Business at a group airfare bookings startup is again taking off after being grounded for most of 2020.
Orlando-based Bacarai Inc.’s bookings are at 70% of pre-pandemic levels, a rebound after new bookings hovered around zero for most of last year, co-founder and COO Kenny Totten told Orlando Inno. As Bacarai aims to make up all of its lost ground this year and return to growth next year, the company plans a $1 million fundraising round, Totten said.
Bacarai will raise the round this fall through crowdfunding investment platform Republic. Republic is part of the growing sector of equity crowdfunding, where businesses raise investment dollars from the general public, usually through dedicated websites.
The funds will come at a crucial time for Bacarai. The firm is focused on getting business back to pre-pandemic levels, but Totten said “healthy” growth for Bacarai in 2022 would be a 25%-50% year-over-year increase in bookings. Canceled school trips and delayed business events have contributed to pent-up demand in the group air travel space, Totten said. In addition, Bacarai is hiring back some of the eight employees it cut last year when bookings bottomed out.
While companies in the travel tech sector may face higher levels of scrutiny, good investment opportunities are out there, said Ryan Whittemore, chief investment officer of Florida Funders LLC. The Tampa-based firm is the Sunshine State’s most active venture capital investor, according to CB Insights. “I personally would love to see deals in this space.”
Meanwhile, equity crowdfunding last year gained significant traction with businesses and investors. Companies used the method to raise $215 million in 2020, up 105% from 2019, according to an analysis by equity crowdfunding education site CrowdWise. Plus, there were 358,000 participating investors in 2020, a 75% increase from the year before.
Crowdfunding for startups is catching on in Central Florida, too. Orlando-based Miventure Inc. launched in 2020, and in spring 2021 it pivoted to an early-stage crowdfunded investment platform for early-stage businesses. Miventure plans to facilitate $2 million in startup investment campaigns this year.
The crowdfunding platform offered by Miventure helps people get monetarily invested, not just emotionally invested, in startups in their communities, Dennis Pape, founder and CEO SeedFundersOrlando, previously said. The early-stage investment firm in January participated in Miventure’s $250,000 seed round. "It extends the friends and family round to the enthusiasts or supporters that now have the availability of investing in the startup.”
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