South African startup Plan My Wedding has raised ZAR400,000 (US$29,000) in funding from Creative Counsel co-CEO Gil Oved and former Eurocar CEO Dawn Nathan Jones after pitching on the reality TV show Shark Tank.
Shark Tank South Africa sees entrepreneurs pitch their businesses in front of a panel of business moguls willing to invest their own money and time in potentially lucrative business ideas.
Earlier this month, augmented reality gaming startup Augmentors raised funding from Vinny Lingham on the show, and Plan My Wedding has now followed suit. Oved and Jones have each taken a 25 per cent stake in the startup after co-founders Chelsea Evans and Jason Newmark impressed them with their pitch.
Plan My Wedding claims to be Southern Africa’s first online wedding planning platform, allowing couples to plan their entire wedding. Couples are provided with smart diarised planning, practical guidance and inspiration, budgets, tools, checklists, their own personal dashboards and a wide selection of service providers to choose from.
The services comes with a 24-hour support chat line, while search engine filters allow couples to search for the exact supplier or vendor they are looking for within their specific price range. All these services are free, though there are paid options and extra packages to choose from. Vendors and suppliers can also sign up for free and showcase their services, with upgrade paid options available for them if they want to get more exposure and added benefits.