BMF - British Marine Federation

01/27/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/27/2023 05:16

Marine tech savvy navvy gets ready to launch crowdfunding round

Published on: 27 January 2023

Pre-registration is now taking place to invest in savvy navvy, the innovative navigation app often referred to as 'Google maps for boats ', which has just come out of its most successful year to date doubling its annual recurring revenue to £1.5m by the end of 2022.

"Last year, during the end of the summer, we were cash flow positive and we are now firmly knocking at the door of profitability, so as a company, we're moving into a new phase. While our core product is targeted at boaters, last year we expanded that to paddleboarders, kayakers and jet-skiers too. With this funding round we will be looking at launching our enhanced version of the app to get even more people safely out on the water. We are also working more closely with marine agencies and other stakeholders, as we are building one of the most insight-rich platforms on boating behaviour. So far, 2023 is already looking promising and we are excited to get more investors on board ahead of turning our focus onto this year's boating season," says Jelte Liebrand.

Previous rounds proved hugely successful, with more than £3m raised in total on the investment platform Seedr by more than 1,800 investors, including the founders of Kahoot.

Having just returned from the trade fairboot Düsseldorf, ex-Google software engineer Jelte says interest in the app - which he built from the ground up alongside his now 15-strong fully remote team - is more prominent than ever.

"We've hit close to a million app downloads, and walking around the exhibition the past few days in our savvy navvy jackets, we were approached by so many users and industry partners. It's exciting, of course, that they recognise us and understand what we are doing to innovate and simplify boating technology by making navigation safe and easy for everyone.

"The first time we did a crowdfunder we were overfunded in 24 hours. As long as the product is sound, your plans are sound and where you're heading is sound, then I think there's enough appetite out there to get more investors on board in perfect time ahead of this year's boating season. We of course hope many more will join us as we head into the next phase of growth and innovation," says Jelte.

The Poole-based entrepreneur won the Seedrs Entrepreneur of the year award in 2019 for savvy navvy's crowdfunding success. At the end of last year, he also won the Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the South West.

Pre-registration for the next crowdfunding round is now open and can be accessed here: www.savvy-navvy.com/pre-registration