Kekanto

Kekanto operated as a user-centric online and mobile guide, functioning as a social discovery platform for local businesses and services. The company was founded in 2009 by three students from the University of São Paulo: Bruno Yoshimura, Fernando Okumura, and Allan Panossian. Yoshimura's entrepreneurial journey began at age 14, developing websites, a passion that evolved into co-founding Kekanto. Okumura brought a strong academic background with degrees from Wharton and Stanford and prior experience at JPMorgan and McKinsey. Panossian, also a computer science graduate from USP, was integral to the product's development.

The platform's core service was a city guide where users could discover and review a wide array of local establishments, including restaurants, bars, and attractions. It provided a space for consumers to share opinions and connect with each other based on their experiences, making it a social network for local discovery. The business model primarily targeted other businesses, offering them promotional tools and insights derived from user-generated content. Revenue was generated through advertising and sponsored content on the platform. The service was accessible via its website and mobile applications available for Windows, Android, and iOS.

Kekanto achieved significant early traction, reaching one million users within its first year. The company successfully raised a total of $5.56 million over three funding rounds, including a Series B round of $5.5 million in January 2013, with notable investors like Accel and Kaszek. At its peak, the company expanded its operations across 25 cities in Latin America, employing around 65 people. In a strategic pivot, the founders later launched Delivery Direto, a white-label delivery platform for restaurants, which grew out of the relationships and market understanding gained from Kekanto. Eventually, Kekanto was acquired by Locaweb on September 16, 2019.

Keywords: local guide, user reviews, social discovery, restaurant reviews, city guide, business recommendations, consumer reviews, local search, online community, Fernando Okumura, Bruno Yoshimura, Allan Panossian, Locaweb acquisition, Kaszek ventures, Accel partners, Latin America startup, social network, mobile guide, place discovery, service ratings