Boatsetter Notches $10M ‘Extension’ Funding Round

To help it grow its business, boat rental firm Boatsetter has announced a $10 million Series A “extension” funding round. The investment was led by Valor Equity and WestCap Group, according to reports.

The company has notched $31 million to date, with the inclusion of earlier parts of the Series A brought in over the last two years. As part of the new funding, Boatsetter is bringing on Laurence Tosi, founder and partner at WestCap, as a new board member. The funds will aid the company in taking in new talent geared toward engineering, design and brand building.

As a U.S. peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace, Boatsetter provides boat renters, captains and owners with insurance via a strategic partnership with Geico that was just announced. The company pegs the size of the boat rentals P2P market as high as $50 billion per year.

Boatsetter’s platform enables users to have a day out on the water and customize their experiences via web, phone or tablet. If a customer is not experienced out in the water, she can hire a captain.

Users can type in the place where they want to rent and choose a boat based on factors such as type, length and reviews. Payments are collected, processed and distributed on Boatsetter’s platform.

In terms of the company’s market, Boatsetter Co-founder and CEO Jaclyn Baumgarten told PYMNTS in a recent interview that GenXers and millennials are among its fastest-growing segments. The average age of a boat owner is 58 years old, but Baumgarten noted that “our average renter is below 45 years of age.” And more than 55 percent of renters are under 35 years old, while nearly 40 are women.