Mumbai-based food startup Authenticook today said that it got a grant of Rs 1.45 crore (200,000 euros) as a winnning prize of a contest run by the world's largest hotel aggregator Booking.Com. The startup competed with 700 startups from across the world.
Founded in 2015 by Ameya Deshpande, Aneesh Dhairyawan and Priyanka Deshpande, Authenticook is a young food startup which brings home-chefs and diners together by providing an authentic dining experience in the homes of home chefs and thus creates a platform for home-chefs to showcase their culinary skills by providing an authentic dining experience in the houses of home chefs and change the way people celebrate cuisines and learn about new cultures.
Post funding, the startup is expecting to increase the number of cities covered by four-times to up to 40 by end of 2018.
"By the end of 2019, the startup that helps people eat traditional home food with local families, aims to be present in 75 cities", Ameya Deshpande told to PTI. He said the company plans to break-even in 2019 and is looking to get a Series A funding sometime next year.
Deshpande said the 2015-founded company will be utilising nearly half of the grant to improve its marketing efforts and the rest for creating operations teams and upgrading the technology.
It has not gone through any fund infusion exercise till now where the founders have diluted equity.
The company underwent a three-week programme at Amsterdam before the selection for the grant and Deshpande said the mentorship will continue for almost nine months more.
"We saw in Authenticook a truly great idea, smart business acumen and the ability to promote inclusive growth in Indian tourism that supports and develops local economies and communities," Booking's country head Vikas Bhola said in a statement.
Top Image - Authenticook Team @Mumbai
Founded in 2015 by Ameya Deshpande, Aneesh Dhairyawan and Priyanka Deshpande, Authenticook is a young food startup which brings home-chefs and diners together by providing an authentic dining experience in the homes of home chefs and thus creates a platform for home-chefs to showcase their culinary skills by providing an authentic dining experience in the houses of home chefs and change the way people celebrate cuisines and learn about new cultures.
Post funding, the startup is expecting to increase the number of cities covered by four-times to up to 40 by end of 2018.
"By the end of 2019, the startup that helps people eat traditional home food with local families, aims to be present in 75 cities", Ameya Deshpande told to PTI. He said the company plans to break-even in 2019 and is looking to get a Series A funding sometime next year.
Deshpande said the 2015-founded company will be utilising nearly half of the grant to improve its marketing efforts and the rest for creating operations teams and upgrading the technology.
It has not gone through any fund infusion exercise till now where the founders have diluted equity.
The company underwent a three-week programme at Amsterdam before the selection for the grant and Deshpande said the mentorship will continue for almost nine months more.
"We saw in Authenticook a truly great idea, smart business acumen and the ability to promote inclusive growth in Indian tourism that supports and develops local economies and communities," Booking's country head Vikas Bhola said in a statement.
Top Image - Authenticook Team @Mumbai
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