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Identifying high quality local service providers is a difficult task. Online review sites can help, but getting details on specific services and prices is still a challenge. Whittl aims to change that, by giving businesses a way to sell their services online and offering shoppers the reviews and information they need to choose a provider.
This week, the company announced a raise of $1.3 million through its first round of venture capital funding. The round was led by Origin Ventures with participation from OCA Ventures, Amicus Capital and other strategic angel investors. The company, formerly known as MyServista, has rebranded as Whittl.
CEO Mike Zivin and COO Hemant Kashyap built Whittl to combine comprehensive service reviews with online bookings. Kashyap says they can benefit merchants who want to reach new customers without needing large advertising budgets.
“We’ll be working with merchants to bring them new and repeat customers,” said Kashyap. “We expect that Whittl will be another important piece of their online identity.”
To achieve that, Whittl has stacked its board of directors with relevant industry veterans including GrubHub co-founder Mike Evans, Origin Ventures partner Brent Hill and OCA Ventures partner Jason Heltzer.
“Whittl has a unique approach to the untapped local services space,” Hill said in a release. “They’ve managed to aggregate data about millions of local service providers, including prices, and will combine it with the convenience of online booking.”
Looking ahead, Kashyap says Whittl will offer social recommendations, appointment booking and a mobile app. For now, the team has moved out of 1871 into their own space in a potential sign of more things to come.
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