Anna Banicevic, Zizoo’s CEO and co-founder.
Existing investors Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Mairdumont Ventures and aws Grunderfonds participated in the round, joined by new players including PUSH Ventures.
BERLIN – After a substantial 2017 growth of 300%, the Berlin travel tech start-up has closed a seven-digit round from new and existing investors, including Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Mairdumont Ventures and aws Grunderfonds. The investment is to set the company on course to expand its focus onto mini-cruises, open new markets and add 30 new employees to its team in 2018.
Zizoo, offering over 15,000 boats in 530 destinations has started 2018 with a bang. "We’re pleased to report we’re growing 300% year on year, and we’re on course to see similar results in 2019", explains Anna Banicevic, Zizoo’s CEO and co-founder. "Our goal is to reach the 500m. euros mark by the end of 2022, excluding our B2B revenue. While the DACH region remains our most important customer market, we will also be expanding into France, Italy and Russia. In terms of inventory, we are adding mini-cruises to our product portfolio and further expanding our Caribbean and Mediterranean fleet."
Growth across the board
Both yacht charter and cruising industries have experienced a boom in recent years. Holidays on board are considered ‘the next big thing’ and the high growth potential has allowed Zizoo to offer over 1,000 local charter companies access to the global market, which is evaluated at €33bn by Future Market Insights. "The investment will allow us to double the team and give us the opportunity to reach new customers, in line with our mission to make booking a boat holiday as easy as booking a hotel room", announces Banicevic. In 2017 alone, 400 more charter companies added their fleets to Zizoo’s platform via its innovative SaaS product, making the Berlin start-up boast the biggest inventory on the market. In Spring 2018, a B2B partnership with two major European travel companies will be announced, allowing Zizoo to tap into new customer bases.
Existing investors Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Mairdumont Ventures and aws Grunderfonds participated in the round, joined by new players including PUSH Ventures. Zizoo has also expanded its management team, led by ex-Google employee Anna Banicevic: senior hires were made, bringing experience from prominent digital leaders such as Kayak and Trivago. ‘We couldn’t be in a better place right now. We’re taking over the industry one boat at a time’ concludes Banicevic.
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