Punchhing Up Rewarding Success

3 Min Read By MRM Staff

To hear Punchh Co-Founder and CEO Shyam Rao tell it, the digital marketing company was launched because a restaurateur friend called him and his other co-founders “nerds.”

The friend tasked them with using their technological expertise to figure out a solution for one of the key problems all restaurants face: acquiring new guests.

“The aha moment was determining the most cost-effective way to drive guests is word of mouth and we needed to learn how to drive word of mouth,” Rao told Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine, noting that the key is to strategically use data while keeping hospitality at the core.

Puncch, which now serves more than 100 restaurant chains around the world and 35 million consumers, just announced a new round of Series B venture funding to fuel further expansion.

The company accepted $20 million in funding led by Sapphire Ventures, who funds category-leading growth technology companies, with participation from Cervin Ventures, bringing their…