Tern is on a mission to empower travel advisors with the technology they deserve. By reimagining the outdated systems that have long bogged down the travel industry, we’re giving advisors the tools they need to modernize their operations and deliver exceptional, personalized travel experiences.
Combining best-in-class software with a deep understanding of the unique challenges advisors face, Tern is the only all-in-one platform designed to free travel professionals from manual, repetitive tasks—so they can focus on what truly matters: crafting unforgettable journeys.
Tern’s origin story began in a parking lot in Greece, where our CEO David missed a ferry and spent hours waiting in the heat. Reflecting on how his in-laws used a travel advisor for their trips, he realized how invaluable personalized, expert guidance could be. After connecting with co-founders Brian and Katie, the team dove deep into the travel industry, talking to advisors and agencies at ASTA.
What they discovered was a widespread need for better technology, igniting their mission to empower advisors with the tools they deserve. In 2022, Tern was born to modernize travel advisor technology, with a focus on building world-class solutions that simplify and elevate the advisor's business.
Our values are fundamental to who we are as an organization. They are the framework for helping us make tough decisions and a guide for who is a meaningful addition to our team.
We're in constant pursuit of growth.
We’re endlessly curious and love learning new things. We’re never satisfied with where we are and always seek ways to improve. We invest in our team and believe in growth at every level.
We approach life with optimistic agency.
We aspire to build an enduring company, knowing the road ahead is full of peaks and valleys. At the peaks, we take in the beauty of our accomplishments. In the valleys, we strengthen our bonds as a team, taking ownership of finding a path forward. Through every phase of the journey, we strive to stay positive, kind, and authentic.
Our ambition is to be extraordinary.
We’re comfortable with the fact that the journey takes effort. We put in the work to build something meaningful—for ourselves, our teammates, and our customers.
Our operating principles add fidelity to our core values. They aim to articulate how we operationalize our values every day.
We stay close to our users to deeply understand their needs. We combine these learnings with a vision of how things might be to create products beloved by our partners.
Building a business is full of prioritization questions like “speed or quality?”. We look at such tradeoffs with skepticism and ask ourselves how might we change an “or” to an “and” - doing more with less.
We believe in ‘strong opinions, loosely held’. You have an obligation to advocate for your opinion regardless of title or tenure, especially if it feels like you’re the only one that holds it. We make room for debate and welcome differing perspectives.
We get things done at a pace that delights our customers and makes our competitors heads spin. We believe that compounding habits lead to sustainable productivity, consistency, and mutual trust.
We stay humble and kind as we go through the peaks and valleys of building an enduring company. There is no room for big egos here. We refuse to let our team members and our customers down.
If our values and operating principles excite you we'd love to chat! We're growing quickly and are always looking to meet incredible people motivated to make an impact.
