The startup will use the funds to expand the team and develop sales and marketing strategies.
Founded by Deepak Ananth and Vineet Rajan in March 2016, ScoutMyTrip allows users to create an itinerary for their road trips. Users can choose where to stay and eat, and what routes to follow. The platform also provides details such as road condition, halts, points of interest, petrol pumps and public restrooms on the route.
The company’s revenue streams include affiliate income from stays, car rentals, tour operators and roadside assistance. Besides, it also earns from brand campaigns and customised road-travel planning for corporates and individuals.
It claims to have completed 1,000 trips till now.
Besides, ScoutMyTrip also operates readymade road trips.
“We believe the user needs to have the power to decide where and how to enjoy their time on the road, and they shouldn’t be restricted by a curated list of places to go,” said Ananth.
Ananth earlier worked at Tata Communications Ltd and Verifone while Rajan is a second-time entrepreneur. He also founded IndiBlogger, a social network for bloggers.
In November last year, Mumbai-based Z Nation Lab selected ScoutMyTrip for its startup bootcamp programme.
Z Nation Lab was launched last year by Anup Mehta, an MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research and director of Mumbai-based Vinay Unique, a real estate venture; Neha Jain, a marketing graduate from Mumbai University with experience in market research; and Khushboo Jain, a former Grant Thorton executive who was also CEO of Umang Financial Advisors.
In an interaction with VCCircle in September 2016, Mehta said the firm intended to launch a seed-stage fund, Zsolt Capital, to invest in technology startups in India and the US.
In the same space, Easy Roads Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which facilitates road trips, raised Rs 1.3 crore ($200,000) from five angel investors in May 2016.
Source: vccircle