So we, we were like I don't know 10 or 15 people living together and teaching the class in the morning and doing party in the evening, like really really good atmosphere. And our work was to. We went to motorbike for three months. We have the motorbike and we went to this tiny for three months we have the motorbike and we went to the tiny village all around vietnam to teach, uh, english to children and it was like really, really interesting. And the thing is, uh, when I've been there, my english was really bad. So the guy of the NGO, he have to lie to my school in France to say like I was he, he will come to to help poor people in the street or stuff like that. So it was really like not the truth or like not the truth. So when I did my first english class, it was really powerful, like to be alone with 30 children speaking only vietnamese and you you're like, okay, let's try it. Open the the book and say, okay, let's try to learn the color, and stuff like that. But it was so nice to be with them because they're like, no judging, really smiling every time and happy to be here. So we play game all the day and so it was really nice and I learned English while teaching. That was nice and, to answer at your question when we were there.

Guillaume: 50:34

So we were there for three months and we took one month of holidays and, with one of my best friends, we took a plane to Ho Chi Minh in South of Vietnam and there we bought a motorbike one for me, one for my friends $200 and the goal there is to buy it $200 to do all the trip and buy it back $200. That's crazy. I really advise to do it because, uh, the, the landscape are nice, the people from vietnam are just super chill and want to help you every time. Like you cannot, you cannot drive all the day because there is people who stop you just to talk with you, to invite you at your at the house and stuff like that. So it's, it's amazing and we had so many problems, but it's not problems, it's opportunity to meet people. You know stuff like that.

Guillaume: 51:47

So we had like, uh, how to say? Uh, when the say when the gas is empty and you are just blocking in the street. So I had that for 19 times. I break all the tires two times each. I lost you know the how to say the axe of the wheel. So this just put off and I lost my back wheel. I had a hole on the tank so I lost all the gas.

Guillaume: 52:34

Yeah, a lot of crazy story, but they do a thing when you are just stopped in the road. You have to know, in Vietnam it's like 80 percent of the people are in motorbike or scooter or stuff like that. So there is a lot of people who repair that kind of uh, that kind of motor and stuff like that. So it's not easy to find a place because there is garage everywhere and also people always try to help you and they carry you to the next place and so really, really nice to to do like that. And our motorbike it was. We did all Vietnam in only 11 days, so it was really intense. My motorbike was okay, but my friend, he had only the first and the fourth gear. We did mountains, we did beach, we did everything. It was end of August, so in end of August in Vietnam it's famous because it's the raining season so we had like hurricane with like 100 kilometers wind.

Guillaume: 54:05

It was crazy and also at the end I did it. I sold it for 200 euros. But my friend, he found a garage and he made it to sell it 20 euros. Oh my god, that was big wow, it's interesting.

Igar: 54:30

It seems that you guys went through a lot of things you know, but good that everything is good.

Guillaume: 54:35

You know, yeah, and the max speed of the motorbike was 60 kilometers and we at the end because we we needed to come back to the hanok to teach english and stuff and and all that thing, so we did like at the end it was I don't know, 10 hours on the motorbike a day to do like this 60, 600 kilometers. That was crazy and the real story. It's. Uh, to connect it with the rest, it's when I did this travel in motorbike, it's where I've I found the idea of the map for gulu so because I, I the the story of gulu.

Guillaume: 55:19

It's I, I, I. I fell this, this for the first time when I was in, uh, ireland, and uh, when I met so many good people in Yonge's hostel and everything and I said it's a shame that I will never see them again. And after, when I've been to Vietnam, I see, okay. So when I was in Ireland, I meet Adrian, adrian, now he's in Mexico. But how I can know he's in Mexico but maybe he will go to Thailand. But now I realize, okay, but if I can see directly on the map that it will happen here.

Igar: 56:06

Wow interesting.

Guillaume: 56:36

Oh man, oh man, and what are your future plans for your next trips or destinations by yourself or with Juan, or with Kemper camper? Yeah, yeah, it's uh, really uh, it's uh. The next plans start next week. So here we go. We have a lot of projects in same times. Uh, just to, to, to refresh uh, where we are now. It's now I'm in france, in south in France, in Toulouse, where I grew up with my parents and stuff like that.

Guillaume: 56:57

I stopped traveling since one year and a half because it was really important for me to try to be more structured on my entrepreneur's dreams. So I've been back to france, I launched my company I, I stopped to work with an incubator and to meet other entrepreneurs and I do a lot of things about entrepreneurs, jobs and uh, it was two years, really powerful, when I learned a lot of things about that. But the main goal it was to first launch Gulu. Second, try to find activities to earn some money online and to be able to travel again with that. Like, my first dream was to launch Gulu, earn money with Gulu and travel with Gulu and Gulu, gulu, gulu, travel.

Guillaume: 57:56

That's not possible. That's not possible when you know a startup and all that stuff. You cannot just launch an app and earn some money in two months and after go travel wide, so that I realized that is not possible. So I need to put Gulu a little bit aside and find another job that I can make but still connected with what I love with Gulu, so with people, with travel, with meeting new people and all that kind of thing. So this I find it also. So the third part was to travel again. So we decided to travel again to La Réunion. This is a little Iceland, french Iceland, near Madagascar, in South Africa, and we are going there for a lot of different challenges, but the first one is to try to work there as a digital nomad. So I have some clients where I work with them, but also we have a really I don't know if you know that, igor, but with Rohan we start a new business, another one I didn't know and we sell French crips interesting

Guillaume: 59:31

and that is connected with everything we we we talk today. It's like when we were traveling with camper. It's really nice, but the bad thing is you don't meet that much of people because you know you are in your comfort zone, you are in your house, so you are in your comfort zone, you are in your house, so you are not meeting people every day, like when you are traveling and hitchhiking and stuff like that. So we said what we can do to still meet people and share good moments with them. So the food was a good thing, like self-food. You know everyone love to eat food and to share moments like that.

