Koolen Industries, the clean energy investor headed by Kees Koolen, has invested in ParkBee, the leading tech platform for off-street parking in Europe. Other investors are a number of leading (tech) entrepreneurs and investors, as well existing shareholders. Total funding to ParkBee amounts to EUR 30m.

ParkBee secures EUR 30m in equity funding

In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association talks about Volvo installing EV charging stations at Starbucks stores, Tim Hortons doing the same in Canada, ParkBee raising $33M, Prose partnering with BreezoMeter on local pollution-based hair care, and CrownTV releasing a digital signage app to display NFTs at retailers.
The post Location-Based Marketing Association: Why Starbucks is Adding EV Charging Stations first appeared on Street Fight.

Location-Based Marketing Association: Why Starbucks is Adding EV Charging Stations

This is how you do it: going digital
By
Step one of digital transformation is to be digital ready or data ready of business operations. How? By automating business processes and/or through online marketing and sales. One step further is to expand and perhaps completely change the traditional business model. There are plenty of possibilities. Think of “use instead of possession” and “mobility-as-a-service”: people no longer want their own CD collection, full bookcase or car, but listen to Spotify, read downloaded books on an e-reader and purchase mobility services via a digital platform. Or ‘production on demand’: you only produce what customers need and when they need it. Another trend is ‘convenience above all’. The delivery services of traditional supermarkets are successful examples of this, competing with new-kids-on-the-block as Getir, Gorillas and Picnic. MT/Sprout gauges the state of digital transformation in the Netherlands in the DX300 survey. We answer two questions: Which companies and organizations are leading the way in digital transformation? And: which service providers are making this possible? These are the leaders and enablers in digital transformation
Relevant data is crucial for the development of those digital business models. If all goes well, their availability is increasing. The European Union is striving for a digital single market. According to innovation professor David Langley (RUG), this new data strategy should lead to a safe internal market for data that circulates freely throughout the EU and across all sectors. According to Langley, many companies are not yet aware of the possibilities that this will offer. The Groningen Digital Business Centre (GDBC), with which Langley is associated, helps them to anticipate this with a ‘digital roadmapping method’ and a ‘digital readiness scan’. ‘If you get it right, the potential is enormous.’
In short
Go for on-demand production, such as 247Tailorsteel
Seek cooperation, like parking platform ParkBee
And don’t forget to profit from freely circulating data
Trendsetter on demand
An example of a digital trendsetter is entrepreneur Carel van Sorgen. With his metalworking company 247Tailorsteel, he made a drastic U-turn from traditional, supply-driven production to on demand. Via an Internet portal developed by the company, the customer himself starts the production of parts. After a few minutes he receives the quotation, the product follows two days later. Customers include construction companies and metalworkers, but also artists and the hairdresser around the corner who has his logo cut out of metal. CEO and co-owner Carl Berlo is now also aiming at large customers who want a link between their own ERP system and the order portal. The digital environment is being developed by 247Tailorsteel’s thirty in-house software developers. Read also: ‘Leaders who know exactly which direction their company is going in are no longer believed’. This year the turnover of the fully automated company will pass the 100 million euro mark and the turnover per employee will ‘explode’, Berlo says. The company is going international at a rapid pace. A factory in Langenau, Germany, serves customers in southern Germany and Austria, and there are advanced plans for a factory in West Flanders for customers in the Belgian and northern French markets. Through a partnership with laser cutting machine supplier Trumpf, Berlo hopes to take the world by storm. Parking with purpose
The success of startups also shows the opportunities of digitalization. Take parking platform ParkBee, which took an everyday annoyance like finding a parking space as the starting point for a smart new service. After considerable growth in recent years, the company now qualifies as a scaleup. The online platform gives consumers access to empty parking spaces in parking garages of hotels and offices, among others. Thanks to integration with existing parking apps and mobility providers such as Parkmobile, Yellowbrick, Tranzer, JustPark and RingGo, there are now 30 to 50 million users in the Netherlands and England. In passing, the company can also score a social point. Commercial director (CCO) Wouter de Bruijne: ‘By making garage parking attractive, we get cars off the street and make cities more liveable.’
