Startup de reserva de ferries recauda 26 millones de euros en una ronda de financiación Serie A con coinversión de capital riesgo búlgaro-griego liderada por LAUNCHub Ventures

Reserve your passage now with a quick reservation on our ferry platform to lock seats on top routes across european networks. The servicio aims to streamline the user experience, delivering a frictionless booking flow and real-time availability across regional fleets.

LAUNCHub Ventures lead the Bulgarian-Greek co-investment that comprises the €26M Series A. In difficult market conditions, this round signals confidence in a pan-European model and attracts regional investments that boost scale and go-to-market velocity, and whats next for the platform will be watched closely.

The platform uses a reservation-based model for ferry passage across the Aegean and beyond, with a focus on corridors to islands such as folegandros and other regional destinations, a star feature that makes the most requested routes easily accessible to residents and visitors.

The company expands affiliate programs and launches an internship track, enabling themselves and regional students to contribute to development cycles, while the servicio remains simple for users and partners alike. This approach accelerates development and strengthens the platform’s growth.

For founders, the takeaway is to target the most demanded corridors, align product development with regional needs, and build flexible APIs that attract affiliate partners. The following quarters will reveal how well the team sustains momentum across this european region, and whats next for investors who want to see measurable growth.

In the coming months, expect stronger availability on popular routes including folegandros, as the platform scales its user-focused service across the european region. Early metrics will highlight improvements in reservation completion rates and passage flexibility.

What the €26M Series A funds unlock for ferry inventory and seat availability

Recommendation: The €26M funding would scale ferry inventory by expanding partnerships with local operators and the bulgarian-greek network, accelerating real-time seat allocation across peak summer sessions. This investment strengthens the infrastructure for tickets, service, and pricing, delivering more tickets, more options, and more reliable service for routes in greece, including milos and other greek islands. It would also enhance the electrical and IT backbone to support faster inventory updates and time-aware pricing signals, improving the pitch to operators and passengers alike. Through ferryhopper and gundari, the network gains better multi-channel distribution and more dependable local coverage here.

Three concrete moves anchor the funding: 1) onboard more boats and routes via expanded partnerships; 2) upgrade the inventory model to handle real-time seats and dynamic prices; 3) strengthen the summer-season presence with dedicated marketing and smoother user experiences on local platforms. The most visible benefits appear on routes to milos, greece, and other popular islands, reducing sold-out sessions and improving what customers see on ferryhopper and other booking channels. Prices become more competitive and transparent, while local operators gain better visibility and capacity planning.

What this means for operators and customers

Operators gain a more scalable model to fill seats consistently and optimize time slots based on demand signals. Customers experience more stable sessions and access to tickets across greek routes during the summer, with clearer prices and broader options. The funding supports a stronger local service network, tighter integration with greece-based systems, and a smoother here-for-bulgarian and greek-traveler experience. Investors will track progress by monitoring ticket availability, price competitiveness, and session volumes across the bulgarian-greek corridor, with milestones tied to onboarding new partners, expanding into milos and other popular islands, and delivering measurable growth in ticket sales.

Investors and structure: Bulgarian-Greek co-investors led by LAUNCHub Ventures

Recommendation: Use a Bulgarian-Greek co-investment structure with LAUNCHub Ventures leading, paired with regional partners to speed up times to market for ferry booking services.

LAUNCHub Ventures leads the process, with Milos steering sourcing and coordination across bulgarian and greek partners. The co-investment pool provides leverage and local market access, ensuring the booking service can scale its route to market in european markets, including italy, by tapping into the following regional networks.

The electrical pace of the region’s ecosystem requires a clear schedule and milestone-driven plan. This setup makes some funding rounds predictable and allows the team to stay focused on product, marketing, and customer experience while pursuing paths to growth that match the market cadence.

In practice, the ecosystem benefits from a tight lead-follow model: LAUNCHub leads fundraising and governance, while co-investors in bulgaria and greece deliver regional diligence and market access, and support marketing activities aimed at increasing clicks and engagement freely across channels. This structure helps each founder stay aligned with the core objective of delivering reliable ferry booking straight to customers’ hands.

Deal structure and governance

Deal structure assigns 1 board seat to LAUNCHub and observer rights for the co-investors, with pro-rata rights to participate in future rounds. Milestones link to revenue, occupancy rate, and route-level KPIs in the ferry booking service. The group follows a simple voting mechanism for major decisions, leaving day-to-day ops to the founders.

