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Bestie Bite
Techstars '24Rome, IT · Founded 2024 · 6 employees on LinkedIn · 8 known investors
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Bestie Bite is a mobile app that rewards users for sharing video reviews of restaurants and food experiences. The platform enables discovery of local dining venues and connects young audiences with local gastronomic traditions, particularly in Italy.
Also known as BESTIE BITE SRL · BestieBite
Founders & leadership
Bestie Bite was founded in 2024 by Caterina Vertefeuille and Carlotta Robbe Di Lorenzo.
Investors · 8
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · funding news · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · research · tech.eu · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 7
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Bestie Bite is a Rome-based mobile application for discovering and reviewing hospitality venues — restaurants, bars, cafés and hotels — through short, user-filmed video reviews. Consumers browse videos from other users, filter venues by diet, cuisine or occasion, and locate places on an interactive map. Users who upload their own video reviews, invite friends or complete "missions" at selected venues earn points ("Bites") that unlock levels, badges and cashback; the company's site describes completing five missions to unlock a €100 payout and advertises a 4.8 rating across the App Store and Google Play.
On the business side, Bestie Bite packages the community's authentic videos into social media content for venue operators. Its AI converts the best customer clips into posts and reels, which the operator approves before publication, with delivery and management handled through WhatsApp. The system also produces sentiment and performance analytics so venues can monitor service quality and customer perception in real time. Partner restaurants are given a 48-hour window before a negative review is published, during which the company attempts to connect the venue with the reviewer; reviews are not removed for being negative.
The company was founded in Rome in 2024 by Carlotta Robbe Di Lorenzo (CEO) and Caterina Vertefeuille (COO). The legal entity is BESTIE BITE SRL, based at Via Franco Sacchetti 127, 00137 Rome. After a $700,000 round in December 2025 the team grew from three to nearly eight people and opened a presence in San Francisco.
Founding story
The co-founders started the company from a problem they encountered personally: choosing where to eat required either luck or hours spent reading unreliable text reviews. They built the product on the view that video conveys a venue's atmosphere in a way written reviews cannot, letting diners sense the setting before booking, and that rewarding users with cashback would encourage honest rather than sponsored contributions.
Business model
Two-sided model: a free consumer app that pays users cashback and rewards for video reviews, funded by subscription revenue from hospitality venues that receive AI-generated social content and analytics built from that user-generated video.
Subscription plans for venues, priced in USD excluding tax: Starter at $104 per month ($1,248/year) for 8 pieces of content per month and one connected channel; Pro at $244 per month ($2,928/year) for 16 pieces of content per month, all channels and an account manager; and Pro+ from $699 per month for multi-location venues with custom editorial needs and dedicated support. Quarterly plans carry a 10% discount and annual plans 30%, and each tier includes a 7-day free trial and in-app campaigns to the community.
Traction
In December 2025 the company reported more than 70,000 registered users and 60,000 videos uploaded from over 70 countries, with viral peaks putting the app in Italy's top 10 most downloaded apps. By June 2026 it reported more than 100,000 video reviews across more than 80 countries and tens of thousands of active users. The business site cites 150+ venues onboarded, and the Google Play listing shows over 10,000 downloads. The consumer site cites a community of 203,847 foodies and a 4.8 average store rating. Venue case studies include Pescaria, an early structured adopter, cited with 120+ videos collected and a 30% increase in visits.
Latest developments
In June 2026 Bestie Bite announced a €1.5 million (about $1.7 million) round backed by the Grassi family and E80 Group, earmarked for product development, hiring and geographic expansion, particularly in the United States, where it has expanded from Italy into San Francisco. A September 2026 app update introduced natural-language and voice search via the in-app assistant "Bestie" plus stability fixes.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself against text-based review platforms and influencer- or sponsorship-driven content by using unpaid, customer-filmed video, and against marketing agencies and DIY social media management for small hospitality operators through a lower-cost, low-effort content pipeline.
