CHICAGO – George Deeb is the founder and CEO of iExplore, a Chicago-based Internet company aimed at the growing trend of adventure and experiential travel.

Prior to iExplore, Deeb was a vice president in the investment banking department of Credit Suisse First Boston where he was a specialist in consumer retailing. An avid adventure traveler, he created iExplore as a solution to the hardships he encountered in planning and booking his own adventure trips around the world.

In part three of a three-part Q&A, Deeb sat down with international expert Michael Muth to discuss foreign currency exposures, the value of learning foreign languages and the advantage of the Internet.

Michael Muth: What percent of your revenues are derived from online advertising?
George Deeb: About 50 percent of our revenues come from advertising. We got into it seriously one year ago. We saw a huge increase in 2004.

In 2005, we needed to put more focus on it and we hired a full-time advertising salesperson in May 2005. In addition to selling iExplore.com, we also have a network of other Web sites with similar demographics and we do a revenue share with them. We sell out two to three months ahead of time so we have more time to leverage our assets.

Those are impression-based ads. We set them at market-competitive rates. We know the acceptable rates. Second, we have cost per click, which is based on ROI. They don’t have big budgets. They think pay for performance. It’s actually a very low rate when you’re selling at our price levels. When you’re selling low-cost items, rates are much lower. Higher margins support higher cost per click.

MM: How can you afford to offer the guaranteed lowest prices?
GD: For three reasons. First, with our cost structure as an Internet business, we have no paper for catalogues or postage costs. Second, we don’t have travel agent distribution so we don’t give away that 15 percent commission. Third, we pass those 25 percent savings through to the consumer.

You don’t even need foreign currency. You have to know the market rates before you go. We provide that. We tell them to always work with a reputable bank, American Express offices and hotels. You need to get a receipt. Wherever I’ve gone, ATMs give out local currency with American cards. Even in Syria, there are ATMs all over the place and they accept U.S.-based cards.

MM: Has the investment by George Soros affected how you run your business?
GD: That investment took place in early 2000. In January 2002, we went through a major reorganization. Their stake is small today. They don’t have a board seat and they aren’t active investors.

MM: To what local causes do you commit $25 of every booking?
GD: It goes into our pool. We apply it to the regions where we sell most of our trips. We look at our best-selling destinations and research the top causes we can contribute to (such as education and the environment). We ask our local ground suppliers, research foundations and the best places to invest.

Our distribution partners tend to be on the coasts or in San Francisco or New York. The reason I located this business here is that the cost of living is so much lower than in New York where I was living and working. I could find equally qualified people. There’s a great work base here, too. I came here to start this business for that reason. I could stretch my original investment 30 percent to 40 percent further.

MM: Who’s your favorite explorer?
GD: I have a couple who stand out in my mind. The first is Ernest Shackleton in Antarctica. The turmoil was amazing. Read “Endurance” by Alfed Lansing. It’s the best survival story from an exploration perspective. He was great leader. He got all 28 of his men to survive 18 months years in Antarctica. It was a case study in leadership.

Henry Stanley is my favorite explorer. He had wanderlust for learning new things. He was based in America following the Indians in the west. He was reassigned to the Middle East and Asia. When he was lost, he found himself in the middle of tribal Africa like a needle in a haystack in the late 1800s. He had a fascinating history.

The best planner was Roald Amundsen (the first person to the South Pole). He had a four-week lag and surpassed his rival, Cook, by three weeks.

It came down to logistics and planning. They had unbelievable execution. No one was injured or killed. The whole team came back and everyone on Cook’s team died. Antarctica is one of our top 10 best sellers. Though I haven’t been there yet, it’s on my list. You’re either there for a three-hour fly-in or on a cruise that takes two weeks. I want to do Patagonia at the same time, which means you’re looking at four weeks.

MM: What foreign languages do you speak?
GD: I learned Spanish in high school and can fake it when I’m in a Spanish-speaking country.

MM: How has that helped or hurt you?
GD: It’s hasn’t really hurt me. Everywhere I’ve traveled (and that’s 40 different countries), you can converse with most everyone in English. They’ve learned English as a second language. I can’t think of any place I haven’t been able to converse.