Vugo, a Twin Cities startup specializing in rideshare advertising, announced today that it plans to move its corporate headquarters to Florida after Tampa-based Florida Funders agreed to lead the company's Series A round of funding.
For the past several years, Vugo has battled local and national governments for the right to advertise in rideshare services like Uber and Lyft. Vugo's petition to the Supreme Court of the U.S. defending drivers' right to advertise under the first amendment (Vugo v. City of New York) is currently pending before the court.
Vugo selected Florida as its new home in response to a bill passed by the Florida Senate last month that establishes guidelines for rideshare advertising.
"Florida has made the right call when it comes to allowing the free market to help drivers earn more money and benefit the community overall," Vugo CEO Rob Flessner said in a statement. "We are excited about expanding our network in Florida and working with Florida Funders to continue to drive innovation in rideshare advertising."
He added that Vugo is currently considering Orlando, Tampa or Miami for its new headquarters. The company hopes to make the move by the end of 2020, but this could be pushed back because of concerns stemming from COVID-19.
Vugo Co-Founder James Bellefeuille told Minne Inno that the company currently consists of five people, but the founders plan to grow in Florida after completing Vugo's Series A. Bellefeuille declined to provide further details about the company's fundraising efforts.
"We are still unsure of who all will be making the move to Florida as it is a big decision, some of our team may choose to continue to work remotely from Minnesota," Bellefeuille said.
Vugo was founded in 2015 with a simple idea. Passengers in ridesharing vehicles have a lot of downtime during their commutes. Why not give them something to look at? Vugo aims to put relevant advertisements in front of passenerges of car services like Uber and Lyft via tablets in the passenger area of the vehicles. Vugo provides the content and gives drivers a share of the advertising revenue.
The company won the high tech division of the Minnesota Cup in 2016 and raised about $1 million the following year in a crowdfunding campaign.
"The real winners today are the rideshare drivers who will benefit the most from earning more taxable income with their vehicles," Bellefeuille said. "Rideshare advertising will add value to the Florida economy by creating highly desirable advertising, promoting public service organizations and adding an additional income stream for drivers"
