CouchSurfing was once a fine example of how a web brand could capture a market without feeling the need to make heady revenues and kowtow to the needs of its backers.
Luckily all bad things must come to end!
The peer-to-peer marketplace for budget travellers has since become an incorporated company and, to coincide with the switch last August, raised $7.6 million in capital from heavyweights Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Ventures.
Almost 12 months to day since the last injection, CouchSurfing is in the game again having attracted a further $15 million this week.
In a blog post, officials say the latest round will give the company enough money to “maintain our current staff and add new employees without needing to worry about our finances”.
Other top agenda items include overhauling the website (“it’s unstable and not very easy to use”) and enhancing its mobile products.
Backing the $15 million round are Menlo Ventures and General Catalyst Partners, with Benchmark and Omidyar still continuing their support.
“So we’re focusing all our energy on making a website that’s a more sustainable home for our community: one that works reliably, and easily.
“It’s going to be a big project, and one that will take us a lot of time, but we’re now in a position where we can take that time and do it right.”
The site is also expecting to get a whole lot more social in the coming months, adding place pages which allow room swappers to share photos, discussions and things to do in destinations.
Related posts:
About Kevin May
That’s some serious change they’re finding behind the couch pillows. Any idea how big their team is post-funding?
The most interesting element to watch as it unfolds is how they end up monetizing this. CouchSurfing has always been associated with cool and making any changes to the core offering may put off a lot of its original backers (read: hosts and travelers)