Lola.com is a software as a service company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is best known for developing corporate travel management and expense software for web browsers, the App Store and Google Play. The company was founded in 2015 by former Kayak.com executives, Paul M. English and Bill O'Donnell. The website operates under a travel agency model for hotel and flight search information as well as booking services for businesses. It also has administrative analytics on employee travel and associated costs. Lola has received more than $80 million in funding since its foundation.
History
In July 2015, Blade, a Boston-based incubator, began focusing on a single startup. By December, English announced that Lola had emerged from stealth mode. The company's name was derived from a combination of the words "latitude" and "longitude". It acquired HopOn, a travel booking company, in 2015 and Room77, a hotel metasearch website, in 2016. The company launched an iOS application in April 2016 where users chatted with human travel agents. That same month, it completed a $20 million Series A funding round led by General Catalyst and Accel. The company had more than $44 million in total funding after a December 2016 Series B round led by Charles River Ventures. GV and Tenaya Capital each invested $5 million in the round, while previous investors General Catalyst and Accel also participated. In July 2017, Lola had its second major release on iOS and the Android operating system. This iteration of the application focused on business travel by adding self-service hotel and flight booking and personalized travel recommendations. In July 2018, English announced he would assume the role of chief technology officer at Lola, with Mike Volpe, the chief marketing officer at Cybereason, becoming the company's chief executive officer. Lola announced a five-year exclusive partnership with American Express Global Business Travel in November 2018 to sell its travel management software. In March 2019, the company announced a $37 million Series C round led by General Catalyst and Accel. The round also included participation from all previous investors – Charles River Ventures, GV, and Tenaya Capital.
