Just over three years since winning the BCIC-New Ventures Competition, Vonigo Co-founder, John Carter, comments on how clinching the 2013 title was a turning point for his company.
Vonigo entered the 2013 BCIC-New Ventures Competition at an early stage, with a great concept and the beginnings of traction. Winning left them with much more than $100,000 in prize money and a claim to glory—the expert feedback received throughout the six-month process was instrumental in distilling their business model and leading them to successfully raise capital.
Now, three and a half years later, two rounds of equity funding have helped Vonigo accelerate its growth, expand its team, and generate millions in revenue. This trajectory has continued to propel them forward with a recent venture debt raise from Espresso Capital and another equity round in the works for the first half of 2017.
John explains, “The NVBC competition was a turning point for the company. It forced us to think critically about our business model and how we go about pitching to investors.”
“It also helped us build our network. The mentors spent a lot of time with us and provided outstanding guidance both for the competition and the business in general. The cash prize we received was a great boost and allowed us to execute faster.”
“The competition was also helpful in terms of credibility and assisted with validating the business in the eyes of investors. The validation piece was instrumental in raising capital, and the residual of that is a positive note in Vonigo’s history. We’re still seeing the benefits today,” he says.
Balancing the right customer mix
Vonigo is currently heads down on execution and is continuing on its path to scale. To move forward strategically, their focus is on maintaining the right customer mix, while acquiring new business that effectively balances their desire for sustainable growth.
With an eye on capturing the huge market need happening right now, raising capital isn’t earmarked for keeping the lights on; it’s helping them to scale.
A proud moment with Habitat for Humanity
When asked about his proudest moment at Vonigo, John was quick to mention the “value that clients are receiving from the product—the bottom line benefits that help their businesses grow and be more successful.”
Vonigo also serves non-profits and the benefits are clear when looking at Habitat for Humanity (HFH). Vonigo’s software is powering the donation pick-up operations for Habitat’s network of ReStores, which send trucks out to homes and businesses to collect donated physical goods to be resold—helping fund Habitat’s mission of building homes for low-income families.
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver increased its physical goods donations by $1,000,000 in one year after activating Vonigo’s online booking module. Multiple new homes for low-income families will be constructed in the Denver metro area as a result. Meanwhile, Habitat Los Angeles saw a 300% spike in donation pick-up requests and expanded its truck fleet from four to eight.
Vonigo’s team is honored that dozens of homes are being built as a direct result of the software—which has snowballed into a national agreement with HFH. This achievement has become a real motivator for the team, and it’s just one example of many other similar success stories from both businesses and non-profits alike.
“Yes, we’re developing a product that meets a need, but the impact on service-based businesses and non-profits around the globe means so much to our team. Increased sales, reduced costs, improved customer satisfaction, elimination of paper—it’s the impact that’s so rewarding for us to see,” John says.
About Vonigo
Vonigo is an online business management platform that helps streamline operations and increase sales of mobile service companies. Vonigo offers a unified suite of configurable field service software modules including; CRM, scheduling, online booking, work order management, estimating, dispatch, routing, GPS, invoicing, payments, reporting, and more, all accessible over the Internet from any desktop or mobile device. Millions of jobs have been successfully booked and managed with Vonigo.
