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The Alonsos tell their story – and want you to share one, too BY S H A N E S N I D E R | P H O T O BY J O H N M I C H A E L S I M P S O N
or Brian Alonso and Alexina Alonso, places are not just about buildings and streets – it’s more about the words and experiences that connect us. It’s the story. The couple co-founded Built Story in 2020. It was the Alonsos answer to a world locked down by COVID-19. Businesses were closed, and workers were sent home, but the roads were open, and stories still needed to be told. Billed as a marketplace for self-guided tours, Built Story offers users a platform for interaction and tools to create their own travel stories. The app provides turn-by-turn walking instructions, stories, audio, text, video and more to provide an immersive experience.
Give us a brief summary of your personal and professional lives. Alexina We are husband and wife, and co-founders, too. We both grew up in Miami – it’s where we met each other, started a family and started Built Story. We have since moved to Durham, and we love every minute of it here. Brian I studied biomedical engineering at Duke University, where my familiarity and love for Durham began. I earned my master’s degree in civil engineering from George Washington University. My appreciation for storytelling and historic preservation began while I was a principal at our family-owned department store, La Epoca, whose roots date back to 1885 in Havana, Cuba. My brother and I took the reins in 2005, long after the business had relocated to Miami, in a historic downtown building. … [And] as president of Dade Heritage Trust [in Miami], I worked alongside earnest community members
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to preserve historic buildings, rich with stories. Alexina After graduating with a history degree from the University of Central Florida, I worked in higher education for several years. At Florida International University in Miami, I earned my master’s degree and managed key external partnerships while in the university’s Office of Engagement. Interested in making my small corner of the world better, volunteerism, amplifying voices and education are important to me.
december 2022 / january 2023
Tell us about Built Story. Alexina Connecting people and places is Built Story’s mission. The Built Story platform is the world’s first selfguided tour marketplace, connecting tour takers and tour creators. Anyone can build and publish self-guided tours from home, and anyone can purchase those tours with the app, [which] provides the tour and all of its created content – audio, video, text, photos – along with turn-by-turn walking or driving directions to each of the stops along the way. You’re not walking with an in-person tour guide.
Brian Creators have written history tours, architecture tours and true crime tours on Built Story. Passionate people have published bar-hopping tours and scenic bicycle tours. Built Story allows creators to share the rich history and stories of the communities they know best, while tour takers explore in a unique, new way. Stories, via tours, are documented and shared in a sustainable way. How did your stories add up to Built Story? Brian Like all things in life, I suppose, it’s a combination of forces. Alexina is passionate about history and community engagement. Alexina Brian and his brother, while leading La Epoca department store in Miami, were focused on the tourists who made up a large percentage of their customers. A focus on tourism was born. But the ability to share the stories that those walls held, to help customers connect with the place around them, always proved a challenge to Brian – something that stuck with him for years. When life shifted and there was time to focus on connecting people to place, Built Story was born. What makes the business unique? How do you stand out from the competition? Alexina Built Story is versatile, scalable, nimble. It amplifies other people’s voices. Sure, there are other companies and