The Danish startup Boatflex recently received an impressive investment of DKK 5 million ($720.000) from SEED Capital. Boatflex is a peer-to-peer platform for fully insured boat rentals between trusted and passionate sailors. They enable boat owners to bring down costs through renting or even just for accommodation.
“Most private boats are only used 2% of the time and it is definitely not cheap to own a boat. We think it would be ideal to provide boat owners with the opportunity to get some of their expenses covered, while we let people without a boat enjoy some time on the water,” says Jakob Bojesen, founder and CEO of Boatflex.
The startup was founded in 2014 by Jakob Bojesen and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen. Since then, Boatflex has quickly become the leading platform for private boat sharing in Northern Europe. In 2016 Boatflex had 200.000 unique visits and the team has attracted prominent names such as Mik Thobo-Carlsen, founder of Tattoodo, and the Olympic medalist Jonas Høgh-Christensen.
Riding the wave of sharing economy
Through their Peer-to-Peer platform, Boatflex hopes to bring the joy of sailing to a younger generation. When costs are covered through rental, buying a boat suddenly becomes an option for a much larger segment. The potential is big with already 1400 rental boats and 4000 users registered on the platform.
“Sharing economy platforms are on the rise and Boatflex is “riding the wave”. They serve a gigantic market with only a few competitive platforms. They have the potential to become a category winner within their market. The founding team at Boatflex has shown great engagement and execution skills from the very beginning,” says Alexander Viterbo-Horten, Investment Manager at SEED Capital.
SEED Capital is Denmark’s largest venture capital fund within the seed segment. They currently manage DKK 2.3 billion ($360 million) and they have made highly successful investments in Trustpilot, Vivino, Lunar Way, Acarix, Templafy, and Coinify.
