Recent significant venture investment in Smart Destinations has resulted in the expansion of the company’s Seattle technology headquarters, run by company co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Tyler Brooks. A Northwest native, Brooks was previously founder and owner of Purchase Net, Inc., which sold to Sybase 10 years ago, and a former engineer with Asymetrix. He invented most of the technology on which Smart Destinations all-inclusive attractions “smart” card is based. All of Smart Destinations information infrastructure, terminal networks and research and development are run from Seattle under Brooks’ direction.
Thanks to North Hill Ventures, the investment arm of Capital One Bank, and Zon Capital Partners, and based on the success of its Go Boston Card and Go San Francisco Card, Smart Destinations has secured $4.25 million in Series A venture funding. As a result, Brooks has hired three new staffers in the company’s Seattle technology headquarters.
“I have always been interested in applying my technical skills to interesting business problems,” notes Brooks. “I previously worked with (CEO) Kevin McLaughlin at Sybase, and when he called to say he and (president) Cecilia Dahl had an idea to fill a void in the travel industry, but needed a proprietary technology system, the opportunity was significant. Investment in the travel industry is rare these days, but our systems provide the Go Cards with a unique value proposition and business model that set us apart.”
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