CarCloud

Idea

Introduction

CarCloud is the app for the UK’s 33 million drivers to organise their cars in one place on their phones. We’ve got used to managing nearly every aspect of our lives remotely on our phones. But for most, car admin is spread across different websites, offline services, and a drawer at home stuffed full of car paperwork.

CarCloud is a life hack app that saves drivers time, money and hassle. The app gives customers peace of mind through key dates reminders, such as car tax, MOT and insurance. CarCloud combines driver and car data to take time and hassle out of buying the services required to keep a car legal.

Insurance is the first revenue channel, followed by finance, a paid app upgrade for 4-10 cars and a compliance platform for businesses, planned for integration by March 2022.

The cartech market is growing fast. Our exit plan is to sell CarCloud to an established business in 4-6 years, that needs the technology and user base to be a significant player in digital car ownership.

Substantial accomplishments to date

- CarCloud was founded in June 2018 with the vision of making car ownership easier by managing it in one place on your phone.

- In 2019, we tested the concept by trialling a basic CarCloud app in the Birmingham area.

- In two months, 7,873 cars were on the platform in an area covering just 5.1% of the UK driver population.

- Over the past 18 months, we've developed the platform to deliver a pandemic and recession resilient business proposition.

- The CarCloud app was released on Apple's App Store and Google Play in August 2021.

- Our marketing is delivered digitally via CarCloud’s media partner Reach Plc (formally Trinity Mirror Group).

- We are acquiring customers from a mix of national, regional and locally targeted digital media.

- National digital user acquisition platforms include the Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Record and OK!

- Regional platforms include London Live, Manchester Live, Wales Online and In Your Area.

- CarCloud’s seed investor converted their initial seed debt funding to equity in November 2020, purchasing a 17.4% equity stake at a post-money valuation of £6.05M.

Monetisation strategy

CarCloud earns revenue when our customers save time and money, taking time and hassle out of buying the services we need to run our cars.

Combining vehicle and personal data, we pre-populate the lengthy and often repetitive forms needed to buy services, like insurance and finance.

CarCloud has developed 4 revenue streams:

Car insurance (August 2021) - Competitive quotes from over 100 insurance companies in minutes, with each policy earning a commission.

Car finance (Dec 2021) - CarCloud’s equity calculator ensures customers know when's best to change their car. Applying for finance is quick via pre-population, with each agreement earning a commission.

MultiCar (Nov 2021) - The paid app upgrade for families, multiple car owners and small businesses who want to manage 4-10 cars on CarCloud.

Business Compliance (March 2022) - 90% of business journeys are in the employees’ cars. CarCloud delivers live checks to ensure all drivers and cars are legal. Revenue via monthly SaaS subscription.

Use of proceeds

30% will be invested in software development to integrate the 3 further revenue streams of finance, and business compliance and MultiCar.

This will ensure that CarCloud builds commercial resilience quickly, by operating in both the retail consumer and business-to-business markets.

We will invest in system resilience, with a specific focus on cyber security and the protection of customer data.

25% will be invested in digital marketing to drive user acquisition, through CarCloud's digital media partnership with Reach Plc.

This will ensure that cost-effective customer growth underpins business development.

30% will be invested in building a focused, flexible and talented team to supercharge CarCloud's growth, taking advantage of the transformation in working practices.

15% will be invested in data contracting. We use multiple data sources to take car industry knowledge and present it to our customers in an immediately understandable way, that gives them control over their decisions.