JustPark

Summary

JustPark is a technology platform that matches drivers with parking spaces through its website and mobile application.[1] JustPark, previously known as ParkatmyHouse, was founded in London in 2006 by Anthony Eskinazi.[2]

JustPark
Company typePrivate
IndustryProperty, Transportation, Technology
Founded2006
FounderAnthony Eskinazi
HeadquartersDunn's Hat Factory, 106-110 Kentish Town Rd, London NW1 9PX, ,
United Kingdom
Area served
Global
Key people
Anthony Eskinazi
BrandsJustPark, ParkatmyHouse, ChargeatmyHouse
Number of employees
95
Websitewww.justpark.com

As of 2013, the JustPark service was used by over 2.5 million drivers with 45,000 space owners across the UK. The company became the number one in the App Store and Play Store for the search term 'parking' in 2018.

JustPark is headquartered in London.[3]

History edit

JustPark, originally known as ParkatmyHouse, was founded by Anthony Eskinazi in September 2006[4] after he had trouble parking for a baseball game in San Francisco.[5] In July 2011, the company raised venture capital from BMW i Ventures, the venture capital arm of BMW.[6]

In January 2012, they launched a beta version of their website in the US.[7]

In 2014, the company rebranded as JustPark raising further funding from Index Ventures[8] in December of that year. JustPark was named by Management Today as one of the "Five British startups that came of age in 2014", alongside Just Eat, TransferWise, Funding Circle and CrowdCube.[9]

In February 2015, JustPark launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise £1 million on major UK platform, CrowdCube.[10] The campaign hit its target in four days, attracting a record-breaking number of investors, before overfunding to a total of £3.7m.[11] In the same year, the company won Virgin Media Business's 'Pitch To Rich' (or '#VOOM') competition, with Sir Richard Branson on the judging panel.[12]

In November 2015, Anthony Eskinazi took over as CEO from Alex Stephany who had been in position since December 2012.[13]

In 2017, JustPark won the Parking Futures category at the British Parking Awards[14] and the Guardian Small Business Showcase Award for Innovation in Funding.

In 2018, JustPark won the British Parking Award for Innovation for its Predictive Availability tool.

Business growth edit

The business started as a platform to allow property owners to make money from their underused spaces by opening them up to drivers looking for parking[15] (similar to other sharing economy services, such as Airbnb).

Today JustPark is a platform for drivers to find, book and pay for parking via a 5-star rated app or through the website but the company has expanded to provide more than a simple peer-to-peer service.

JustPark's developments in cashless payment technology and digital pay-on-foot machines have allowed the company to enter the local authority parking market [16] securing contracts as the mobile payments provider for Wrexham County Borough Council[17] and Cornwall Council. As of 2018, JustPark partners with 14 local authorities.

The company also provides car park technology to over 300 hotels including Marriott and Hilton as well as to businesses in the property sectors including Savills and JLL.[18]

Innovation and awards edit

Known for its tech-led innovations, JustPark has won awards for industry-first services designed to improve parking for drivers and space providers. JustPark’s Dynamic Pricing product won the 2017 British Parking Award for Parking Futures. This pricing model recommends pricing based on historic occupancy and search data, suggesting low rates to encourage drivers to park during off-peak and higher rates when spaces are in short supply.

JustPark’s Predictive Availability tool won the 2018 British Parking Award for Parking Innovation and the 2018 Smart Cities UK Award for data. Working with Westminster City Council and using machine learning algorithms and sensor data, JustPark built an industry first system for predicting the future availability of individual parking bays. The system is integrated with navigation apps (including Google Maps and Waze) to help drivers find a space en route.

JustPark was named Ones To Watch in 2018’s Sunday Times Tech Track 100. The company was the winner of Virgin Media Business's #VOOM competition and chosen as one of WIRED's hottest European start-ups.

