Seed Hatchery 2015 graduate introduces predictive vehicle maintenance technology
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Feb. 2, 2016) – Start Co., a member of the Global Accelerator Network operating industry-specific accelerators each summer, today announced a new $300,000 capital raise for Seed Hatchery graduate startup Preteckt, a vehicle maintenance technology that monitors the health of commercial trucking fleets. This investment continues the Start Co. tradition of bringing together talent, investors and ecosystem support for startup success.
“Preteckt has demonstrated an exceptional ability to scale and poise their business for success,” said Eric Mathews, CEO and founder of Start Co. “We are proud to accelerate a logistics startup, as this is such an important industry for our Memphis economy.”
Preteckt was founded in Toronto by Peter Bassa, Sasha Kucharczyk and Ken Sills and is the first smart vehicle technology for fleets and drivers. The Preteckt software monitors all parts of a truck to predict specific part failure up to 30 days in advance, decreasing vehicle downtime by 30 percent. By avoiding the situations that cause unplanned downtime, trucks can be on the road longer and create more revenue. Most recently, the company finalized a contract for TransCarriers to implement the tracking software into their fleets across the U.S., increasing vehicle uptime by 3.3 percent and increasing profits by more than 35 percent.
“We’re so eager to bring our technology to new and existing customers in the coming months, helping them harness critical fleet data to reduce costs and maximize efficiency,” said Peter Bassa, CEO and co-founder of Preteckt. “This round of funding will help us expand our reach to provide even more technology capabilities and build upon our business model for continued success.”
As part of the post-acceleration program, since Demo Day Preteckt has maintained weekly office hours at the Start Lab, attended business development preparation sessions and various other workshops and strategy sessions led by Start Co. to help them prepare for investor meetings and term sheet development. Coupled with this round of funding, the Start Co. team helped its client and portfolio companies raise just over $13 million since 2011.
The Seed Hatchery, Sky High and Upstart accelerators will again run simultaneously through the summer in Downtown Memphis beginning May 2, 2016, allowing for streamlined integration of resources and mentorship for all founders and teams participating in the 100-day program. Programming this year will feature mentorship, weekly training sessions, business development, cohort reporting sessions and actionable milestones. More information and applications for all three programs are available at neverstop.co through March 1, 2016.
About Start Co.:
Start Co. is a nationally recognized nonprofit 501(c)(3) venture development organization based in Memphis, Tennessee, that relentlessly builds founders and companies, promoting entrepreneurship for everyone with a focus on digital startups. Start Co. is a member of the Global Accelerator Network and aims to advance Memphis’ economic growth through entrepreneurship. The organization is supported by partners including American Airlines, Archer Malmo, Baker Donelson, The Marston Group, Mosaik Solutions and Softlayer (an IBM company). More information can be found at neverstop.co.
About Preteckt:
Preteckt was founded in Toronto in 2014 by an astrophysicist (Ken Sills), a designer (Peter Bassa) and a robotics engineer (Sasha Kucharczyk). The company has since moved its operations to Memphis, Tennessee, and has leveraged its combined talents in machine learning, customer discovery and business strategy to develop a product that allows trucking fleets to optimize their operations and minimize costs by predicting part failure up to 30 days in advance. Preteckt is online at preteckt.com and on Twitter @Preteckt.