Logistics startup REPOWR raises $8 million Series A

Starting a tech company during the height of COVID teaches you business skills that can be applied far beyond the context of a global health crisis, says logistics founder Patrick Visintainer.

“We founded and launched REPOWR in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we don’t really know what it’s like to build and operate a startup in a semi-normal macroeconomic environment, or if that type of environment even exists,” Visintainer told Hypepotamus.

Being able to operate through uncertainty worked to Visintainer and the REPOWR’s benefit over the last year. Just shy of 13 months after announcing its seed round of funding to Hypepotamus readers, the logistics startup closed its $8 million Series A. 

 

About The Series A Funding

The round, announced today, was led by UP.Partners, a California-based firm with a focus on the mobility sector. The firm is no stranger to the Southeast region, as it previously invested in the commercial urban drone delivery startup Aerialoop out of Florida. 

UP.Partners’ focus on the transportation sector made them natural partners for REPOWR, a Birmingham-based logistics-technology platform that helps companies access underutilized transportation equipment. Shippers, carriers, 3PL’s, leasing companies, and OEMs use the platform to share key assets. This decreases waste and underutilization that plagues the ground transportation world currently. 

Hypepotamus asked Visintainer about how the Series A funding journey unfolded over the last few months. On the whole, deployment of VC capital nosedived over the last quarter, making REPOWR’s Series A close even more impressive. 

Patrick Visintainer –
Co-Founder & CEO at REPOWR

“We ramped up VC conversations again in June of 2022 to keep solid rapport with prospective investors. We knew that future funding may be extremely difficult. By September of 2022, we started to sense timidness from the broader VC market and we knew we had to be proactive,” Visintainer said. “We’re still paying close attention to the state of the venture market as well as the logistics industry that we serve. We’re very intentional about deploying capital strategically, in order to maximize growth, extend runway and reach profitability.” 

Visintainer added that year-over-year, REPOWR saw user growth up 300% and achieved top-line revenue growth of 269%. 

REPOWR is playing in a massive market within the wider supply chain and logistics industry. “Trucking is an $870B market with over 13 million vehicles operating on North American roads. However, trailers are habitually underutilized and sit idle a significant percentage of the time. Repowr’s novel marketplace solution helps industry titans optimize their assets by expanding their margins with both revenue-enhancing and cost savings capabilities. We are bullish on Patrick, Spencer, and the rest of the Repowr team’s ability to build a fantastic business while bringing order and efficiency to the market,” said Ally Warson, Partner at UP.Partners and REPOWR Board Member.

The REPOWR team is currently made up of 18 full-time employees mainly concentrated on product and engineering teams. 

Visintainer added that REPOWR plans to continue hiring efforts on the product, engineering, and operations sides of the business following the Series A announcement. 

Want to follow along with REPOWR’s growth after the Series A? Here are some important links: 
  1. Patrick Visintainer: Co-founder and CEO LinkedIn 
  2. Spencer Ware: Co-founder and COO LinkedIn 
  3. REPOWR website