We are delighted to let you know we have recently invested in a FreeGuides. This is the seventh investment Scalare has made and we are excited to work with the founder, Daniel Wasilewsky.
Scalare will help to deliver the go-to-market strategy for domestic and international growth, and to secure additional working capital for their next capital raise in early 2021.
What does Freeguides do?
FreeGuides meets the growing demand for self-guided tours and experiences in both the domestic and international tourism industry. The App is currently live in the Sydney CBD with plans to launch domestically in Australia before Christmas.
FreeGuides is a Peer-to-Peer platform, enabling locals to create, run and manage their own virtual walking tours, by easily creating journeys and experiences through their Apple and Android application.
As a user, I pick an experience which I can do alone or with a group of friends. After completing the experience, I can rate it and pay what I want to the guide with a percentage going to FreeGuides.
You can learn more about how FreeGuides came to be from the Founder, Daniel here: ‘How I secured funding for my travel startup during a global pandemic’
Why did Scalare Invest?
The Market FreeGuides was conceived to provide a unique digital experience for both self-guided and guided tours both domestically and internationally. However, as the global travel market came to a dramatic halt with the onset of the global pandemic, FreeGuides quickly pivoted their offering to serve a new market opportunity for self-guided experiences. Their plan is to, once again offer guided tours, once circumstances will allow.
With the inevitable resumption of tourism, the market opportunity is significant. For example, in 2019, Sydney received 16.1M visitors with 3.7M of those participating in guided tours. FreeGuides project they will be able to reach 30% of the serviceable market within just the Sydney market. Internationally the opportunities are significant too including USA (76.9 million visitors) and France (86.9 million visitors).
The Founder/Team Founded by Daniel Wasilewsky and his brother, Cameron Wasilewsky, who is the technical co-founder the team also comprises Jairaj Sharma as CTO. Daniel has worked at the leading start-up hub for tech companies ‘Tank Stream Labs’ for several years as Head of Operations and Business Development. This will be Daniel’s fifth start-up in the consumer space. Daniel is also well-connected in the start-up arena as a mentor and advisor.
The Freeguides founding team (from left to right:) Cameron Wasilewski, Daniel Wasilewski, Jairaj Sharma.
The Product/technology Scalare is impressed by the technology and the user interface. The app is live in Sydney with pre-loaded content from several guides and a global payments system. The interface is easy to navigate both as a guide and explorer. Scalare believes that there is significant opportunity in both the domestic and the international markets for the FreeGuides unique offering. FreeGuides will be launching from a strong base having already recruited guides across 13 countries who have created 63 experiences. Currently, there are Sydney-based experiences in several categories such as; ‘Culinary’, ‘Cultural’, ‘City’, and ‘Architectural’.
Engagement Scalare co-founder, Giles Bourne has joined the FreeGuides board to work closely with the founders on their growth strategy. In addition, the Scalare Advisory community will be assisting FreeGuides with their financial modelling, strategy, and capital management plans.
Expression of interest
The FreeGuides Seed round is expected to open in early 2021 to enable international growth in both the US and European markets. If you are interested in getting early information, please contact Pernille Aggerholm or Daniel Wasilewski.
Download the app and start experiencing your city in a new way.
● Android
● Apple
About Scalare
At Scalare, we’re on a mission to create a greater impact by building a collaborative network that connects exceptional founders, advisors and investors in a unique and powerful partnership, because real transformation, and growth takes more than money.
Our unique collaboration and partnership model provides clear pathways to global investors, experts and markets. We plug existing skills gaps in our portfolio companies from our best-of-breed advisor network - to bring, expert resources exactly when needed to facilitate growth and deliver exceptional returns to investors and founders alike. Find out more here