Blue Scorpion Investments Leads New Financing Round for Hooch

Award-Winning Private Cocktail Society App Accelerates Its Growth with New Investment

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May 31, 2016, 06:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/-- Blue Scorpion Investments, L.P. ("BSI"), a New York City based venture capital firm whose Advisors and Venture Partners range from economist Nouriel Roubini, entrepreneur Russell Simmons, vice chair of WeWork Michael Gross, celebrity chef & healthy lifestyle crusader Rocco Dispirito, Academy nominated film producer Lawrence Bender among other hand picked high profile individuals; has lead the $950,000 pre-series A interim funding round of Hooch Inc. ("Hooch"), a New York City based, members only cocktail society app.

Disrupting the landscape of cocktail consumption in LA and New York since its November 2015 debut, HOOCH, a private cocktail society app where members pay just $9.99/month (less than the price of one cocktail) or $99/per year, will further its rapid growth and dominance both in the U.S. and internationally with new funding secured from Blue Scorpion Investments.

"As proven by their widespread adoption by millennials, Hooch spearheads the social drinking space with a subscription cocktail app that brings tremendous value to both users and venues, helping them connect and build relationships with each other," says Gautam Ahuja of BSI.

Echoing the Prohibition Era speakeasies by creating a virtual cocktail society and helping you find the best bar to enjoy your favorite drink, HOOCH Members are given one round of cocktails on HOOCH at participating venues. Each venue offers HOOCH members a specially curated drinks menu where they can select one cocktail to enjoy with friends.

"Hooch empowers its members and venues to discover each other and have a good time while doing it," adds Jamison Ernest of BSI.

Hooch has been featured in many top press outlets including TechCrunch, CNBC, LA Times and Time Out to name a few, and recently listed on Refinery29's Favorite App List amongst Spotify, Netflix, and Snapchat.

Recently the winner of the Anheuser-Busch/ZX Ventures Start Up Competition at SXSW, Hooch has been attracting attention from both major brands as well as VCs and institutional investors. Previously Hooch has raised a "Friends and Family" financing round of $1.25 Million.

"We are excited to have BSI lead this new round," says Lin Dai CEO of Hooch, "As our first institutional investors, BSI not only opens doors to resources from top institutions and investors of the highest caliber, but also brings with them a tremendous network in the hospitality and lifestyle vertical. We are thrilled to have such strategic investors on board to help accelerate our growth both in the U.S. and internationally."

About Blue Scorpion Investments
BSI invests primarily in consumer-facing businesses, specifically consumer electronics; disruptive technologies; shared economy; single and multi-platform applications; beauty, cosmetics and accessories; retail, fashion/lifestyle brands; and beverages and packaged foods. The firm's primary objective is to create significant shareholder value by bringing a combination of creative, marketing and financial resources into active partnerships with owners and management teams of early stage high-growth companies.

Website: www.bluescorpioninv.com.

About HOOCH
The brainchild of nightlife veteran Aleksey Kernes (Hotel Chantelle), tech industry expert Lin Dai (Keek, Emmis NY and Alloy Media + Marketing), and digital marketing entrepreneur Jared Christopherson (Yellow Hammer Ad Agency), HOOCH is the first "Private Cocktail Society" subscription app that buys a round of drinks each day at some of the top cocktail bars, elite lounges and premiere restaurants in New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas and now Miami.

HOOCH launched exclusively in New York in November 2015 on both iOS and Android. The HOOCH app is available for free download in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

HOOCH
Website: https://hooch.co/
Instagram: @HOOCHApp
Facebook: facebook.com/hoochapp

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SOURCE Blue Scorpion Investments