The Italian startup BizAway, which has its headquarters for the Spanish market in Barcelona and also has offices in Vigo, has emerged successfully from the pandemic despite the global collapse of the corporate travel business. Far from being dragged down by this crisis, the startup has managed to establish itself in the market thanks to the development of innovative technology that facilitates companies in booking and managing their employees' business trips, in addition to allowing them to save time and money.
After managing to quadruple its turnover in 2021 and reach a portfolio of more than 650 active clients, BizAway has just closed its first major financing round: it has raised 10 million euros which it will allocate to its international expansion, with a growth plan that foresees implementing the company throughout Europe. Currently, BizAway operates in Italy, Albania, and Spain, a country that generates 48% of its business volume.
This Series A round was led by venture capital funds Gellify, Digitech, and Exor Seeds. The shareholders who have accompanied the company until now, such as the MundiVentures fund and eight business angels, including the CEO of Radisson Hotel Group, Federico González Tejera, former CEO of NH, also participated in the operation. In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, BizAway closed two seed rounds of 2 million and 2.5 million euros, and, with this new injection of funds, it has raised a total of 17 million euros since the young Italians Luca Carlucci and Flavio Del Bianco founded the company in 2015.
"This financing makes us even stronger in the international business travel landscape and will allow us to continue implementing our ambitious plan, always improving and integrating new functionalities, in addition to allowing us to invest even more in our team, both technical and operational, and open two more offices in Europe by the end of the year," explains Del Bianco, who, in addition to being co-founder, is the company's CTO.
BizAway expects to quadruple its turnover again this year, reaching 30 million euros. It will also increase its workforce, which will reach 160 employees by the end of the year, compared to the hundred it has now. Its offices in Spain currently total 36 people, another 31 work in the two offices in Italy, and 25 in a new office opened in Shkodra (Albania).
According to the startup, since its inception, more than 150,000 bookings have been made through its platform, with savings of more than 3 million euros for its more than 650 client companies. BizAway promises companies that opt for its system to manage business trips access to rates that are up to 25% cheaper than market prices. Its business model is based on charging fees that are fully linked to the savings the client achieves with the use of the platform in relation to the expenditure made in previous years.