CrunchFund, which was set up with the backing of technology and media company AOL, has helped San Jose-based startup YourMechanic raise $1.8m in its seed round
The round was also joined by startup incubator Y Combinator, seed investors SV Angel, venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Lerer Ventures. Along with A-Grade Investments a venture capital firm founded and backed by actor comedian Ashton Kutcher, and several individual angel investors.
It also recently scooped up 1st place and a $50,000 prize at TechCrunch Disrupt SF; a conference and expo for startups and business luminaries.
YourMechanic operates an online service for car owners and authorized mechanics. Car owners needing maintenance work or minor repairs can access YourMechanic site which provides a quote and offers a selection of mechanics who will arrive onsite to perform repairs.
YourMechanic hopes that by offering mechanics an opportunity to perform basic services on their customer’s cars outside of the garage or dealership mechanics themselves will not have to pay overhead hence driving down costs for both parties.
Company Founder Art Argawal said to news provider VentureBeat: “The only reason a mechanic works at a shop is because he can’t find customers, we give him the customers.”