InKind, an Austin-based startup that provides restaurants and hospitality businesses with financing and marketing services, recently established its first office at 600 Congress Ave. in downtown Austin.
The financing and marketing startup is using the new office to boost innovation and collaboration as its team continues to grow.
The company currently employs 50 people and aims to boost its headcount to 70 by the end of the year. InKind says it plans to make new hires in sales, product, marketing, operations and tech.
The new office space “represents an inflection point” in the company’s journey, Amanda Singer, inKind’s chief of staff, said in a statement
“We are here to cement our position as a premier contender in Austin’s tech and startup scene and couldn’t be more excited to show the world what we’ve been working on,” Singer said.
When restaurateurs are in need of funding to launch or renovate a restaurant, inKind will purchase food and beverage credits from the restaurant to fund its business. InKind could give a restaurant $100,000, for example, in exchange for $200,000 in food and beverage credits.
InKind then sells the food and beverage credits to local consumers at a discount — $1,300 worth of credit for $1,000, for example — allowing the restaurant to reimburse inKind by honoring the food and beverage credits.
Guests using these credits tend to spend 80 percent more per visit and return 2.5 times as often, according to inKind.
InKind sells the food and beverage credits to consumers on its app. The startup is also building out additional hospitality-focused consumer offerings, including corporate dining accounts and concierge services.
