With less than one year and a hypersegmented business model that bets on advertising on digital panels installed on app cars, Mobees raised a BRL 5.5 million round led by We Ventures, a fund focused on female entrepreneurship with the participation of Microsoft and Brazilian companies like Flex and Multilaser. The newly raised capital will be used to give traction to the startup’s national expansion plan and to expand its sales, marketing and technology team.
Mobees was one step ahead when it saw the advertising potential of the thousands of cars used by ride-hailing apps and brought the digital out-of-home model over cars to Brazil. It is the first media-on-wheels solution 100% digital and at scale in Latin America, according to the company.
It works like this: the startup has developed a system of LED panels installed on the roof of cars to serve geolocated ads as they drive around the city. In addition, through a programmatic platform, agencies and brands that advertise with Mobees can develop campaigns focused on a hypersegmented audience and monitor and analyze the results.
“The streets of big cities are the new frontier of the Internet and we want advertisers of all sizes and segments to talk to millions of Brazilians in their daily journey,” said Fábio Barcellos, Mobees’ CEO and co-founder.
Mobees’ solution has also proven to be a good business for the drivers who install the panels in their cars, as they can make extra money by advertising the digital media. Since the beginning of the operation, the startup has already allocated more than BRL 750,000 to its partner drivers, and the waiting list has more than 30,000 drivers.
Currently, Mobees operates only in Rio de Janeiro city. Flávia Coelho, cofounder and CMO at Mobees, explains that the startup manages 400 panels installed in 200 cars. The goal is to reach the end of 2021 with 600 panels installed and double the client brands’ portfolio, which already includes big names such as Unimed, Motorola, TIM, Oi, Claro, Globoplay, HBO GO and O Boticário. So far, more than 100 ads campaigns have been aired.
The funding round in which We Ventures participated is still raising funds and the startup is studying proposals from other investors. Mobee has already received investments from Canary, Norte Capital and angel investors. With We Ventures’ investment, the startup intends to debut in São Paulo soon.
Support to female entrepreneurship
According to Flávia, the investment by We Ventures was celebrated by the fit between the startup and the fund’s proposal to promote female entrepreneurship. “It is equally important that entrepreneurs prioritize VCs that have an alignment with the company. It’s smart money but with purpose, which makes the partnership much more meaningful and makes the relationship more virtuous,” she explained.
