Exclusive – Zozi has landed $7 million in Series B financing from existing investors, TechCrunch has learned. The startup, which offers deals on unique local things to do, raised capital from LaunchCapital, the Pritzker/Vlock Family Office, 500Startups, ZIG Capital, Thomas & Peter Lehrman, David Tisch and others.
The round brings the total of funding raised by the San Francisco startup to $10 million – the $3 million Series A round was secured back in August 2010.
Launched in 2009, zozi says it’s operating in a market worth roughly $60 billion, enabling millions to find and book experiences, hand-picked by the company’s team of travel and adventure experts, right on their website (no mobile apps yet).
The positioning mirrors that of LivingSocial, which also states on its ‘about’ page that it offers daily deals on ‘handpicked experiences’.
Don’t call Zozi a daily deal site, though, asks founder and CEO TJ Sassani, although he acknowledges that they do leverage flash marketing as a core economic driver at present.
Basically, the zozi team works with local merchants and experts to be able to offer its customers experiences like surfing lessons, fly fishing excursions, shark cage diving, Segway tours, poker classes and whatnot at a significant discount.
Of note: the company offers a 100% money back guarantee if customers do not love the experience. Or get devoured by sharks, I presume.
