Smiler Raises $8.5 Million to Connect Photographers with Tourists: Startup Funding Roundup
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Travel Startup Funding This Week
Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at jd@skift.com if you have funding news.Six travel tech startups raised $58 million over the past two weeks.
>>Smiler, a platform that connects photographers with visitors of popular tourist destinations, has raised $8.5 million. The lead investor was Octopus Ventures.
The company’s total funding is $15 million to date.
The Amsterdam-based startup recently launched the Smiler.co website, where consumers can plan and book the photoshoots in advance. The company has a supply of 20,000 photographers and lists destinations including the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum in Rome, and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
The funding will go toward expanding the startup’s presence globally, with plans to add thousands of new locations and photoshoot experiences in the next year.
Focusing on high-traffic areas like tourist hotspots allows photographers to complete multiple shorter sessions in a smaller amount of time, giving individual consumers more affordable options while increasing revenue potential for photographers, the company said.
“The process of starting your own photography business, self-promotion, and generating bookings traditionally requires significant effort, connections, and a bit of luck,” said Smiler CEO and co-founder Kasper Middelkoop in a statment. “Smiler simplifies this process, enabling photographers to connect directly with re
