Bungalo may be the only company working out of the Volta startup hub in Halifax that can legitimately claim expansion into Prince Edward Island is part of an international growth strategy.
The online cottage rental platform did just that this week, and the “international” part is convincing because the company began life in Iceland.
The tech startup, which is in the process of raising $1 million, has dual headquarters in Reykjavik and Halifax and believes the Canadian market is perfect for its product, which connects cottage owners and vacationers.
Having signed up 500 cottage owners in Iceland, the company established a beachhead in Nova Scotia in the summer and is following through on founder and CEO Haukur Gudjonsson’s plan to spread across Canada. On Monday, it announced its expansion into P.E.I.
“Right now, we have 12 listings from P.E.I. live on our site and 10 pending listings,” said spokeswoman Nina Nedic. “We also have three properties in New Brunswick, four properties in Newfoundland and five properties in Ontario. Our next area of focus will be New Brunswick, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Nedic said the company hopes to focus extensively on New Brunswick by mid-February and Newfoundland and Labrador later.
Gudjonsson has said that the Canadian cottage market is about 100 times that of Iceland’s, and he is especially excited about the massive market in Ontario.
Bungalo was born in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to help Icelanders in financial straits earn income by renting their cottages to tourists from around the world. The enterprise was so successful it expanded into Sweden and then Canada.
After visiting Halifax last year, Gudjonsson set up shop in Volta and hired a sales staff comprising Nedic and Autumn Fiske.
Their office is dominated by a map of the Maritimes marking every cottage in their portfolio. The number of markers has increased rapidly in the last few months.
Fiske said the expansion into P.E.I. works well because the island has a vibrant tourism industry.
There is also a good stock of cottages, and consumers benefit from strong competition.
“With fierce competition on the Island, cottage owners can gain a competitive edge by using Bungalo, a service with international partnerships and users,” she said.
It has placed one North Rustico property — a round, ocean-side cottage that rotates once every 45 minutes — among its featured listings.
To date, Bungalo boasts over 18,000 users and more than 600 cabins, cottages and summer homes that the company says are close to oceans, lakes, volcanoes, mountains and breathtaking skylines.
In September, Bungalo was accepted into the Launch36 accelerator. At the graduation presentation, Gudjonsson said the company has done $2.3 million in cottage rentals and has a growing revenue stream.
It is raising $1 million and is one of four recent Launch36 graduates eligible to receive a $150,000 convertible note from BDC Capital, part of the Business Development Bank of Canada. BDC has not yet announced which companies are receiving the funding.
Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support start-up companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies are featured in this column nor do they have the right to review columns before they are published.