Combines consumer-facing discovery through authentic short video with a cashback and gamification layer that rewards honest reviews, whether positive or negative, and recycles the resulting user-generated content into approved marketing assets and real-time sentiment analytics for the venues being reviewed.
Technology
A mobile app for iOS and Android built around short-form video review capture and discovery, with an interactive map, filters by diet, cuisine and occasion, and a gamified points, levels and badge system. AI processes customer videos into ready-to-publish posts and reels and generates sentiment and performance insights for venues; content is distributed to operators via WhatsApp. A September 2026 app release added an intelligent natural-language and voice search assistant, "Bestie", that returns personalised recommendations based on tastes, dietary needs, location and moment.
Go-to-market
Consumer growth has been largely organic, including viral spikes that placed the app among Italy's most downloaded apps at peak moments, supported by referral rewards and cashback. Venue acquisition uses free self-serve account creation, a 7-day trial and tiered subscriptions, positioned as a cheaper alternative to in-house content work or an agency (from €99/month versus €800+ for an agency). Post-funding spend is directed at marketing and growth aimed at both restaurateurs and users in major Italian cities and first international markets.
On the consumer side, foodies and travellers who choose venues online, with the company citing that 67% of Gen Z search online for their next place to eat. On the business side, independent restaurants, bars, pastry shops, hotels and small chains that lack the time, skills or budget to maintain a social media presence; the business site states 150+ venues have been onboarded.
Geography
Headquartered in Rome, Italy, with users and reviews spanning more than 80 countries. Following the December 2025 round the founders travelled to San Francisco and New York to pursue commercial partnerships, and by June 2026 the company had established a San Francisco presence as part of a US expansion strategy while reinforcing its Italian base.
History
Founded in Rome in 2024 by Carlotta Robbe Di Lorenzo and Caterina Vertefeuille. Techstars managing director Martin Olczyk invested in 2024 after meeting the founders. In December 2025 the company closed a $700,000 round led by Techstars, at which point the team numbered four including CTO Placido Falqueto and developer Simone Ferretti. Roughly five months later, in June 2026, it announced a €1.5 million (about $1.7 million) round backed by the Grassi family and E80 Group, bringing total capital raised to more than €2.2 million (about $2.5 million), with headcount rising from three to nearly eight.
Risks & controversies
The company operates a cash-reward model for user-generated reviews, which it moderates by allowing partner restaurants a 48-hour window to respond to negative reviews before publication while stating that negative reviews are not removed. The Google Play listing indicates the app may share financial information with third parties and may collect personal information and messages.
Compiled by commissioned research from 10 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsGoogle Play update introduced intelligent search with the in-app assistant "Bestie", allowing natural-language and voice queries returning personalised recommendations based on tastes, dietary needs, location and moment, plus stability fixes.
New round backed by the Grassi family and E80 Group to support product development, hiring and geographic expansion, bringing total raised to more than €2.2 million (about $2.5 million).
$1.7M source ↗
Over the months preceding the June 2026 round the company expanded from Italy into San Francisco as part of a broader US growth strategy; in January the founders travelled to San Francisco and New York to explore commercial partnerships.
Closed a $700,000 round raised mainly through SAFE instruments, led by Techstars with Zooga VC, Mamba Ventures and angels including Christian Marcon, Angelo La Rocca and Claudio Vaccaro. Proceeds earmarked for product, engineering and business development hiring, AI feature development, and marketing in major Italian cities and first international markets.
$700K source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 10
primary sources listed
- Bestie Bitebestiebite.it · web
10 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Bestie Bite do?
- Italian app that turns short customer video reviews of restaurants, bars and hotels into rewards for users and AI-made marketing content for venues.
- Who founded Bestie Bite?
- Bestie Bite was founded by Caterina Vertefeuille, Carlotta Robbe Di Lorenzo in 2024.
- Who are Bestie Bite's investors?
- Bestie Bite's investors include Techstars.
- Where is Bestie Bite headquartered?
- Bestie Bite is headquartered in Rome, IT.