Valet Anywhere

Car owners in urban areas face several pain points:

Finding parking is expensive, stressful and inconvenient. And taking care of regular and unplanned maintenance issues can require a major commitment of time.

Valet Anywhere is aiming to solve these problems:

Via a monthly subscription program and mobile app, the company provides valet parking services at rates equal to or far lower than standard parking garages.

Its add-on maintenance services include vehicle inspections, fuel service and washing.

Cars are never left on the street: Valet Anywhere leverages existing parking companies’ under-utilized real estate to park cars in a safe, secure location. All vehicles are protected by comprehensive insurance policies.

Valet Anywhere is addressing a growing market:

Rising populations in urban locations are resulting in increases in property values -- this trend translates to increases in parking costs, and fewer parking garages and gas stations.

Valet Anywhere operates in large addressable markets. IBIS World estimates that the markets for long-term valet parking and urban auto services are worth $25 billion.

In contrast to "on-demand" parking companies like Zirx and Luxe, Valet Anywhere is able to leverage its business model to generate recurring revenues, positive gross margins, and low churn rates.

Valet Anywhere launched about a year ago. After raising $1.7 million from relevant investors (including Uber’s General Manager of NY and its Director of Global Expansion), its monthly revenues quickly surpassed $200,000.

The company’s business model is straightforward:

It costs the company about $200 to acquire each new customer. It recoups that $200 in six-to-eight weeks based on its monthly fees, then it earns a profit of about $1,300 per year.

Based on that business model, the company could become substantial. But it has a longer-term vision that could make it even bigger:

Valet Anywhere will soon have thousands of cars on hand—cars that are only being utilized about 10% of the time.

It also has proprietary software that organizes car pickups and deliveries, and it already has systems in place to fuel, wash, and maintain them.

Given all these assets, it plans to launch a “peer-to-peer” car-sharing service:

Customers who lend their car would earn a cut of the profits each time their car is rented out, as well as free monthly parking.

And for its role handling everything from logistics to storage to payment processing, Valet Anywhere would earn a cut of every transaction.

Valet Anywhere's advisors include Josh Mohrer (General Manager of Uber NY) and Bradley Tusk (former campaign strategist for NYC Mayor, Michael Bloomberg).

Team Background

Lawrence Lee - Co-founder & COO

A former technology consultant at Accenture, Lawrence was a co-founder at SmrtGuard with Robert and Dante, a successful self-funded mobile startup that developed a comprehensive mobile security solution for consumers.

At SmrtGuard, Lawrence managed product strategy, multi-interface usability, customer service teams, and email marketing campaigns.

Lawrence is the co-owner of two patent. One involves a method and system to track, measure and analyze contact and relation interactions, and the other involves using personal data to automatically generate investment portfolios and investor profiles.

Lawrence received a BS degree in computer engineering from Columbia University.

Robert Kao - Co-founder & CEO

Robert was previously a Blackberry developer, and a trading systems engineer at investment banks and hedge funds.

With Lawrence and Dante, Robert co-founded SmrtGuard, a mobile startup that provided an 18x return on investment upon acquisition.

Robert was also a Vice President of Product Management at SnapOne, where he created roadmaps and competitive analysis for all products, and worked with design and marketing teams to refine product design.

With Lawrence, Robert is the co-owner of two patents. One involves a method and system to track, measure and analyze contact and relation interactions, and the other involves using personal data to automatically generate investment portfolios and investor profiles.

With Dante, Robert is the co-author of "Blackberry for Dummies," 1st through 5th editions, published by Wiley Publishing.

Robert received a BS degree from Columbia University.

Dante Sarigumba - Co-founder & CTO

Dante leads a highly talented team of software engineers, driving the technology that powers Valet Anywhere.

Previously a director of algorithmic software development at KnowVera, a New York hedge fund, Dante thrives on delivering complex algorithmic trading tools.

In 2008, Dante co-founded SmrtGuard with Robert and Lawrence, a cloud computing services company involving smartphone security, backup and restoration. Smrt was acquired by Exclaim Mobility in 2011.

Dante is the co-author of "Blackberry for Dummies," 1st through 5th editions, published by Wiley Publishing.

Dante received a BS degree in electronics and communication engineering from the University of San Carlos.

Co-Investors

Aslanoba Capital

Early-stage investor in tech startups. Its investments include Lyft, Sliced Investing and Poshmark.

AngelPad

Founded by ex-Googler Thomas Korte. Raised over $250 million in funding and generated over $800 million in exit value. Exits include Mopub (acquired by Twitter), Adku (acquired by Groupon), Astrid and Blink (acquired by Yahoo), and Spotsetter (acquired by Apple).

Maiden Lane Ventures

Venture capital fund that invests in AngelList syndicates.

Jared Kopf

Founder at AdRoll, investor in Keen.io, Automatic, and SchoolMint.