{"id":375,"date":"2016-10-01T09:15:46","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T09:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/dozr-raises-1-9-million-to-become-an-airbnb-for-bulldozers-and-excavators.html"},"modified":"2016-10-01T09:15:46","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T09:15:46","slug":"dozr-raises-1-9-million-to-become-an-airbnb-for-bulldozers-and-excavators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/dozr-raises-1-9-million-to-become-an-airbnb-for-bulldozers-and-excavators.html","title":{"rendered":"Dozr raises $1.9 million to become an Airbnb for bulldozers and excavators"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

A startup called Dozr Inc. has raised CAN $2.5 million (or $1.9 million USD) in seed funding to help contractors rent heavy industrial equipment from other construction professionals who have it, but aren\u2019t using it.<\/p>\n

Based in Kitchener, Ontario Dozr\u2019s marketplace lets builders rent equipment, like excavators, skidsteers or one day drones and industrial robotics, either alone, or with a licensed operator who can run it for the duration of a given job.<\/p>\n

Dozr launched in 2015 and has already amassed more than 2,000 customers and listed more than $50 million worth of equipment on their marketplace.<\/p>\n

Dozr\u2019s seed investment was led solely by Fair Ventures,<\/a> an investment and innovation unit within Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dozr's<\/p>\n

Dozr\u2019s app helps contractors find industrial equipment to rent from peers in the industry.<\/em><\/p>\n

Among its businesses, Fairfax owns large insurance and reinsurance providers, including Federated Insurance, which actually sells insurance to heavy equipment owners via Dozr\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n

While focused on the Canadian market to-date, Dozr\u2019s investors expect it will eventually expand into the U.S.<\/p>\n

For the near-term, the company plans to use its seed funding to add new features to its platform, and hire employees across sales, marketing, product and engineering.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s founders are family members with experience working in the construction business, together\u2013 brothers Kevin and Tim Forestell, and Erin Stephenson who is married to Kevin Forestell.<\/p>\n

One feature Dozr plans to add to its site this year will allow users to upload a video when they list equipment for rent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith video Dozr will be able to show the condition of equipment as it leaves and as it comes back to a renter, or even how it is used when it\u2019s on the job site,\u201d Kevin Forestell said.<\/p>\n

\"Dozr<\/p>\n

Dozr co-founders Tim Forestell, Erin Stephenson and Kevin Forestell.<\/em><\/p>\n

Video appeals to contractors who can hear from different pings, creaks and squeaks how well-maintained a particular machine may be. Video also appeals to insurance providers, because it can help avoid confusion over who may be at fault in cases of damages or accidents involving rented equipment.<\/p>\n

The company currently offers users a browser and mobile-optimized version of its marketplace, but will also develop native mobile apps, given their seed funding.<\/p>\n

Fair Ventures\u2019 Gerry McGuire said his company backed Dozr because it believes the sharing economy concept can work well for the construction market and heavy, industrial equipment.<\/p>\n

Users of industrial equipment face a choice between purchasing expensive equipment or coming up short when they have a job to complete, the investor explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who become purchasers in many cases.. face issues of idle equipment and excess capacity. Being able to match the demand of users who may be unable or unwilling to purchase the high-cost equipment with the excess capacity of those who have already purchased equipment makes sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the U.S. Dozr faces competition from other VC-backed marketplaces for industrial equipment including Yard Club<\/a>, Getable<\/a> and EquipmentShare.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dozr sees itself as differentiated from these marketplaces because it provides\u00a0insurance directly to equipment owners with every rental, allows renters to book\u00a0talent not just equipment, and because it has deep experience in markets with inclement weather.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Featured Image: dozr.com<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

Article source: https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2016\/09\/29\/dozr-raises-1-9-million-to-become-an-airbnb-for-bulldozers-and-excavators\/?ncid=rss<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A startup called Dozr Inc. has raised CAN $2.5 million (or $1.9 million USD) in seed funding to help contractors rent heavy industrial equipment from other construction professionals who have <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-networking-and-communication","tag-network-and-communication"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t