When traveling, the saying goes; one should take only pictures and leave only footprints. But despite our best intentions, we’ve all left behind more than just our tracks at some point. And sometimes, the things we’ve misplaced along the way are valuable. Just ask Sorin Puscau, who lost—and never found—his wedding band on a beach vacation with his family. On another trip an arguably even more precious item was sacrificed to the travel gods when one of his children lost track of their favorite teddy bear. While searching for these mislaid possessions, Sorin noticed that there was no place, no definitive source, that anyone could turn to for help in locating a lost item. The platforms that did exist were scattered and largely user-unfriendly, such as Facebook groups and Craigslist, where posts are often not very helpful or plain creepy. The lost-and-found at the airport, and the airline customer service, didn’t exactly prove sympathetic to his trouble. Sorin is a “This is stupid, I want to try and fix it” attitude kind of guy, and reached out to Constantine (Dacian) Manolache, an experienced mobile software developer.  They grew up with in Romania, but they both have been living in the States for a while . Together the two founded Traista.

What started as a small-budget project has quickly gained traction, utilizing a map-based system to reunite travelers with their lost valuables. Traista aims to be the definitive lost-and-found app by providing a user-friendly, one-stop platform that anyone can access around the world. Moreover, through that same map-based system, Traista provides local smaller businesses with a platform and a presence among businesses who dominate the online local sphere, connecting users with deals at participating local shops, restaurants etc. Traista mission is twofold: To help anyone plug into the community of any given destination, so that they can find their missing items and discover local gems along the way.