Get in touch with others early on
The sustainable side of ParkBee has made it easier to attract talent, according to the CCO. ‘For example, we encourage the use of electric cars and work intensively with providers of shared mobility. Because we have a good story, financing our growth as well as attracting talent is not a problem. Especially now, professionals want a job with impact.’ In this tight labor market, this also offers an opportunity for other companies that are moving down the digital path. Contacting others at an early stage is a lesson De Bruijne learned in the startup phase of ParkBee. Like his co-founders, he regularly sparred with an experienced coach and with other entrepreneurs in those early days. ‘That was very valuable. It certainly helped us to recognize and avoid pitfalls in a timely manner.’
Avoid the 7 pitfalls of going digital
So this is not what you should do in any case. These are the seven pitfalls on the road to a digitally driven organization and revenue model. 1. Starting at the bottom
It’s not about what the IT department comes up with in terms of digital contrivances, but about what the customer wants. That need should always be the starting point of digital transformation. So start with the top and not with the bottom, advises chief digital officer (CDO) Richard Wagenmakers of KPMG. ‘Digital transformation is not something technological’ that happens purely within the organization. Instead of from the IT support, the transformation must be tackled from the customer needs.’
2. Wanting to do too much
The second motto is not to rush off in all directions with great ideas. As a rule, little comes of making wild plans. Many companies do have this tendency, observes Wagenmakers: they want to do too much. This can be prevented by starting with a well-considered vision and a defined strategy for change. Ambition may be boundless, but first get clear about what that ambition is. 3. Delegating the transformation
A pitfall for busy executives: thinking digital transformation is terribly important, only to delegate it to a digital officer. digital officer or someone from the IT corner. There, that’s covered. Not so, says Wagenmakers of KPMG. The process of digitalization should be something that concerns the entire organization, including management. 4. Pure focus on technology
Do not forget the corporate culture when digitizing, says expert Anita Lieverdink of research institute TNO. Developing new processes or business models and then blithely dropping them in the organization doesn’t work. Implementing a digital strategy often requires a totally different way of working. Think of agilewhere employees from different departments work together on temporary projects. This way, your product or service can be gradually adapted to the changing needs of the customer. And also think about your suppliers, are they ready for your digital transformation? 5. Let data policy run its course
With data policies, companies are often too hesitant, says Wagenmakers of KPMG. According to the chief digital officer data are ‘indispensable’ for mapping out the future ‘customer journey’. By this he means the phases a customer goes through to purchase a product or service. Without a clear understanding of the motives of (future) customers, you will not get very far with your wonderful new business model. Lieverdink of TNO also sees access to data as a must, especially if you are going to work with artificial intelligence (AI). This is an absolute precondition for developing the innovative technology further, converting it into a commercial product and accelerating it. Only then can you be competitive in a tough winner takes all-environment. 6. Getting bogged down with one technology
Avoid setting all your sights on one specific technology that will make the digital transformation possible. With such a choice you lock yourself in, warns Wagenmakers. It’s important to remain as flexible as possible. It is difficult to give up that footing, acknowledges the chief digital officer. After all, you don’t yet know exactly what your future services and products will look like and how customers will interact with them. ‘I consider this to be the biggest challenge of digital transformation.’
7. Inventing the wheel yourself
Rather, seek out other parties who are working on a similar process, experts or inspiring startups. Several Dutch universities have set up regional knowledge platforms that can help with this. Such as the Groningen Digital Business Centre (GDBC) at the University of Groningen (RUG) and the KIN Center for Digital Innovation at the VU in Amsterdam. ‘A company can get in touch with professors, lecturers, PhDs and students or startups through us that will help make the digital transformation a reality,’ said project leader Bas Baalmans of the GDBC. The linear supply chain of the past has given way to a “digital ecosystem,” says David Langley, RUG professor of Internet, Innovation and Strategy. He understands this to mean an undefined network of companies and organizations that offer your company the right to exist and grow. Langley: “This is perhaps the most important message: don’t do it alone. In this article:

This is how you do it: going digital

Stay up to date with Amsterdam’s startup scene with our funding roundup for March 2022. 30 March 2022
Blackbear secures funding for international growth
The Amsterdam-based company blackbear has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from the investment company No Such Ventures, which will be used to grow its team and expand into the international market. Blackbear offers a marketplace where companies have the opportunity to outsource assignments to people worldwide. Dutch startup Parkbee raises €30 million 
The Dutch startup Parkbee  has closed a €30 million deal thanks to Kees Koolen, Booking.com’s former CEO and founder of Koolen Industries, and other investors. Parkbee was founded in 2013 by Jian Jiang and Tom Buchmann and offers customers the opportunity to book a parking space in advance. Parkbee already has garages in various European cities and hopes to expand into more markets soon. Clairify raises €565,000 in its seed round of funding
A company that analyses the air quality of company buildings has raised €565,000 in a seed round of funding. According to Clairify , high air quality is imperative to achieve optimised energy consumption and decrease health risks, such as those related to Covid-19. The company was founded almost two years before the pandemic and is setting itself up to become a global leader when it comes to indoor air-quality data. Recruitment hub raises €455,000
The recruitment platform HirePort has raised €455,000 in a seed round of funding. HirePort say that they apply the ‘Uber concept’ to the recruitment market, and thanks to their services, companies can easily hire tech employees via external, vetted recruiters. Moove closes €95 million deal 
The Nigerian-born and Amsterdam-based company Moove has raised an additional €95 million in a Series A2 round of funding. This brings Moove’s total investments to more than €175 million. The company was launched in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi in Nigeria and offers financing services to the mobility sector by using a unique credit scoring method. The founders plan to use the funding to expand Moove’s operations into Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Quatt raises funding for its hybrid heat pump
In its attempt to curb rising gas prices and fast-track the adoption of heat pumps in the Netherlands, an Amsterdam-based startup has raised €265,000. Quatt  introduced its “all-electric” heat pump, geared towards new builds, after brothers Bas and Marijn Flipse saw a gap in the market. Heat pumps can help a household significantly reduce its gas consumption. Amsterdam’s Scenic Biotech raises €28 million 
Scenic Biotech  has closed a Series A round of financing and raised €28 million in order to transition into a development-stage company and advance some of its platforms. The company is considered to be a leader in the discovery of genetic modifiers to enable the development of therapeutics, and is developing a pipeline of ‘disease-modifying therapies’ to treat life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Clear secures €1 million for its Type 2 diabetes self-help tool
After having secured funds from international investors a couple of months ago, the health startup Clear has now raised an additional €1 million. The company has launched its digital diabetes programme in Rotterdam, aiming to help people with Type 2 diabetes by offering a personal glucose metre and and AI-powered dietary advice. Working with a dietician’s practice and general practitioners, Clear hopes to soon launch its digital self-help tool in other regions as well. Reynen Court aims to transform the legal sector with additional funding
The legal technology platform provider Reynen Court has raised over €3 million in an additional round of funding. The company was founded by Andrew Klein in 2017 as a means to assist law firms and their management of cloud-based software applications. Investors believe that Reynen Court is well-positioned to play a key role in the digital transformation of the legal sector by making it simple for law firms and law departments to adopt and run third-party software applications. Sustainable delivery platform Packaly raises €2.4 million
The delivery platform Packaly wants to accelerate its growth into other countries and has received a €2.4 million capital injection to do just that. According to Packaly, the demand for express deliveries has grown by 42% over the last year and will continue to do so in the future. Amsterdam AgriTech raises over €9.1 million to grow and expand its AI-powered farms
The Amsterdam-based AgriTech startup Source.ag , which aims to transform the food industry with its AI-powered indoor farms, has raised over €9.1 million in funding. The company says that its hi-tech farms can mimic crop development in almost any setting by merging plant models with machine-learning approaches, ultimately combating any disruptions in the global food chain. Dublin’s FCR Media acquires online marketing agency Youvia