JustPark was named no.95 in 2019's Sunday Times Tech Track 100.[19]

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2007 Yahoo! Finds of the year ParkatmyHouse Website Nominated [20]
2010 Smarta 100 most exciting, promising and disruptive businesses in Britain Won [21]
2014 British Parking Awards Parking Technology Commended [22]
2015 British Parking Awards Customer Experience Finalist [23]
2015 British Parking Awards Parking Team of the Year Finalist [24]
2015 NextGen Digital Challenge Awards Sharing Economy Award Won [25]
2015 Virgin Media Business VOOM (Pitch to Rich) Growth category Won [26]
2015 Great British Entrepreneur Awards Entrepreneurial Spark Special Merit Won [27]
2016 Crowdcube App of the Year Won [28]
2016 The Europas - European Tech Startup Awards Best Sharing Economy Startup Nominated [29]
2017 British Parking Awards Parking Futures (Dynamic Pricing) Won [30]
2017 UK Customer Experience Awards Transport and Logistics 2nd [31]
2017 Guardian Small Business Showcase Awards Innovation In Funding Won [32]
2018 The Smart Cities UK Awards Data (Predictive Availability) Won [33]
2018 British Parking Awards Parking Innovation (Predictive Availability) Won [34]
2019 The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 Britain's fastest-growing private technology companies 95th [35]

References edit

  1. ^ Rory Cellan Jones, "JustPark and the sharing economy" BBC News, 7 August 2014
  2. ^ Rob Sharp, "Park for £10 and make me a millionaire" The Guardian, 8 October 2006
  3. ^ Priya Sankaran and Raja Moussaoui, "Online service links drivers, parking spaces", CBC, March 15, 2013
  4. ^ Rob Sharp, "Park for £10 and make me a millionaire" The Guardian, 8 October 2006
  5. ^ Susanna Kim, "Homeowner Rent out Driveways for Money" ABC News, January 8, 2012
  6. ^ Emma Rowley, "BMW invests in ParkatmyHouse website", The Daily Telegraph, 15 July 2011
  7. ^ Ariel Schwartz, "ParkatmyHouse Lets You Make Money Off Your Empty Driveway" Fast Company, January 2012
  8. ^ Butcher, Mike. "JustPark Releases iOS App, Secures Funding From Index Ventures". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  9. ^ Jack Torrance, "Five British startups that came of age in 2014" Management Today, 23 December 2014
  10. ^ Sophie Curtis, "JustPark invites users to become shareholders in £1m crowdfunding campaign" The Telegraph, 13 February 2015
  11. ^ Sophie Hobson, "JustPark just crowdfunded £1m in FOUR DAYS. We ask its founder how he did it" London Loves Business, 17 February 2015
  12. ^ "JustPark, Fourex and Kino-mo win Branson's Pitch to Rich - Tech City News". UKTN (formerly Tech City News). 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  13. ^ Interview with Alex Stephany, "ParkatmyHouse.com is a poster child of the sharing economy. Alex Stephany shares some of their big plans." Archived 2013-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, "Real Business", 14 March 2013
  14. ^ "2017 British Parking Awards Winners". www.britishparkingawards.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  15. ^ "Helping millions to JustPark". Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  16. ^ "JustPark moves into local authority market with Wrexham cont". www.transportxtra.com. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  17. ^ "Pay to park in the town centre by using your mobile phone!". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  18. ^ "ADVICE: Empty car park spaces can help drive additional revenue | Hotel Owner". www.hotelowner.co.uk. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  19. ^ "Sources: The Sunday Times Tech Track 100". 7 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Yahoo launches Finds of the Year 2007". 17 December 2007.
  21. ^ "Portals Honoured by smarta.com". February 2007.
  22. ^ "The 2014 British Parking Awards winners". 6 March 2015.
  23. ^ "British Parking Awards 2015 winners". 6 March 2015.
  24. ^ "British Parking Awards 2015 winners". 6 March 2015.
  25. ^ "NextGen Digital Challenge Awards 2015". November 2015.
  26. ^ "Pitch to Rich 2015 winners crowned". 26 June 2015.
  27. ^ "Yahoo launches Finds of the Year 2007". November 2015.
  28. ^ "Crowdcube Awards 2015: The Winners are announced". 8 January 2016.
  29. ^ "Vote now in The Europas Conference & Awards for European startups". 30 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Congratulations to the Winners of the British Parking Awards 2017!". 10 March 2017.
  31. ^ "Finalists announced". 30 May 2016.
  32. ^ "The Guardian Small Business Showcase awards winners 2016". TheGuardian.com. 8 July 2016.
  33. ^ "2018 Winners". 1 February 2018.
  34. ^ "The 2018 Winners!". 9 March 2018.
  35. ^ "The Sunday Times Tech Track 100". 7 September 2019.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • The winners and losers of the sharing economy, Hot Topics 2015