Led · Equity · Nov 2019

Car Next Door operates Australia’s largest peer-to-peer car sharing platform, enabling car owners to rent out their vehicles within their neighbourhoods. Insurance is central to the product: the platform provides coverage when cars are rented and Suncorp will support members when cars need repairs. The company reports over 3,000 cars already shared through its platform and says it is pursuing rapid growth. Car Next Door plans to work with Suncorp to develop new mobility insurance solutions and run joint promotional activity. The current funding round targets $10 million, with a $1.5 million strategic investment from Suncorp and up to $1 million to be raised via Equitise crowdfunding. Management expects Suncorp’s customers and insurance expertise to help expand membership and drive broader adoption. Car Next Door operates a peer-to-peer vehicle-sharing marketplace that lets owners list their cars for hourly or daily rental through its platform. It runs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Canberra and Perth and reports 150,000 members and roughly 3,000 cars listed. The company says it has paid $16 million to vehicle owners and offers rates from $5/hour or $25/day plus 21–45 cents per km. CEO and co-founder Will Davies says the service leverages the 96% of the time the average Australian car sits idle. The latest investment will fund an Australia-wide expansion of its subscription service. Car manufacturers are collaborating with the startup — Hyundai is making vehicles rental-ready via an Auto Link app that enables keyless sharing and can be retrofitted to existing cars. Car Next Door operates a peer-to-peer car-sharing network that enables vehicle owners to list cars for rent and receive payouts. The service integrates with Hyundai’s Auto Link app so renters can access vehicles without keys. Hyundai is working with the startup to create “sharing ready” cars, with Auto Link fitted to the i30 and Kona and planned for the Santa Fe and IONIQ models. The company has pursued strategic partnerships with Caltex, trialling pump advertising and parking Car Next Door vehicles at service stations. Car Next Door reports 60,000 members and has paid out $5 million to vehicle owners. The business recently raised additional capital as part of its ongoing expansion and integration efforts. Car Next Door operates a peer-to-peer car sharing platform that lets private owners list vehicles for short-term rental to borrowers. The company reports 1,300 cars on the platform and 60,000 borrowers, and recently hit a record 2,000 bookings in one week. Founded in 2012, the startup has footholds in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, launched on the Gold Coast in December, and plans to expand into Canberra, Adelaide and Perth within six months. With the new capital the company is focused on continuing growth and improving its systems. Strategic investor Caltex has worked with the startup on marketing trials and vehicle depots at service stations. CEO Will Davies has expressed interest in expanding retail crowdfunding to enable more users to invest.

Participated · Series D · Apr 2017

Trov provides an on-demand insurance platform that lets users insure single items directly from their mobile devices. Led by CEO and founder Scott Walchek, the company partners with local insurance providers who supply underwriting capital and primary insurance licensing. Trov launched in Australia in May 2016 (underwritten by Suncorp) and in the UK in December 2016 (underwritten by AXA), and plans a U.S. launch in 2017 as an MGA with Munich Re providing underwriting. The company’s app is available for free on iOS and Android in the UK and Australia. With the new financing, Trov intends to bring its platform globally, expand the categories of items it covers, and accelerate development of new applications. The Series D increases the company’s total funding to just over $85m. Trov provides on-demand, item-level insurance through a mobile app that generates metadata from make and model to price coverage to the second. Users can turn protection on and off with a swipe and file claims via the app; claims handling is routed through a chatbot. Carriers provide the balance-sheet and regulatory backing while premiums and claims are processed through Trov’s platform. Trov began as a digital inventory tool for personal possessions and has operated for more than a year prior to this product launch. The company is piloting launches in Australia (in partnership with Suncorp Group) and the UK (with Axa as an insurance provider) and plans to expand to the United States and other territories. It recently closed new funding to support the on-demand insurance launch. Trov provides a mobile app that connects people to information and insights about the things they own, letting users reference receipts, track market value, and find opportunities to insure possessions. The service is powered by proprietary technology and integrations with world-leading databases to make collecting purchase information automatic. All information in a Trov is owned by the user, stored securely in the cloud, and privately accessible on a mobile device. Trov is currently in public beta and is available for free on iPhone in the US and Australia; an Android version was announced as coming later this quarter. The company said the new capital will accelerate development of technology to help users take advantage of data about their things and to connect them to new insurance models. Trov is privately funded and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Trōv builds applications around a personal digital locker that collects, regularly values, and securely stores information about possessions, allowing selective sharing. Its platform connects members to partners—insurers, wealth managers, luxury retailers, auction houses, and appraisers—to deliver benefits tied to owned items. In its first year the company amassed a database of over 238,000 unique assets with a total replacement value greater than $1.2 billion and serves customers in the U.S. and U.K. Trōv is achieving initial adoption through partnerships with global property and casualty insurers, alerting policyholders and agents when possessions change in value or new items need protection. The company plans to grow its engineering team, expand its Member Benefits program, build market presence, and extend its offering into wealth management and other sectors. Trōv is privately funded and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.