Marco Polo Revenue and Competitors

Marco Polo is a purpose-driven company. Our purpose is to help people feel close. It all began when Vlada and Michal Bortnik started a family. After their older daughter was born and they were about to have their second (their kiddos are close in age), they decided that they wanted to model what it looked like to work on something personally meaningful that also made a big difference in the world. As the family grew, everyone wanted to see the kids, and Michal and Vlada wanted that too. They didnt just want to send occasional photos or texts; despite distance and time zones, they wanted their families to truly be a part of their kids lives and for the kids to really know them. They wanted to create a genuine sense of closeness. They tried making video calls work, but with family spread around the US and the world, weekends became over-scheduled. Instead of creating bonds, their efforts at connection created barriers. Staying close began to feel like a chore. At around this time, Vlada and Michal began researching happiness and learned that having meaningful connections is one of the key ingredients to feeling happy. So even before they knew exactly what they wanted to build, they identified a dream: to help people feel close. Combining their years of successful product development and design experience with their love for and commitment to family, Vlada and Michal founded Joya in 2012 and began building a tool that would fulfill that simple, powerful purpose. Though our backgrounds are diverse, we share a belieflives flourish when people feel close. That common inspiration keeps us aligned with our purpose as a team, scattered across the U.S., including Seattle, NYC, Portland, Eugene, LA, and the Bay Area. The distance doesn't slow us down. We keep the engine humming from our homes, co-working spaces, and coffee shopsconnecting with daily Zoom calls, quarterly retreats, and of course Marco Polo, our team knows how to keep connectedit's what we do best!