KURRI Kurri tech company The Village Co has shifted to a larger base as it continues its growth trajectory after a $1.4 million capital raise.

With a "do good local" mantra, the company has grown from six staff since inception in 2016 to a team of 26 and co-founder Mick Carr says the decision to stay in Kurri Kurri is deliberate.

"If we go to Newcastle, we're another fish in the big pond, here we can impact our community by employing local people, doing good. We need to live our morals and mantra," he said.

Previously operating from two locations, the company has consolidated under one roof in Mitchell Avenue in an office that is double its previous footprint. It also has a a satellite office in Melbourne.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: When taking the kids to dinner inspired an app

The Village Co was founded in 2016 by Mr Carr, an electrician and serial entrepreneur, Angie Peterkin, the company's CFO, with general manager Mat Goddard and CTO Chris Hildebrandt also onboard.

Specialising in bringing big business thinking to small companies via tech and marketing, it has attracted most noise from its spin-off brand Grub Lab. Founded in 2019, Grub Lab's app uses augmented reality for kids dining in restaurants, transforming their pencil colouring on sheets into 3D gaming experiences.

The brand has partnered with the NRL and recently signed with the AFL in a deal worth up to $2 million. Most recently, it created Santagram, an app allowing kids and families attending designated clubs the chance to have a virtual photo taken with Santa.

Mr Carr said Grub Lab's app grew from his knowledge as a dad that parents choose where to eat based on their children's demands: "We realised pubs and clubs and restaurants don't have the resources to do a [McDonalds] Happy Meal style solution, so we developed Grub Lab from that - to unlock the lucrative family market at local clubs."

He said the capital raise was necessary to "allow us to hang on to growth".

"For any growing company, the biggest issue is cashflow, our product has been invested in, our tech is tight, we have the big brands, the next thing is how to sustain growth," he said.

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