Restworld, the Italian start-up created to facilitate the matching of labor supply and demand in the Ho.Re.Ca. (Hotel, Restaurant and Cafè) sector, announces that it has completed a €1 million seed round, with a pre-money valuation of €4 million.
Funds raised will go toward the development of a new version of the platform, rebuilt from the ground up to meet the needs of all types of businesses, from independent eateries to large restaurant chains. The goal is to maintain accessibility as a key pillar while ensuring customized solutions to make recruiting ethical and sustainable.
“This round is not an end point, but a starting point,” said Luca Lotterio, CEO of Restworld. “With this new funding, we can enhance our platform, strengthen our team, and pursue our goal of facilitating entry into the workforce for 3,000 people as early as 2025. Restworld is committed to positive change in the restaurant industry, where legality and training are at the core of our vision.”
The new transaction follows the €500,000 capital increase already completed in April 2023.
The partners and investors
The round, led by Day Ristoservice which is active in the world of corporate welfare, sees among the new partners such prominent figures as Mia Rigo, an expert in luxury hotellerie and founder of The Magic Collection Retreats, and Gabriele Borga, exit-founder of Jobtome. They are joined by institutional entities such as Mival Capital srl, a private investment company that invests in the capital of SMEs and AI-driven startups, and Augusto Valli with Italian Business Adventures.
The round also includes participation from Cavallo Consulting & Partners through Alessandro Cavallo, the NextUp holding company managed by Alessandro Annovi, and other business angels. Existing investors include Startup Wise Guys and Vittorio Somaschini, who reconfirmed their trust and commitment to the project. Legal support for the round was provided by Fabio Azzolina of Studio LA&P.
The goals of growth and expansion
With sales of around €1 million for the current year and clients of the caliber of Lavazza, KFC, and Baladin, Restworld is establishing itself as a key player in an industry undergoing major transformation.
Restworld, which completed its incubation path in I3P in 2023, now offers a recruiting service that is used by more than 800 entrepreneurs throughout Italy and leads a community that already has more than 100,000 workers. The people the start-up has personally helped to be hired are already more than 2,000.
“The restaurant industry is experiencing a crucial moment, with the introduction of a new CCNL and an increasing focus on the centrality of people as the driving force behind companies. This is why Restworld collaborates with various industry players including FIPE - Federazione Italiana Pubblici Esercizi - to ensure proper training of its team and consequently to bring value to all workers and entrepreneurs in the sector. Our work is not limited to recruiting. We want to change the paradigm of an industry that is too often associated with grueling shifts and unethical practices,” Lotterio explained.
The next steps
The start-up, which recently opened its headquarters in Turin, is expanding its reach abroad, collaborating with Italian restaurateurs in Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. The company, today, is poised to make its entry into the field of international players, aiming for global positioning by 2027, raising turnover from the current €1 million to more than €10 million.
Restworld also reiterated its commitment to transparently communicate the details of the financing round, split between equity and debt, to counter criticism of maxi-rounds that are often difficult to interpret. Clarity and openness in communication are key pillars of Restworld's mission. In this regard, the company discloses that the total investment amounts to €1 million, of which €650,000 euros comes from corporate equity (equity) and €350,000 as debt financing, supported by winning UniCredit's Start Lab 2024 program.
