Subiaco-based tech startup Fleetsu is seeking to raise $1 million in venture capital funding to better target multinational customers for its vehicle tracking technology.
Subiaco-based tech startup Fleetsu is seeking to raise $1 million in venture capital funding to better target multinational customers for its vehicle tracking technology.
Founded by chief executive Jakub Felinski in 2015, Fleetsu has grown rapidly since securing $1.2 million in initial angel investments and winning the 2016 Motorola Solutions Public Safety Hackathon in Brisbane.
The business has developed software that tracks vehicle assets, typically within the mining and construction sectors, by connecting customer vehicles to the cloud to collect information such as fuel burns, engine parameters, location and speed.
Mr Felinski said Fleetsu’s technology analysed the data collected and sent reports to the customer, which then used the information to maximise asset efficiency and workplace safety.
“If we can save 10-20 per cent of downtime for this (vehicle heavy) kind of business and make them sweat the assets better, they actually have a massive addition to their revenue,” he said.
Mr Felinski said large multinational customers were the company’s strategic focus, and that current Fleetsu employees were experienced in dealing with large businesses.
“We understand how to pitch to them and we understand how to sell to them as well, so (we understand) what kind of needs they have,” he said.
It is hoped this latest capital raising will help propel the business towards revenue of $2.2 million by the end of the financial year.
“The biggest challenge at this stage is funding the business,” Mr Felinski told Business News.
“Businesses die, not really by lack of clients, but by lack of operating capital.
“So for us, getting the operating capital to make sure it can actually accelerate is very important.”
Currently, Fleetsu’s largest customer operates 1,700 vehicles.
Mr Felinski said Fleetsu’s growth expectations were based on promising pilot opportunities undertaken in concert with several large Australian and global businesses.
“Very recently we started the biggest pilot to date with one of the multinational (vehicle rental) companies with a presence in Australia,” he said.
“So we just deployed 500 assets for a pilot with them, potentially scaling to about 40,000.”
With a 100 per cent subscription-based pricing model at $25-40 a month, an asset base of this size would generate substantial revenue for Fleetsu, Mr Felinski said.
“If that converts, we will be looking at about $50 million,” he said.
Mr Felinski said there was no plan to list Fleetsu on the ASX at this stage, with the company instead seeking a sole investor to facilitate the business expansion.
“We’re in the early stages of discussions,” he said.
“For us, finding the right partner with the right capital is important.”
Initial investor and prominent Western Australian businessmen Graham Griffiths chairs the board and has been directly involved in the business since its inception.
Other board members include: Mr Felinksi, who brings 15 years’ IT experience including technical management and IT architecture roles at Caterpillar dealership WesTrac; Izabela Felinski, who is part-time creative director; and Frits de Vroet, an initial investor and the international program director, with previous experience in IT strategy and execution, and as the interim chief executive at WesTrac.
