Kiwi company CityInsidr crowdfunding travel app launch

Kiwi travel advice provider CityInsidr has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to boost funds for its app launch.

The company hopes to raise $200,000-300,000 to finalise developments on its app, intellectual property protection and marketing.

The company is the latest in a line of companies who are using equity crowdfunding platforms to develop and launch new products. CityInsidr's app aims to provide networked peer to peer recommendations of travel spots, essentially crowdsourcing traveller information.

Matt Hockly-Holdich, Joint Managing Director and Co-Founder of CityInsidr, says "what sets CityInsidr apart from other rating platforms is that we don't serve you with meaningless star ratings based on a million anonymous reviews. We show you a select number of quality reviews from people like you.

"Every traveller knows that the best and most useful recommendations come from people who think like you, and that no one knows a city like a local.

The company says that this differentiates its app from others on the market such as TripAdvisor, which displays all given reviews on a single topic.

The company hopes to takes its app to the reported 10.6 million travellers in Australasia, before taking their app to the global market.

App revenue will come from four different sources – in-app purchases, a crowd marketplace, advertising, sponsored posts and hotel booking functions, the company says. "What's particularly attractive about CityInsidr as an investment proposition, beyond the compelling business model and high quality leadership team, is the sectors it operates in and the multiple revenue streams it can generate," AlphaCrowd Managing Director Lasith Weeraratne says.

Investments start at $1000 for ordinary shares and have a venture capital investment timeframe of 3-5 years.

The campaign is being run through New Zealand equity crowdfunding company AlphaCrowd, which positions itself as a platform for technology investors.