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PEER-TO-PEER car sharing startup Car Next Door has launched its Brisbane operation as part of its expansion plans into Australia's major cities.
CarNextDoor.com.au is an online platform that allows car owners to effectively rent their cars out to users as a way of making money on the idle capacity of their vehicles to people who need them for ad hoc journeys.
Founded by Will Davies (pictured right) and Dave Trumbull in 2012, the company hit the headlines last year when they appeared on Shark Tank and convinced legendary investor Steve Baxter to make a $300,000 capital injection for just a 4 per cent stake in the business.
More than 30,000 screened and checked members have signed up to use the service and there are now more than 850 registered cars in Sydney and Melbourne.
Car Next Door was named last week as one of 200 outstanding businesses in Westpac's Businesses of Tomorrow program, and now it has its sights set on conquering the Queensland capital.
Business News Australia spoke with Will Davies, and asked him about Car Next Door's expansion plans and how to approach the tricky task of sticking your hand out for funding.
You've just launched in Brisbane, talk us through what's happening?
How many cars, how many users?
Do you think the Brisbane launch will have the same take-up rate as in Sydney and Melbourne?
So, word of mouth is a key driver, excuse the pun, for you guys?
Do you have any definitive expansion plans from here?
You're working with Shark Tank's Steve Baxter after landing a deal with, what's your working relationship like with him?
Steve Baxter gave us a candid interview recently saying to be an entrepreneur you have to go to bed with a pain in your gut, you're risking people's livelihoods.
Are you happy to reveal turnover figures? I'm hearing two to three million dollars a year.
You did a $2.5 million capital raising last year, do you have any further ones planned?
What are your key pieces of advice for entrepreneurs and scale-ups trying to secure funding?
The main thing is whenever you meet someone you keep in touch with them. I send out updates to most people I meet and I think you just need to let people know what you're up to. You know there are people out there that take the money but they don't keep in touch, so when I come to do a capital raise I've got this good group of people who I've kept in touch with over a period of time. I let them know we can hit our goals and we're moving forward so we're not trying to reintroduce ourselves from scratch again.
So, in summary everyone you meet, keep in touch with them once every few months and then tell them what your goals are and show them that you're achieving them.
Business News Australia
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