savvy navvy sails past £600,000 crowdfunding target in days

Marine technology company savvy navvy has already blown past a £600,000 target, after launching a crowdfunding campaign last week.

The round is currently still open on Seedrs, but the firm says it may be the last chance for anyone who wants to own a piece of the company to come onboard as this could “possibly” be the last crowdfunding round it undertakes.

By the end of 2022 the boating navigation app doubled its annual recurring revenue to £1.5m. The previous crowdfunding rounds run since 2019 proved hugely successful with more than £3m raised in total by more than 1,800 investors, including the founders of Kahoot.

“In all our rounds to date, this is the fastest overfunding we’ve ever experienced, and I’m blown away by the continued support,” says Jelte Liebrand, CEO and founder of savvy navvy. “We are knocking at the door of profitability and as a company we’re moving into a new phase.

“With this funding round we will be looking at launching our enhanced version of the app to get even more people safely out on the water. We are continuing to overfund, but anyone who wants the opportunity to own a piece of savvy navvy will have to act fast to not miss out.”

Liebrand, an ex-Google software engineer and avid sailor, built the app from the ground up alongside his now 15-strong fully remote team. He says interest in the product is more prominent than ever.

“We’ve hit close to a million app downloads and users have plotted more than 100,000,000 miles around the world,” he adds. “Now in our sixth year here at savvy navvy, we are actively shaping the marine industry for the better and challenging the bigger navigation apps in the market.

Liebrand says the fresh investment will help continue to drive new technical innovations going forward. “We are also working more closely with marine agencies and other stakeholders, as we are building one of the most insight-rich platforms on boating behaviour,” he says. “It is a rare opportunity to play a part in shaping the future of sailing tech as we know it and we are so delighted to have our new investors on board as we head into the next phase of growth and innovation.”

The Poole-based entrepreneur won the Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the South West last year (November 2022) and in December 2022 the company joined forces with Quad Lock and Beyonder to enhance boaters’ experiences on the water.