We have a diverse and dynamic group of startups in our community, each with unique backstories and experiences as entrepreneurs. The Startup Spotlight series is designed to acquaint you better with our community. This month, we feature Mooringo, a team of sailors and engineers working to make boating easier and more accessible.
How did you come up with the idea for the business?
The motivation to make more berths and destinations available to find, book and visit came after years of sailing in the Swedish archipelago. All these beautiful bays, boat clubs, seaside restaurants and small islets are full of vacant berths and buoys that you as a boater do not know if you are allowed to use or not. Such a waste.
Why does the industry need the solution you're providing?
Any new destination possible to visit adds to the boating adventure, but much about boating is to reduce risk and so is the choice of destinations. Travelling to small destinations is a bigger risk as they may not have the space to accommodate you. Mooringo's free booking solution specialises in smaller destinations that do not have the financial strength to compete with large marinas, employ staff and invest in marketing. We are a team of sailors and engineers who strive to make boating more relaxing and accessible. It is stressful finding a suitable destination because data about vacancy level is missing and digital booking is not possible. Our ambition is to make any destination bookable, especially smaller destinations that cannot do promotion themselves.
We provide a free-of-charge real-time digital booking system for marinas, boat clubs, bay restaurants and also private piers and buoys. In the Mooringo app, we display any bookable destination, regardless if managed by Mooringo or any other booking provider.
What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?
The most fun thing about starting my own company is that we have gained so much insight into every aspect of boating – not only from our boating side of things.
What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning of your journey?
When we started, the boating industry in Sweden believed we tried to implement a disruptive business model like AirBnB on the marina market. Yes – individual people who own their berth(s) can rent it out via Mooringo, but our main focus is to turn small bay restaurants and boat clubs into bookable destinations, without turning them into full-fledged marinas.
Any bits of advice for entrepreneurs getting started in this space?
Go for it! It is fun to work in the boating industry where the sun is always shining.
What's the plan for the future of the business? Where do you see the company in 3-5 years? We are starting with our small destination concept in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Australia/New Zealand and are now looking for country representatives who believe they can get Mooringo going on their market. Get in touch!
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