Bungii launches on-demand hauling in Chicago; quirks of new markets steering KC startup’s agility
May 16, 2019 | Tommy Felts
Bungii is quickly seeing results in the third-largest U.S. city, as the sharing economy startup leaves its tire prints on yet another market.
“It’s early, but we are seeing very positive KPIs [key performance indicators] from the Chicago launch. It’s our fastest-growing record to date,” said Ben Jackson, co-founder of Bungii, which was founded in the Kansas City metro in 2015. “Each subsequent market is growing faster than the previous due to: 1) A better understanding and more precise customer acquisition model. and 2) Continuing progress we’re making from an operational standpoint.”
Co-founder Harrison Proffitt is on the ground in Chicago for the launch, fresh off opening the Miami market to Bungii’s platform this winter.
Click here to learn more about why Bungii was named one of Startland’s Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2019.
Bungii’s elevator pitch: Bungii is an app that puts a pickup truck at your fingertips to help move, haul and deliver stuff around town. We’ve been compared to popular ride sharing app, but instead of moving people, we move people’s stuff.
Click here to download the app.
New cities expose ways to improve Bungii’s offerings to better fit individual geographic and demographic quirks, while still appealing to and serving a broad customer and driver base, Jackson said.
Kansas City boasts a high population of pickup trucks, for example, while Atlanta has some of the worst traffic nationally, he explained, also noting the experience of Washington D.C.’s high population density and urban landscape.
“Each market is different with unique challenges and intricacies,” Jackson said. “We’ve found that each must be approached with a learner’s mindset; we really need to understand what makes these markets tick and where the hot spots are.”
“I’m so proud of our team’s ability to adapt and overcome,” he continued. “We can handle anything a market throws at us.”
Such confidence is earned, in part, through Bungii’s 24-percent compound monthly growth rate in gross revenue, year to date.
“When drilling down on a single market (city) level, we’re still seeing strong, triple-digit annual growth, even from our most mature markets,” Jackson said.
Bungii expects to open operations in at least 10 new cities in 2019, Jackson told Startland previously.
“By the end of the year, we should be operating coast to coast,” he said.
Click here to learn more about Bungii’s service.

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Entrepreneur of the Year: Zig when others are zagging — and don’t be afraid of the word ‘no’
Bold strategies helped lead BacklotCars to one of Kansas City’s biggest-ever startup exits, said Justin Davis, and ultimately brought the lauded founder to the stage Wednesday to accept one of UMKC’s Entrepreneur of the Year honors. “Taking ‘no’ for an answer wasn’t an option,” the co-founder and CEO of BacklotCars, a web-based, dealer-to-dealer automotive platform, told…
New grant from Porter House KC helps business owners ‘Scale Deep’; applications close Oct. 24
An additional funding opportunity for select small businesses is now available thanks to a seed planted years ago by The Porter House KC. The nonprofit has partnered with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation for the new Scale Deep Grant, which will disperse $30,000 between three small businesses for back office support, equipment cost, rental assistance, and…
Founder: Build your startup on relationships — not tech — to survive seismic industry shifts
Nurturing healthy relationships with clients and partners is the most sustainable way to build a business, said Dan Prince, reflecting on his time growing a custom software development company in Kansas City. “You grow a business by your reputation, by doing the best work for people that you can possibly do. I was told a…
Why NMotion gives founders (without a startup) $100K and tells them to forget their assumptions
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. LINCOLN,…


