CurbWaste Raises Another $4M for One-Stop Operating System for Waste Management Industry – AlleyWatch

The events of the past three years have shown that even the most traditional industries need a digital transformation. Many industries are going digital for the first time, and the waste management industry is no exception. While much of the technological advancement in this area has focused on waste disposal, businesses are leveraging ushering in new age technology and deploying tools focused on improving operational efficiency. curb waste is a SaaS platform for the waste management industry that centralizes many moving parts such as CRM, task management, online ordering, invoicing, payments, asset acquisition, logistics, fleet tracking and reporting. A versatile, cloud-native platform that can be used across your organization, from administrative personnel to actual carriers. The industry is capital intensive and businesses frequently need to borrow to cover operating costs, and CurbWaste is now launching a financing unit to help waste management companies bridge the gap. Carriers and waste disposal companies using the platform now process millions of transactions per month, and the company’s sales have increased for four straight quarters since the price increase. First seed round last fall.

alley watch We spoke with the Founder and CEO of CurbWaste Michael Marmo To learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, the latest funding round, and more…

Who are the investors and how much did you raise?

We just closed a $4M seed extension round. TTV Capital with participation from B Capital Group and Macker Capital. We previously raised $7.2 million in seed and pre-seed funding, bringing the total to date to $11.2 million.

What products or services does CurbWaste offer?

CurbWaste is the first waste and recycling carrier to combine CRM, task management, online ordering, invoicing, payments, asset management, route logistics, fleet tracking and data reporting with an easy-to-use app and cloud-based An integrated software solution. platform.

What inspired you to start CurbWaste?

I entered the world of waste management almost by accident. I coached baseball at night and worked at my family’s transit station in New York City during the day. I fell in love with this industry. It was a critical infrastructure job taken for granted and allowed me to understand the inner workings of the city. I spent his four years learning the business and in 2016 founded my own transportation company, Curbside. My team and I have built a unique technology that makes operations easier and makes waste disposal more transparent. We faced challenges like everyone else when the pandemic hit New York City, but the digitization of our operations has actually allowed us to grow our business. We saw the appeal of the market when friends and competitors asked if they could use our software.

How is CurbWaste different?

Historically, outdated waste management software has not kept up with customer expectations for industry technological advancements, environmental regulations, and digital interactions. CurbWaste enables carriers and waste centers to optimize their business by managing and streamlining operations in real time at every stage of the process.

What markets is CurbWaste targeting and how big is it?

Waste management is an $80 billion industry with small, medium and large companies. We provide software solutions for both processing centers and waste haulers, and our primary customers typically run small or medium-sized businesses. For processing centers, our platform accepts payments and provides a way to track the amount of waste being processed. For waste haulers, it enables billing and payment, route optimization, data reporting and more. We are very proud that CurbWaste was built by carriers for carriers and we understand the pain points unique to this industry.

What is your business model?

We have multiple revenue streams and are using this new capital injection to build more services. First, as a traditional his SaaS solution, it charges a monthly fee per driver per month. We also receive a portion of payments made through our platform. With the new funding, we plan to build a loan service.

How has business changed since we spoke last year?

We have had four consecutive quarters of growth and have hired some great people to strengthen our core team. We have released new features while iterating on current features based on customer feedback. The system continues to evolve, making it more comprehensive and easier to use. As a startup things move very fast and we are often tasked with bringing in customers while strengthening our newly formed team. However, one thing hasn’t changed for him. Customer happiness is still our north star. Everything we build is designed to make their job easier.

What was the fundraising process like?

We use Payabli to manage our automated credit card and ACH payments, and TTV Capital is one of its investors. We were looking for an investment partner with knowledge of the fintech industry and were convinced that TTV Capital would be the best fit. What impressed me was that one of their partners he had experience in waste management and understood our value proposition. We all quickly agreed and TTV Capital was on board as the lead investor in this round.

What was the biggest challenge you faced while fundraising?

We quickly realized that the market conditions were tough and the standards had changed. One of the most difficult things is to sell your vision in an understandable and authentic way. After the seed round, we realized we needed to show more concrete achievements and progress than ever before. I wanted to be more data-driven and at the same time communicate a larger vision on the road to success. I also had to deal with the impact of SVB during the closing process, which added challenges that I could not have foreseen at all. Luckily, we understood quickly and partnered with a great strategic investor who believed in us from the first phone call. They were incredibly supportive and passionate, which made the process less painful.

What factors about your business made investors write checks?

I know TTV Capital loved my first-hand experience in the waste management industry. As an operator, you can learn a lot of things that an outsider wouldn’t know, which is a huge advantage. They understood the market opportunity and the big picture, they also understood our vision and what we were looking to build, especially with respect to financial services.

What milestones do you plan to achieve in the next six months?

Our goal remains the same. Our first priority is to make our customers happy. To that end, we continue to grow and accept new customers (small and medium-sized waste haulers who want to digitize their operations) and build our capabilities within our product roadmap, including new fintech capabilities. We are hiring engineers. . We recently hired Don Cansino as VP of Engineering to take on that responsibility. Our product roadmap is aggressive but achievable and we want to continue to invest in system stability.

What advice would you give to New York companies that haven’t recapitalized their banks?

Now is definitely the time to be financially conscious and prepare your startup for the potential uncertainties ahead. Try to be as lean as possible and invest in your core competencies within your product. One of the things we do is invest in our customer relationships and make sure they understand our short-term and future plans. We value transparency with our employees and customers, which gives us the opportunity to set realistic expectations. This is very helpful when trying to save cash.

Where do you see the company going in the short term?

We will immediately fund R&D and customer experience. Over the next year, we will continue to release high-quality features, complete further discoveries through customer engagement, and continue working towards establishing a true product market fit.

With so many ways to commute in the city, how do you usually commute to work each day?

I live on Long Island so I usually take LIRR. Our office is in Midtown, so you can walk to our office from either Grand Central Station or Penn Station.

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