Locally-created Cape Town app, Feastfox, has successfully closed an angel fundraising round, raising R2.3 million, primarily from Silicon Valley-based angels and venture-capital firms.
The spontaneous restaurant booking app, secured the funding through co-founders Daniel Petz, who had been studying an MBA at Stanford University in the US, had ‘access to networks of US-based investors’.
Co -founder Stuart Murless says that when the app soft launched in July, it already had 60 to 70 restaurants on-board.
“With a busy lifestyle, I never had times to plan ahead and make bookings. I wanted something which fits into the way I eat out, which is generally on impulse. With Feastfox, we are moving from the traditional ‘book now, eat later concept to ‘book now, eat now’. This way you can go from craving to feasting with the tap of a button,” Murless explained.
The launch area includes the CBD, V&A Waterfront, De Waterkant, Green Point, Sea Point, Gardens, Vredehoek and Tamboerskloof.
“We picked Cape Town for the launch because of the high concentration of the incredible restaurants, the sophistication of the local dining out scene and the openness to new, mobile solutions,” adds Stuart.
Murless says that getting the investment has a lot to do with Petz’s Stanford network. “The Stanford name is a very strong name in the US. It’s almost like a code that for an ex-Stanford person you need to make the time to meet with (another Stanford member),” he says.
Feastfox now has roots in Silicon Valley, Budapest and Cape Town.
Photography Feastfox