Anthony Eskinazi, founder of JustPark, explains why the business should win the innovation in funding category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition.
I’m the founder of JustPark, the app used by almost one million drivers to find and book parking whenever and wherever they need it. It works by connecting drivers with property owners who have underused parking spaces, whether domestic driveways, hotels, car parks, churches, schools or businesses.
I started the company and built the website from scratch when I was 23 - and utterly broke. I was living in my parents’ attic, having quit the Deloitte graduate scheme. I tried my hand at anything and everything to keep JustPark afloat: online gaming, digital consultancy - even moonlighting as a wedding planner! At one point, I was £30,000 in debt.
JustPark may be the UK’s leading parking app now, but we’re still innovative when it comes to funding. After raising investment from BMW and Index Ventures, we turned down further venture capital to give our loyal community of users the opportunity to invest and share in the company’s success. JustPark’s was the most successful equity crowdfunding round in UK startup history, raising £3.7m from almost 3,000 individuals - an incredible show of faith in the business.
With JustPark, our users are providing each other with the solution to the parking headache by opening up their underused parking spaces to drivers. Equity crowdfunding was the perfect way for us to continue in the collaborative spirit that underpins the entire business. It’s allowed us to work together with our most passionate users to build the business to greater heights.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
