Jonathan Skogmo launches LOST iN: a new perspective on travel
1 july 2025 в 02:13
The global tourism industry, worth $ 11 trillion, is growing, but its marketing methods do not match this growth. For decades, guides and magazines have dominated this field, offering curated experiences through a narrow, outdated lens. For a new generation of travelers, especially millennials and Generation Z, these voices no longer resonate. At least, that’s what renowned producer, investor, and entrepreneur from Los Angeles Jonathan Skogmo believes. He is best known as the founder of Jukin Media, an online video startup from Los Angeles, which Skogmo created and then sold for a reported nine-figure sum to the parent company Reader’s Digest.
After the successful exit, Skogmo began working on a new company that, according to him, solves a huge problem for the industry: the lack of fresh, authoritative voices to inspire and educate travelers.
«The same guides, publishers, and travel magazines that dominated before my birth are still the dominant voices, and they are not attracting millennials and Generation Z», - Skogmo said.
This is not the first time Skogmo has tried to disrupt the media landscape. His first foray into the digital space began with a simple but revolutionary concept that involved curating, licensing, and monetizing user-generated viral videos. Enter Jukin Media. John started Jukin Media in 2010 when the internet was filled with unattributed content with a mission to protect rights holders, providing an important structure for protecting intellectual property in digital media and online.
The problem he solved can be described simply but powerfully: people were sharing captivating videos but had no way to protect themselves or profit from them. Skogmo created an infrastructure to change this with a rights-clearing and monetization machine that not only empowered creators but also transformed the industry’s view of digital content.
«Jukin was ahead of its time, and we saw the value of user-generated content before the rest of the industry caught on», - Skogmo said. «Back then, viral videos were dismissed as noise, but we believed they were the purest, most authentic form of storytelling. I am proud to look back on those years. We created something that not only created a new market but also helped ordinary people turn their moments into meaningful media. This mission still inspires everything I do today».
Now Skogmo is directing his passion for authentic storytelling into a new venture that largely closes his career circle. Together with his brother Mike Skogmo and longtime collaborator Anton Royt, former executives of Jukin Media, he founded LOST iN, a travel media company that captures the soul of cities through the eyes of locals, artists, and cultural inspirers. Known for its beautifully curated city guides, LOST iN selects undiscovered experiences that speak to the next generation of travelers, not tourists, and uses a hybrid model to combine print editorial design with the immediacy of storytelling on social media.
«When we looked at the next chapter of our careers after Jukin, we wanted to develop a company that was as new and exciting as our previous project», - Skogmo said. «LOST iN is the result of our shared passion and experience of disrupting industries and building communities through content on social media. And acquiring the leading global media company Lost iN allows us to develop the brand in content, commerce, and community worldwide».
Drawing on his deep experience in digital media, Skogmo is now focused on expanding LOST iN’s presence on social platforms and into real-world events, with live events that bring together his growing community offline.
Today, Skogmo remains a significant investor in digital media and the creator economy, demonstrating his ongoing belief in the power of independent creators and the evolving media landscape. He has also diversified his entrepreneurial ventures
After the successful exit, Skogmo began working on a new company that, according to him, solves a huge problem for the industry: the lack of fresh, authoritative voices to inspire and educate travelers.
«The same guides, publishers, and travel magazines that dominated before my birth are still the dominant voices, and they are not attracting millennials and Generation Z», - Skogmo said.
This is not the first time Skogmo has tried to disrupt the media landscape. His first foray into the digital space began with a simple but revolutionary concept that involved curating, licensing, and monetizing user-generated viral videos. Enter Jukin Media. John started Jukin Media in 2010 when the internet was filled with unattributed content with a mission to protect rights holders, providing an important structure for protecting intellectual property in digital media and online.
The problem he solved can be described simply but powerfully: people were sharing captivating videos but had no way to protect themselves or profit from them. Skogmo created an infrastructure to change this with a rights-clearing and monetization machine that not only empowered creators but also transformed the industry’s view of digital content.
«Jukin was ahead of its time, and we saw the value of user-generated content before the rest of the industry caught on», - Skogmo said. «Back then, viral videos were dismissed as noise, but we believed they were the purest, most authentic form of storytelling. I am proud to look back on those years. We created something that not only created a new market but also helped ordinary people turn their moments into meaningful media. This mission still inspires everything I do today».
Now Skogmo is directing his passion for authentic storytelling into a new venture that largely closes his career circle. Together with his brother Mike Skogmo and longtime collaborator Anton Royt, former executives of Jukin Media, he founded LOST iN, a travel media company that captures the soul of cities through the eyes of locals, artists, and cultural inspirers. Known for its beautifully curated city guides, LOST iN selects undiscovered experiences that speak to the next generation of travelers, not tourists, and uses a hybrid model to combine print editorial design with the immediacy of storytelling on social media.
«When we looked at the next chapter of our careers after Jukin, we wanted to develop a company that was as new and exciting as our previous project», - Skogmo said. «LOST iN is the result of our shared passion and experience of disrupting industries and building communities through content on social media. And acquiring the leading global media company Lost iN allows us to develop the brand in content, commerce, and community worldwide».
Drawing on his deep experience in digital media, Skogmo is now focused on expanding LOST iN’s presence on social platforms and into real-world events, with live events that bring together his growing community offline.
Today, Skogmo remains a significant investor in digital media and the creator economy, demonstrating his ongoing belief in the power of independent creators and the evolving media landscape. He has also diversified his entrepreneurial ventures
© Kolganov Andrey
