i2E closes first GrowOK Fund investment with $1 million
placement in Oklahoma City-based Monscierge
Contact: Sarah Seagraves,
Senior Vice President for Marketing
(405) 813-2403 or email sseagraves@i2E.org
The i2E-managed GrowOK Fund recently closed its first investment since the fund was established in 2011, placing $1 million in Oklahoma City-based Monscierge. The i2E investment was part of a $2.05 million investment round joined by Oklahoma angel investors and Texas-based Affinity Angel Investment Fund I.
Founded in 2009, Monscierge is a hospitality industry technology company that enhances the overall hotel experience for guests by providing trusted local recommendations and facilitating communications between the hotel and the guest through a patented software application via touchscreen displays and mobile devices. Monscierge’s innovative technology is already in use by hotels around the world and will soon be in more than 3,000 hotels worldwide in 90 countries.
“We’re going to use this new funding to build out our sales and marketing team,” said Marcus Robinson, Monscierge’s founder and CEO. “We took a lot of time to make sure our technology was scalable and reliable before we really started our sales and marketing efforts.”
Monscierge uses touchscreen kiosks and mobile applications to provide trusted recommendations on local restaurants and activities to hotel guests in their native language around the world. Recommendations are provided by local hotel staff in the cities in which the hotels are located. Additionally, the software allows guests to easily communicate with hotel staff requests they may have or issues relating to their stay at the particular hotel.
The GrowOK Fund is one of three Accelerate Oklahoma! investment vehicles created by i2E through a partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the U.S. Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative. The GrowOK Fund specifically targets established companies that already are generating revenue in the marketplace, providing them capital to expand with new products or services.
Waco, Texas-based Affinity Angel Investment Fund I, which supports entrepreneurship at Baylor University and the Baylor Angel Network, is joining i2E for the first time as a co-investor in this investment round.
ABOUT MONSCIERGE
Management: Marcus Robinson, founder and CEO
Year Started: 2009
Location: Oklahoma City
Web: www.monscierge.com
Monscierge is a software company specializing in innovative hospitality solutions facilitating connections between the guest, hotel properties and their brands. Encompassing modern platforms such as mobile, tablet, large-format touchscreen devices and a central web-based platform to manage all content, the products allow travelers to do everything from pre-plan their trip, book transportation services, and make various requests such as room service, extra towels or a late checkout. Hotel employees can use the app to communicate with guests and each other. Monscierge was recently awarded a patent for delivering hospitality recommendations through mobile devices.
About i2E, Inc.: With offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK, i2E’s nationally recognized services include business expertise and funding for Oklahoma’s emerging small businesses. i2E has more than $40 million of investment capital under management.
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