Students across the Southeast are heading abroad with more than just a passport and a backpack.
They’re armed with Voyije, a Charleston-born platform designed to transform how study abroad students document and measure their international experiences.
The travel companion app, built by co-founders Henry Garcia, Andy McCarthy, and Egal Gabay, is designed to help young travelers better articulate what they actually learned while living in another country.
A Travel-Focused Startup Solution
The idea sparked from Gabay’s own experience backpacking through Europe after college.
“After returning, I realized I wished I had journaled more about my experiences,” he told Hypepotamus. That led to conversations with study abroad program organizers, where the team discovered a significant gap in how students capture and communicate their growth abroad.
“These kids are having the time of their lives, but they don’t really have a way to measure it,” the Voyije added. “They come home trying to talk to their parents, friends, teachers, potential employers about how much they learned abroad, but they can’t really explain it.”
Meeting Students Where They Are
Voyije’s approach is refreshingly streamlined. Rather than relying on end-of-program surveys that students often ignore, the platform sends prompts directly to students’ phones. The platform guides students through real-time reflection, helping them document growth in areas like adaptability, resilience, change management, and decision-making as experiences abroad unfold. This collects real time data that can track student growth while providing curated moments for reflection and feedback.
“We discovered these kids aren’t answering their emails,” Garcia added. “So we’re meeting students where they’re at.”
Building Alongside Universities
For program administrators, Voyije offers another advantage. The platform provides actionable insights into what’s working and what’s missing from their programs. That can help organizers identify gaps that could enhance student experiences before the semester ends.
The startup is currently working with The College of Charleston and the University of Georgia. The early-stage startup has also received support from The Harbor Entrepreneur Center in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
“We’re in a really cool spot right now as a company because we can build features alongside the university and be super customizable,” Gabay aded.
Beyond Study Abroad
While study abroad programs are the initial focus, the team sees broader applications for tour groups, gap year companies, and mission trips, which all have personal growth at the center of their planned trips.
“We’re very much in ‘grow mode’,” added Gabay.
For a startup with local roots but global ambitions, Voyije is betting that the next generation of international travelers wants to bring home more than souvenirs and photos. They want proof of how the experience changed them.