Boatbound Sets Sail with OurCrowd: Campaign Successfully Raises $980K in Funding
Summary
Boatbound is the nation’s fastest growing “pier-to-pier” boat rental marketplace in the United States, likened to Airbnb and Uber for boaters. “According to a recent PhoCusWright report,* the collective market for Rent by Owners (AirBNB, VRBO/HomeAway) is approximately a $25 Billion market in 2014 , and with over 12 million recreational vehicles in the United States according to the USCG, we see this as an extremely lucrative derivative market opportunity and a prime target for consolidation by existing Vacation Home Rental consolidators or related Travel & Hospitality providers.” When questioned why Boatbound “moored” with OurCrowd, Zack Miller, Head of Investor Community at OurCrowd responded: “We’ve focused on Israel as an investment destination — it’s hot, the startup industry is booming, and we have decades of experience and success making investments there. The real benefit of equity crowdfunding is not only an efficient way to raise capital — it’s the fact that a startup firm can tap dozens of wealthy, influential angel investors all over the world. Boatbound isn’t just a website — they’ve lowered the friction in the total boat rental experience (insurance, towing, education, etc.) Additional facts: Within 6 months post-launch, Boatbound already has thousands of boats listed across the US and secured over $2.5 million in bookings planned in its first season (since its June of 2013 launch).