Guillaume: 1:00:14

So we try to think about that and we found the idea to to sell crips, because, uh, crips we can do, uh, sweet or salt, uh, we can do everywhere, because to make crips you need eggs, milk and sugar, so it's how to say four and so that's, even if you go to Iran, you can find it. And that was in our mind. It's okay if we goper in Iran, what kind of food we can do really easily. So that is the secret. I love crisps.

Guillaume: 1:00:58

So we can do it wherever we go. It's really easy. And kitchen but it's not really a kitchen the tools we need it's just like you just need to plug it on the gas and it's working and we can, we can plug in on the gas of the camper and uh and that's it and you don't need like, uh, you don't need the other tools, you don't need a full kitchen or stuff like that, so we just need a table, a gas bottle and the crepes, the crepes machine. You know stuff like that. So we just need a table, a gas bottle and the crepes, the crepes machine. You know stuff like that.

Guillaume: 1:01:35

So we are going in La Reunion with this crepe machine on our backpack. We found we found a backpack we can take with us, so we have all the kitchen, the backpack, and the idea will be to sell some crips on the beach and also on the mountains. So that is the next, that is one of the next projects, and also so we go to La Reunion to sell crips on the beach, to walk remotely and try if all we did work for real or not. I have also my little brother there, so I'm happy to go there to meet him and also I go in there for a little crazy stuff, as I said, you know I love to run sometimes, but I'm not like a really hard hard worker on that, so I don't follow programs and stuff like that. I more follow my hurts and when I want to do it, I do it. Alright, I'm going to do running. How to say?

Igar: 1:03:00

Marathon More than that Ironman.

Guillaume: 1:03:07

No, it's a trail, it's ultra trail, it's ultra trail, it's. I will go to 70 kilometers running and 4,000 high meters, you know Wow.

Igar: 1:03:28

So that will be mine. This is a challenge. This is huge. This will be mine. This is a challenge. You know, this is a huge this will be huge yeah but.

Guillaume: 1:03:36

I love it to like my. My goal it's not to do a good time, it's just to finish it, but I bet I'm not sure. And what I love it's the mindset challenge. You know like you're alone with your mind and it's just to to to see what is the limits. And that is what I I love to do in travel and in all my life it's to see what is the limits. And I I know it's what you like too, because your sport is the limit, and I know it's what you like too, because your sport is the limit of life.

Igar: 1:04:15

Yeah, I get it. Yeah, yeah, this mind games. You know, and play with mind and see the limit. Beautiful man, Guillaume, many thanks for joining us today and, before we wrap up, I would like to ask you what message or piece of advice would you like to share with our listeners, especially those who are interested in combining travel with entrepreneurship?

Guillaume: 1:04:46

yeah, what I think is really important to know is that everything is possible, like everything is possible. We just need to try and to make it happen. Like, if you are entrepreneurs, if you are travelers and if you want to make it combine together, just try to do it and if it's with your heart, it will work, because you will find a good way to do it. And don't listen too much to the fear of others. And the most important is to don't listen to your own fear and when you are not comfortable with something, go deeper on it to find why you are not comfortable. And this is the good sign of the path. Like, just go, try a lot of things, go out of your comfort zone and find like not too much out of your comfort zone, because I think the goal of life is to be comfortable also. So just do things you love and it will work, I'm sure.

Igar: 1:06:02

Man beautiful say. You know especially about this comfort, if you feel just dig a little bit. Yeah, interesting yeah try it.

Guillaume: 1:06:13

Try it and you will see if it's, if it's a good idea or not. Don't hurt anyone, never. But uh, do, do, do crazy stuff and there. But on my side, on my side, I always listen to people saying like, yeah, I do it, even if anyone says to me it's not a good idea and stuff like that. But for me that's not real, it's only on our mind, like we are saying to us, like it's other people who are saying to me to not doing that. No, it's only human. If you want to do me to not do it, doing that, no, it's only human. If you want to do something, you do it. You don't. And and you are in connection with your insight and I'm sure you will find the the strength to, to, to go and to to try it.

Igar: 1:07:07

I agree, man. How can people connect with you and learn about the Gulu app and, in general, where they can follow your travel adventures?

Guillaume: 1:07:20

So I have an Instagram account. It's Gulu G-U-L-U app.

Igar: 1:07:29

I don't know, how to say you know the underscore, I guess I will also put links.

Guillaume: 1:07:34

Yeah and where I'm new, but it's really interesting. It's in linkedin, it's in the LinkedIn. I'm sharing lots about my travel, like travel, I'm blogging on LinkedIn and also some entrepreneurs stuff and, like I try to to share some some of my stories on LinkedIn and on Instagram and maybe one day on a podcast and on YouTube. I have so many projects, but for now it's only on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Igar: 1:08:20

I see, I see, Well, and I believe the Gulu app itself right.

Guillaume: 1:08:24

And the Gulu app. Yeah, On Play Store, iOS and Android, you can find it as a guru GU double-a view.

Igar: 1:08:36

All right, guru. Once again, thank you, man for joining and thank you all listeners for joining us today. I hope you got another way of traveling and it's gonna encourage you and looking forward to see you in other episodes. Take care, bye, bye.