Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Covarrubias. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Andrea, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Travel has been my passion since I can remember, and each year time passed, I knew that I wanted to work in that industry someway, somehow. Since my teenage years, I dreamed of traveling the world and going to all of the amazing places I would see on TV and read in magazines. I did travel to Florida during the summers (and knew how privileged I was) but I wanted more. My goal? Once I graduate and get a job, I will save enough money to travel. In my first few jobs, even though I didn’t have a splendid salary, I would take care of my finances very well so I could save a bit each month. I started traveling soon enough. I started local within the United States and later came my first few international trips.

The idea for Cova Travels started in 2020, during the pandemic, when I was furloughed from my company. All of a sudden I had this extra time and I had no idea what to do with it. As much as I enjoy binge watching movies and series, I’m a very proactive person, and I started getting bored quite fast. A month passed, and I enrolled in a few online courses. From branding to paid digital. I learned a lot.

While learning is great, I wanted to build something for myself. My family would always tell me that I should take advantage of all my travels somehow. That’s when the idea of a travel blog or company came around. Cova Travels was born.

My next few days, weeks and months were completely consumed by this idea, and building everything from the ground up. I learned how to register a company, how to build a website, about SEO, the logistics behind uploading content, etc. I was able to apply my previous knowledge: I designed the Cova Travels logo, the brand book, competitor analysis, the first few paid ads, edited videos, and much more. There’s no words to describe how much I learned along the process. I even became more knowledgeable on the topics I had basic or medium knowledge about.

There were many times when I asked my family for their feedback. After all, I had not told any of my friends about this thing I was building from the ground up. I don’t even think I told my best friends! It was my little secret and I wanted to keep it that way.

Fast forward 9 months later, and I launched the Cova Travels website in March of 2021.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. I am a bachelor in Mass Communications and I’ve worked in Marketing my entire professional life. I’ve always been passionate about how brands communicate with consumers and the entire cycle from creating a product to purchasing, and becoming a user. I’m one of those people who love stories about how the most successful companies started and their playbooks to get where they are today.

When I started Cova Travels, I knew I wanted to be as involved as possible, and not hire people to do things for me, at least not in the beginning. It actually made me become an even more well-rounded professional with all the newly acquired knowledge from building the brand.

In parallel, we also gotta consider traveling! There is no Cova Travels without some traveling. I’ve been to some of the most incredible places on earth. From the Americas to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As of today, I’m in my 27th country, going on to my 28th by the time this interview goes live. Having been to all those countries, and gotten to know people of different backgrounds and cultures, has made me a better person. I truly believe that travel has changed my life for the better.

Cova Travels is currently my personal brand and website, where I write articles about my travel experiences, recommendations, top places to visit, and more. I am a content creator and provide UGC to brands in the travel industry. What sets apart my work as a creator is that I have vast experience in the marketing space, and I’m able to understand brands and what they want to communicate.

In 2025, I’m looking to host my first trip (yay!) It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for some time already and I’ve decided this is the year to start. So, if you’re interested in traveling with a group of like-minded individuals, I’m starting a survey to know where people’s interest lies and be able to provide amazing itineraries. https://trovatrip.com/host/profiles/andrea-0jtsb

The last few months, I’ve also been developing something special for all travelers out there. I’ll announce in the coming months, maybe April, as a birthday present. Stay tuned to Cova Travels on social media!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There’s a few books that have inspired me to get where I am today. One of them is Atomic Habits. Reading that book made me realize some really bad habits I had. I must admit, replacing bad habits with good ones is tougher than you think! At least it has been for me.

Contagious by Jonah Berger is another great book I read many years ago that helped me look at things differently. The author believes that there’s 6 principles of contagiousness, and those are the keys to successful / popular companies. But I won’t spoil it! You have to go read it.

Most recently, I have been listening to a podcast called Acquired, hosted by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal. In each episode, they pick a business and talk about the history and the playbooks that got the company from zero to where it is today. It’s incredibly inspiring, and you’ll learn a lot.

Last but not least, I have to give a shoutout to Gary Vaynerchuk. For those that don’t know him, he’s a businessman, author, speaker, etc. I started following him on social media many years ago and I connect with his content and positivity. His “it’s not too late” mentality has stuck with me. Also, every time I see one of his posts, I immediately want to get to work! haha He’s very inspiring.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Sure, it’s pretty much the story of Cova Travels. I used to live and breathe this new venture during the pandemic. I slept very little hours, and the few that I actually slept, I would dream about the things I wanted to do the next day.

However, reality hit when I went back to my 9 to 5 work. And not only that, but a few months after I had many changes in my life. I changed jobs and moved to a neighboring city. This meant I now had a 1.5hr commute each way (to, and from work), equaling 3hrs driving every weekday. I was exhausted. My mental health also took a hit. There was a lot happening at the same time. It got to a point that I had to almost completely stop this new venture of mine. I was doing the bare minimum. After ups and downs, finding a routine, getting healthy mentally and physically, getting a new job closer to home, and support from my close family, I was able to get where I am today.

Cova Travels started as a travel concierge service, morphed into a blog, and nowadays it has become my personal brand and UGC service. It hasn’t been easy, but there’s something I have learned about myself along the way: I’m going to keep pursuing my dream, and doing my best to achieve my goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://covatravels.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/covatravels/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CovaTravels/

Image Credits

Images were taken by me.