Job commuters know the drill. And they hate it. So does Brno startup Yedem that is disrupting the way how coworkers travel. With their Yedem platform people are motivated to take fellow passengers on the way and the smart Yedem parking lot is providing them with priority parking. Less cars on the road, less CO2 produced and less crowded parking lots are just part of the perks enjoyed by employees of Productboard, Kiwi.com, MOL, Notino, CEZ and other big companies. And the best part of it is Yedem is building deeper relationships among colleagues that spend time discussing the job priorities or life on their way. Yedem’s expansion abroad is now supported by EUR 500 000 Czech Founders VC, Patero, and JIC Ventures.
“There’s a 5 % increase in cars annually, while the number of parking spaces grows by only 1%. Parking is becoming one of the most expensive commodities,” says Matej Ballo, one of Yedem’s founders. “Most cars, however, carry only the driver, which causes up to 80% of companies to face a shortage of parking spaces and inefficiencies in the use of their fleets and other resources,” adds Vojtech Rujbr, the other half of the Yedem founders. The high interest from large corporate clients, of which Yedem currently has 19, confirms the severity of the problem.
With a current portfolio of 19 major clients, the Yedem startup has grown by 100% over the past year and expects to triple this year. The key focus is on expanding into the markets of Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. Another milestone is entering German-speaking countries, which Yedem plans to do next year. The founders are also expanding the team to eventually target overseas markets with their solution. “We see potential in the US and Australian markets, as well as in Asia and South America. Companies worldwide face the same transportation issues, and we believe our solution is easily transferable anywhere,” says Matej Ballo with a smile.
“Increasing pressure on corporate environmental responsibility is driving interest in Yedem forward, as are the capable founders who are leveraging this momentum,” notes Vaclav Pavlecka, representative of lead investor Czech Founders VC. “For example, at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, Yedem helps reduce CO2 emissions by hundreds of tons annually,” adds David Svatos from the investment group Patero, which also supported Yedem’s expansion. The third investor is the venture fund of the innovation agency JIC. “We have been working with Yedem since the very beginning and see a really interesting global potential in their solution. Every major company in the world deals with mobility, and they are already managing to attract really interesting clients,” complements Radim Kocourek, managing director of JIC Ventures.
