I’m excited to announce that a16z is leading the Series A for Bounce, a marketplace for consumers to access underutilized space in local businesses.
Bounce enables consumers to book short-term luggage storage and package retrieval at local businesses–with more services coming soon! Today, more than 7,000 businesses use the Bounce network to make extra revenue and increase foot traffic. And thousands of consumers use Bounce every day to live a more flexible life.
Bounce is a company that was almost killed by the pandemic, with revenue falling to zero overnight in March 2020 as small businesses closed and consumers stopped traveling. The team went into survival mode for more than a year and shifted gears to focus on building the network. The commitment to this long-term, strategic goal meant they were ready when the world opened back up. Bookings grew almost 40x in 2021.
The need for Bounce is stronger than ever post-pandemic. Local businesses understand the importance of diversifying their revenue streams. Businesses on Bounce range from bike rental shops, to gyms, to hotels and more. Bounce brings free revenue to their door – first through the original booking, and then through the increased foot traffic. It’s seamless for these businesses to accept and manage Bounce bookings, with insurance and customer service taken care of by Bounce.
Since the start of COVID, the company has generated more than $1 million in revenue for small businesses–and they just launched the BounceBack program to put $3 million more into the hands of small businesses by the end of summer 2022. (If you’re a small business – check out what you can earn through Bounce here.)
On the customer side, the value proposition is just as strong. Travel has begun to rebound, with much more growth to come: some predict that summer 2022 could be the busiest travel season on record! Bounce’s luggage storage product serves travelers who want to squeeze in an extra day of sightseeing, but maybe haven’t been able to check into their hotel or Airbnb yet, or want to explore a city for a few hours while on the way to their final destination.
Bounce also uniquely serves “digital nomads”, a cohort that exploded during COVID–climbing from an estimated 7 million in 2019 to 15 million by the end of 2021. Why get stuck in a long-term lease when you can work from anywhere? Bounce’s vision of “cloud storage for the physical world” aligns perfectly with this new consumer behavior, and the company has become a key part of the infrastructure to enable many travelers’ journeys – whether it’s for package or luggage storage.
Bounce founder Cody Candee is the perfect person to build this company. After leaving Intuit in 2015, Cody traveled the world for two years chasing personal projects, visiting more than 60 countries and relocating dozens of times with just a few suitcases. He saw firsthand the freedom Bounce can afford travelers and individuals, and the potential for store owners everywhere.
With Bounce locations in over 1,000 cities including cities like New York, London, Lisbon, and Paris, Bounce is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) global network of its kind. With this round, the company will expand to more markets, build more tools to serve Bounce businesses even better, and offer more services to consumers.
Welcome Cody and team to the a16z portfolio!
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