Last month, the happy campers behind Camptoo raised €236.000 through crowdfunding in only five days. That amount has almost tripled to a whopping €656.750 now that the campaign is closed after just a month. The big investment in the camper and caravan sharing platform shows the popularity of crowdfunding platforms and the sharing economy is still very popular among investors and consumers.
Oneplanetcrowd
Camptoo started their crowdfunding campaign on Oneplanetcrowd, a platform where investors can become co-owners through a convertible loan. The money (300 percent of the target amount) comes from a total of 300 new co-owners who invested in the company. With the money, Camptoo will expand abroad to countries like Belgium, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – countries that are very popular among motorhome enthusiasts. The startup will also add a service to pick up the rented camper or caravan directly at the airport.
Win-win situation
With Camptoo, founder Martijn Peters wanted to make camper and caravan holidays available to anybody in a sustainable way. Research showed that campers and caravans are standing in the garage for an average of 48 weeks (!) a year. Getting those vehicles on the road for an affordable fare and with a full insurance, is a win-win situation for both the owner and renter. Camptoo makes money by receiving a 15 percent commission from the rental fees.
Popularity
The rapid and big investment in Camptoo show that both the sharing economy and financing through crowdfunding is booming. Earlier, sharing platforms Snappcar and Peerby successfully received funding through crowdfunding as well. “We are living in the age of the crowds,” says Simon Douw, founder of crowdfunding agency Douw&Koren. According to Douw, crowdfunding and the sharing economy share the same basic starting point: that people are connected to each other, and are able to make ideas become reality where everybody profits.
15.000 Camptoo nights vs. 100.000 Goboony searches
Two years after launch, over 15.000 nights have been booked through Camptoo. The startup claims to have the biggest rental fleet in the Benelux, but direct competitor Goboony is also doing really well, with 100.000 consumers searching for a camper and a recent investment of a whopping €350.000. Camptoo has until the end of the month to surpass that amount, but maybe it’s time for the founders to talk about a merge?