Guided tours startup GuruWalk raises €1M to fuel pay-as-you-go model

GuruWalk, a Spanish startup specializing in tip-based guided tours, has secured €1 million in seed round funding.

SeedRocket, a startup accelerator, served as the primary backer of GuruWalk’s seed round for the past year and a half.

The round also included a €300,000 participatory loan from the Valencian Financial Institute (L’Institut Valenciá de Finances) and €200,000 from the Harvard Alumni group, Ethos Angel Investment Fund. 

This latest funding will be used to grow the team and obtain new talent. 

The Valencia, Spain-based company offers pay-what-you-please (or free) walking tours where tourists only pay a tip to the guide at the end of the tour based on the participant’s satisfaction with the experience.

Its platform allows travelers to contact local guides for free, and it allows users to sign up as tour guides.

Since launching in 2017, GuruWalk has expanded to nearly 100 countries.

And there’s reportedly more funding to come.

“Our company has a Series A funding round pending that we expect to close before August of 2020,” says Juan Castillo, GuruWalk co-founder.

At Phocuswright Europe 2019, GuruWalk was named the Battleground runner-up in the People’s Choice Award category.

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