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
UMKC pitch challenge awards $95K+ for ‘entrepreneur state of mind’ in and outside the classroom
Winning $15,000 in Friday’s pitch competition at UMKC’s Regnier Venture Creation Challenge felt like the culmination of years of hard work and development, said Iyshia Sims. “Oh my gosh, I’m just so proud of myself,” said Sims, founder of ‘Amir’acle Body Butters and More. “I felt really good after the pitch, I have pitched a…
InvestMidwest returns to St. Louis May 6-7 for Midwest venture capital forum’s 25th year
ST. LOUIS — About 50 startups — including some of Kansas City’s most high-profile emerging companies — are expected to pitch to more than 100 investors May 6-7 when the InvestMidwest conference turns St. Louis into the gateway to innovation. “On the 25th anniversary of InvestMidwest, it’s great to be back in St. Louis where it…
Family’s Japanese-inspired fabric gift wrap hits a home run with new fans (and an iconic American baseball team)
At the intersection of heritage and innovation, a Kansas City family business is pitching a new way to gift, through vibrant fabric package wraps that carry both meaning and intention — even catching the attention of an unexpected collaborator: Major League Baseball. Keiko Furoshiki — a Kansas City brand crafted at the creative fingertips of Japanese-American…
Tech veterans launch startup studio to back next-wave SaaS products with founder-led thinking
Backed by years of entrepreneurial wins, the team behind Full Scale and the exited Stackify just announced a new product studio and startup lab concept — purpose-built for what founder Matt Watson called the post-playbook SaaS era. “Founders today are facing a new set of realities,” said Watson, serial entrepreneur, podcast host, and co-founder of…


