A tech entrepreneur who made his name with the popular YouTube series ‘Mercy Technology’ has been awarded $10 million in a crowdfunding scheme for his technology company.
Key points:John Tait, from Melbourne, started MerciTechnology with his brother and is hoping to raise $10m in a funding driveThe funding round was funded by MerciTech’s founders, the pair will now go to the marketThe pair’s company has developed a platform for people to sell their travel gear and products for cashJohn Taimis, who has been travelling with his wife and two young daughters for more than a decade, says his MerciTechnologies is the most popular travel app for parents.
“It’s really hard to get traction for things like this, because we’re really niche,” he said.
“We’re a small company, we’ve been selling stuff for a while, but now we’re able to raise the funding to get our technology out there.”
The Merci Technologies platform has been downloaded more than 2 million times, and the founders say their aim is to reach 10 million users by the end of the year.
The funding for Mr Tait’s company was started in February, and it’s hoped to raise more than $10million through a crowdfunding drive.
“The funding is being put into the first phase of the funding, which is a small portion of the overall fund raised, to be able to make a better product, but that’s where the bulk of the money is going,” Mr Taimi said.
He said he hoped to be ready for the launch of his app in late May.
“If we get funded, we’ll have something ready to go in the next six months, and I’ll be able take it to the customers,” he added.
Mr Taimas, who runs a travel agency, says the app is helping parents buy travel essentials, such as hats and sunglasses, for their kids.
“They’re not going to be the ones that have to do the work, but we’ve got parents who are looking for their travel to be a little bit cheaper, and that’s a big part of the reason why our app has been so successful,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“With the popularity of the app, we also want to offer it to parents who don’t have the money to buy things like that, but they want to have a bit more control over their child’s travels and to buy the best things that are available.”
Mr Tait said his app had already attracted more than 300,000 users, and he hoped it would eventually be able with 100,000 or more.
“Our goal is to become the number one travel app in the country, and we’re aiming to be number one in a couple of years,” he explained.
“But if we can raise the funds, that’s going to give us the chance to do that.”
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