1. Solve the legal issues before you take the first dollar
2. Know your costs to the penny
3. Watch cash flow like a hawk
Like to see someone try this again because I might be a future customer.
Err, it actually seems like they generated a lot of legal issues that they could've easily avoided.
You should read the attached court documents from their fight with Remote Year. It's pretty damning.
Understatement of the year! That's an 8 point list of incredibly shady practises by someone with an utterly broken moral compass.
So let's add:
4. Don't name yourself exactly like a competitor who does the same thing you do.
Personally I'd pay the $2000/person/mo for a 3-6 month trip for my wife and I. Its cheaper than when we currently go on vacation for just a week.
There is something to be said for the hostel environment without actually having to sleep in a hostel. But mostly it's not my thing when traveling.