Evaneos announced today that they have raised $6M from Xange & ISAI on the back of the growth of their online personalized travel website. The service, founded in 2009 by Eric La Bonnardière & Yvan Wibaux, has seen sales double in the past year, totalling 30,000 users, having already established itself in France, Spain, Germany & Italy.
The deal, led by Rodolphe Menegaux from Xange & Christophe Raynaud for ISAI, also sees Kelkoo CEO Jean-Fabrice Mathieu join the board along with The Phone House co-founder Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux, who is also a co-founder of ISAI.
“As demanding travelers, we fully understand the added value Evaneos brings to its clients, both in the pleasure of preparing the trip and the handling on site” and they add : “we’re delighted to welcome an investor such as XAnge who was recently recognized for its international successes.” – Jean-Fabrice Mathieu & Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux
The company’s growth has been impressive so far: 1400 Travelers & €2M in 2010, 6000 travelers & €7M in 2011, and 10,000 travelers & 14M€. The next step for the startup will be to put out an English-language version of its service, a move which will increase their visibility, but also their competition in those new markets.
A second part of Evaneos’ funding will help them to develop new services for its community of active travelers to encourage exchange and sharing between members.