Munch raises $1.5m pre-seed to make it free and simple for Side Hustlers to build functional websites

Notion Capital and Credo Ventures have led a $1.5m pre-seed round of funding for Munch. The investment enables Munch to further develop its platform that lets anyone craft authentic, hyper-personal, multi-functional websites using just their smartphone.

Alex Bondarev, CEO and Founder of Munch, commented, “SMBs are the cornerstone of stable economies, and most of these start as a side hustle. That’s where we want to focus first. We've had a great run with all the simple website building tools, but now I feel it's time for the tools to be as flexible as people's lives are today. People who want to succeed online deserve better tooling, especially in the modern world.”

Munch gives its users the ability to create hyper-personalised websites using an intuitive and unrestrictive drag and drop editor - these sites are named “munches”. A munch is a bite-sized, bold, interactive website that’s fun to create, easy to monetize, and delightful to maintain. Munch is free to use, and Munch only makes money when its users do. Consequently, the use of Munch is entirely risk free, especially if you’re planning on starting your own small business or side hustle.

There is a huge opportunity for Munch. Today in the US alone, 61% of people aged 26-41 currently have a side-hustle to supplement their primary source of income. However, the insistence on templates means a lot of websites struggle to stand out, as they all look and feel very similar. Additionally, the fees eat into users’ profits before they’ve made any sales.

Jake Yaxley, Product Manager at Munch, says “The era of the side hustler is upon us, and yet the website building tools available are stuck in the dark ages. Given the current global economic climate, we shouldn’t be standing in the way of people creating secondary income streams. However, boring template-based website builders that charge large transaction fees on top of steep monthly subscription charges are stopping hustlers in their tracks. This is where we want to change the game. Munch removes excessive costs, rigid templates, or a need for code literacy; and we put the power back in the hands of the hustlers.”

Munch allows users the freedom to stamp their personality on their websites, with ultra-fast iteration times meaning that you can go from a totally blank canvas to a highly customised website within minutes, wherever you may be and whatever device you may be using. All Munch’s templates are completely customisable, with no design restrictions that come as a result of your  choice of template. All you need is a smartphone and an internet connection to get started.  

Munch has an e-commerce layer that lets you create products from scratch to sell on any of your munches, as well as bespoke features for tax, shipping rates and SKUs. The munch builder has everything one would need to supercharge sales and turn regular customers into loyal fans that  come back for more.

As a result of this funding, Munch will be investing in its product growth and development teams, as well as expanding its marketing activities.

Kamil Mieczakowski, Principal at Notion Capital, said, “The latest Microsoft research found that almost two-thirds (62%) of Gen Z intend to start their own business and we believe that the Munch team have developed a perfect tool for it, while providing useful boilerplates puts the creator’s individuality at the forefront. The Munch team have lived and breathed the challenge of launching and running an online business and their deep understanding of the problem is now beginning to translate into an impressive product that is gaining more traction by the day.”

Jan Habermann, Founder at Credo Ventures, commented, “We, at Credo, love backing product-oriented founders. The team at Munch has the unique combination of technical ability with intimate knowledge of the space for which they have been building the product. And we really believe that such a combination has helped them to create a perfect tool for thousands of creative people who have been struggling with complexity and limitations of the existing platforms.”