Wellington seed investment firm WebFund has invested in Rotorua-based Look After Me Limited, a boutique hospitality online play.  “Look After Me is a accommodation exchange focusing on the needs of female travellers looking for safe places to stay, and like-minded friendly locals to add to their holiday experience,” explains founder Julia Charity.  “We're kind of like an Expedia for private accommodation.”

WebFund MD Stefan Korn said that Look After Me met all of WebFund's investment criteria. “It has a global market with a useful test market in New Zealand, has revenue from day one, it's rapidly scalable, can be bootstrapped, and is based on a simple online concept that can be built out to meet customer needs as we discover them.  Most importantly, we really like Julia Charity – she has an excellent track record as a scientist, domain experience in hospitality, strong networks and the vision, passion, methodical approach and stamina to see her through the hurly-burly of running a startup.” 

Look After Me will start operations in the Bay of Plenty, and quickly expand to New Zealand-wide operations before taking on Asia, USA, and Europe.  “Women in our target demographic are the fastest growing segment in the international travel market,” says Charity. “We're connecting them with other women and families with spare bedrooms and spare time.  It's a match made in heaven.”