Travel Technology Startup ‘Guiddoo’ Raises $800K from Global Investors

Mumbai-headquartered Guiddoo, a one-stop shop for in-destination experiences, has secured capital of $800,000 (₹6 crore approx.) in the Pre-Series A funding, held in July this year. The funding was led by global investors including Rennie Ratadia (Singapore), Stephen Dmello (Dubai) & Angshuman Sarkar (India).
Guiddoo aims to leverage the fresh funding to expand operations, increase destination reach, product portfolio and to further develop its technology platform. It will strengthen its portfolio by adding new destinations under its ‘customised packages’ offering and will beef up teams to manage the increase in operations in the Global and Indian Market.
In terms of the strategy for business growth, the company aims to commence China operations by Feb 2019. Another focus area will be to build a pan India distribution network for the its Tours & Activities & Holidays products.
With this fresh funding, Guiddoo has raised a total of $1.1 million in funding over three rounds. Prior to this funding, the startup had raised $300,000 in Pre-Series A funding from investors including Pawan Borle & Nirmal Singh as well as new Investors including Manish Prasad, Vineet Varma, Nick Haulkoury, and Abhai S. Rao.
In 2015, the startup had raised seed funding from angel investors.
Founded in 2014 by Nidhi Varma, Vineet Budki, Prashant Choudhary and Biswajeet Karmakar, Guiddoo was started as a tour guiding app but it was in 2015 when it was pivoted into an In-Destination platform offering Tours & Activities, Dining, Shopping and Entertainment options for the Indian International Traveler.
Vineet Budki, Co-founder & CEO at Guiddoo said, “From starting afresh after a pivot from the Audio Guide Business Model to garnering 700% YOY revenue growth in the Tours & Activities business, and securing fresh funding from our trusted investors, it has been an incredible journey. It is a reflection of our commitment to make significant contribution to the India Outbound Travel space by delivering innovative product enhancements.”
He added, “We are delighted to have secured this significant bridge round of funding. The capital raised will help us expand our footprint, augment our infrastructure and acquire promising talent to implement the blueprint. We are motivated more than ever to build robust products and extend the best services possible to our consumers.”
“We are excited to invest in Guiddoo in their endeavour to bring best-in-class, digital in-destination experiences to travel enthusiasts. We are confident of the team’s potential and are looking forward to the company’s growth story in the near future,” said Stephen DMello who runs successful Investment, Real Estate & Trading businesses in Middle East and Asia.
“Having been an avid traveller, I saw Indian tourists in all parts of the world. Guiddoo presents me with a great opportunity to tap into outbound Indian tourists, I see great potential in this segment with more and more Indians travelling abroad Every Year,” says Rennie Ratadia, Global Investor.
Guiddoo has been actively helping travellers by providing seamless services so that they can make the most of their trips. Guiddoo offers an array of services like Guided Tours and Activities, Dining, Entertainment and Shopping as add-ons to the Indian Outbound travellers and curates special packages for them which are unique to the Indian travellers, and are different from the global products in experience, culinary habits and prices among others.
In August last year, the startup had launched its first Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR) Program in India, which is specifically designed for to-be-entrepreneurs in Travel Industry – who will be mentored and nurtured by the Guiddoo leadership team
The Guiddoo app is available on both Android iOS platforms and has a robust web platform for its Travel Agent network. Guiddoo offers its Tours & Activities across 11 international destinations through 4000+ Travel Agents across India and also has institutional partners including Cleartrip & Yatra.
Source: IndianWeb2
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