Gamification helps restaurant loyalty program secure $10M in funding

A San Diego-based technology startup which is using gamification as part of a customer loyalty program for restaurants has secured $10 million in a round of Series B funding. Users who sign up with Mogl can then win cash prizes by eating at participating restaurants. Those customers who dine at a restaurant the most during each month receive the establishment's jackpot at the end of the month. Mogl will also donate meals to people in need whenever a customer spends more than a specific amount in a participating restaurant. The company already has 350 participating restaurants in the Southern California area, and has donated more than 27,000 meals to the Feeding America charity. The round of funding was led by Sigma Partners, and also included Austin Ventures and Avalon Ventures. Mogl co-founder Jon Carder explained that the funding will go towards expanding the service to more cities in the U.S., including San Francisco and New York. "Like millions of people, I’ve always been a huge fan of dining out, but was never incentivized by loyalty programs," he said. "We created Mogl with the purpose of making the experience more fun for everyone and ultimately wanted it to be something that our friends would love to use."