With KC expansion set, EquipmentShare raises $28.4M
January 24, 2017 | Bobby Burch
A firm that’s planning to open a Kansas City tech office snagged millions in equity financing for its platform touted as the “Airbnb for construction equipment.”
Based in Columbia, Mo., EquipmentShare raised about $28.4 in a Series B round that will accelerate its expansion to major metros around the nation, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
EquipmentShare created a platform that’s disrupting the way contractors and construction crews rent equipment. Instead of turning to more expensive equipment rental companies, the firm’s peer-to-peer marketplace to rent construction equipment connects contractors to other contractors to find and rent unused equipment that otherwise would be collecting dust. In addition to the marketplace, the firm created a device — the ES Tracker — that provides real-time data on the location and use of machines that have been rented.
Founded in 2014, EquipmentShare has garnered serious traction in its three years. The company already has 95 employees, raised more than $30 million and participated in the Y Combinator accelerator program.
The marketplace is in operation in Columbia, St. Louis, Dallas, Jacksonville and Auckland, New Zealand, but plans to expand quickly in the coming year. In the next 18 months, the firm plans to expand its offerings into most major metros in the United States, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and others.
As it expands around the nation, EquipmentShare co-founder Willy Schlacks said he’s hoping to hire about 20 Kansas City software and web developers for the firm.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Joni Cobb and Pipeline took ‘a leap of faith’ that’s paying off
In 2006, Joni Cobb was busy coaxing Kansas business executives to apply for a program honing their leadership skills. Then a state-subsidized program, Pipeline would cultivate promising entrepreneurs that would tangentially grow the Sunflower State’s economy with their firms. Extolled as rigorous, the Pipeline sales pitch hit snags with its intensiveness and novelty. Skeptical entrepreneurs…
The Pipeline fellowship’s journey to the Emerald Isle in photos
In an educational adventure focused on finance and global business strategy, the Pipeline entrepreneurial fellowship program ventured across the pond for a week of relationship building. I tagged along not only to observe the experience — expect more on that front soon — but to capture some moments with my camera. This smattering of photos, which…
Kansas City startups flex pitch skills in national Kauffman contest
Four Kansas City area startups — and one Lawrence, Kan. firm — have qualified to the top 40 of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s 1 in a Million pitch competition. The competition offers those who have presented at 1 Million Cups in the last year a chance to snag a $25,000 prize. Hundreds of applicants — who…
Big Bang leverages smart city success, LaunchKC momentum
Editor’s note: This content is sponsored by LaunchKC but independently produced by Startland News. As Kansas City becomes a hotbed for smart city tech, one local startup is providing a spine for streamlined communication among the devices cities will leverage. Kansas City-based Big Bang’s Internet of Things software aims to work as the “central nervous…