The online marketing agency Youvia has been acquired by Dublin-based company FCR Media as the latter aims to expand into the Dutch market. Both agencies are significant stakeholders in their respective countries and focus on their clients’ internet visibility, discoverability, reach and reputation. Blockchain-as-a-service provider mintBlue raises €2 million
The Blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform provider mintBlue has raised €2 million in a new round of funding. mintBlue provides an API that enables businesses to migrate data to the public blockchain in order to improve data security and interoperability, aiming to become the de-facto blockchain infrastructure provider for the ‘identity layer for the internet’, web3. EdTech company Paragin acquires mathematics software provider SOWISO
Paragin, an EdTech software company from The Hague, has acquired the Amsterdam-based mathematics software company SOWISO . Paragin develops solutions for businesses and educational institutions and believes that the partnership will help them better understand their international market space. SOWISO has long been considered a leader in mathematics-related learning and assessments and is expected to add value to Paragin’s educational tools. Uni-Life looks to expand its product thanks to a €275,000 investment
The digital student community  Uni-Life , which helps connect universities with their students, has raised €275,000 from Fundsup in a second round of funding. Uni-Life intends to use the funding to expand abroad by investing in sales and hiring new people who understand various languages and who are familiar with university operations. Online auction company TBAuctions acquires the Bjarøy Group and PS Auction
Norway's Bjarøy Group and Sweden's auction platform PS Auction has been acquired by the online auction company TBAuctions . The Dutch auction company sells various second-hand goods and hopes to expand its services and build a pan-European platform. TBAuctions also gained Summa Equity as a minority shareholder. Be Addy closes new funding round
The online marketing technology tool Be Addy  has finalised a new financing round. By using their software, organisations can optimise their media strategy and generate reports with the help of Be Addy's one-login solution across different channels. The company is set to focus on assisting its clients via training and tutorials over the coming months. SaaS startup Altura Platform raises €500,000
The tendering platform Altura Platform has raised €500,000 in funding to further accelerate its product. The Utrecht-based company helps people better understand the tendering process and launched its platform to centralise necessary tender information. This investment will help Altura Platform to boost its operations and hopefully double the number of SMEs participating in tenders. Stay up to date
To stay up to date with funding developments and everything else that’s happening in Amsterdam’s startup ecosystem, make sure to bookmark the Amsterdam Startup Map .

Amsterdam startup funding news, March 2022

ParkBee secures EUR30m in equity funding with Koolen Industries as lead investor

      Submitted
              22/03/2022 - 10:19am
      

        Koolen Industries, a clean energy investor headed by Kees Koolen, has led a EUR30 million investment in ParkBee, a tech platform for off-street parking in Europe.
Other investors include a number of leading (tech) entrepreneurs and investors, as well existing shareholders., including Statkraft Ventures, Innovation Quarter, management and personnel. 
The new will be put to work in ParkBee’s continued expansion, both in existing markets and across Europe. Currently, ParkBee is well established in the Netherlands and the UK and is rolling out in Germany, France, Belgium and Ireland. We anticipate adding further countries in the near future.

  

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ParkBee secures EUR30m in equity funding with Koolen Industries as lead investor

Innovactory is the developer of the transport app Gaiyo. Gaiyo is a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app that functions as a personal travel assistant. It provides a real-time overview of all available travel options and combinations, complete with departure and arrival times, travel time, and costs.

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ParkBee makes private parking accessible to the public, in order to offer affordable and easy parking locations to the public, while generating extra income for garage owners.

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