Investor mix, cadence and follow-on options

Follow-on cadences align with market growth: reserved options for incremental rounds, pro-rata rights for existing investors, and the ability to bring additional european funds as the platform scales beyond bulgaria and greece. The team can present a quarterly pitch to investors, focusing on metrics like user growth, bookings, and route expansion to include italy and other regions. The region’s electrical momentum helps attract more funds. Investors can stay engaged through regional events and regular updates.

Market opportunity: routes, demand, and cross-border travel between Bulgaria and Greece

Recommendation: build a unified cross-border ferry booking and route-planning product that connects Bulgaria and Greece along two corridors–Varna/Burgas to Thessaloniki and Athens–with feeder links to popular destinations like mykonos. Offer round-trip bundles, multi-leg itineraries, and a single checkout that combines cross-border tickets with domestic connections. This co-investment between local operators and European partners could unlock significant demand, excite operators like gundari and papathanou to participate, and enable ntua-backed data insights to streamline the process.

The same route network benefits from steady seasonal demand: roughly 60–70% of cross-border ferry trips between Bulgaria and Greece occur in June–August, driven by leisure travel to islands and summer events. Annual cross-border ticket volumes on core legs could reach tens of thousands in the off-season and several hundred thousand during peak months, with a potential uplift to 1–2 million tickets when cross-sell to island routes is fully enabled. Mykonos, as a flagship island, attracts about 1.2–1.8 million international visitors per year, creating meaningful cross-border spillovers for Bulgarian travelers and neighboring markets.

On the supply side, the market features a mix of small local operators and larger European ferry services. A platform that aggregates schedules, negotiates multi-operator pricing, and issues unified tickets would reduce friction for travelers and increase conversion rates for the same itinerary. The product could also incorporate transfers to rail or road services, increasing reliability for island access and improving reliability during peak seasons–an especially valuable feature for families and groups traveling for holidays or internships.

Route design should center on two anchor paths: Varna/Burgas–Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki–Athens–island feeders, including mykonos, with optional extensions to other Aegean ports. This aligns with infrastructure upgrades at northern Greek ports and anticipated improvements in Black Sea connections. By layering in local partners, such as gundari and papathanou, and offering integrated tickets across ferry, bus, and rail, the product can deliver a seamless user experience that saves time and reduces ticket fragmentation for European travelers.

Operationally, the platform should support a as-a-service model for ticketing, with real-time seat availability, dynamic pricing, and cross-border compliance. The ntua collaboration would help validate demand signals, build robust forecasts, and test UI/UX flows in a European context. A pilot year could focus on two to three high-traffic routes and one island corridor, then scale based on user adoption, operator onboarding, and regulatory alignment.

Business model and unit economics: commissions, pricing, and profitability signals

Adopt a tiered commission model paired with a per-booking service fee to align incentives with operators and your team. Set a 6–8% standard commission and a fixed €0.50–€1.00 processing fee per ticket to cover payments, fraud checks, and support. This could scale across the Cyclades, Milos, and other routes, building trust with local operators and this user base, following Ferryhopper’s approach.

Pricing should reflect seasonality and route complexity, with higher commissions during peak summer demand and optional bundles like ferries with hotel stays or transfer services. Use a regional pricing policy that respects operator constraints while offering clear value to the traveller. In a european context, the service can push dynamic pricing during high-volume weeks in the Cyclades and Milos, and maintain stable base prices in off-peak months to drive consistent bookings. Investments in payments infrastructure and fraud checks reduce risk and improve margins over time.

Unit economics hinge on costs and revenue per booking. Costs include hosting, payments, customer support, and partner integrations. A two-sided marketplace earns gross profit from commissions after paying operator shares and payment fees. Target a CAC below €6 through partnerships with local agents and online marketing, and chase LTV above €30–€60 per customer, driven by repeat trips to islands and regional travel packages. A healthy gross margin on direct bookings should be above 60–65%, with incremental profitability from value-add services like insurance or priority seating. This infrastructure, and the team, will be decisive in maintaining profitability signals across seasons.

Monitor profitability signals by tracking conversion rate, average ticket, and time-to-ticket issuance. Time-to-payout and chargeback rates affect cash flow; a payback period under 6–8 months for a typical acquisition indicates a healthy unit economy. Track trip length and means of transport to forecast capacity and adjust capacity planning. In the Cyclades region, the ability to find reliable operators and keep a steady supply of ferries is key; the service should maintain above-average availability in the busy summer months while keeping the islands accessible. This focus helps maintain European investor confidence and demonstrates the potential for future investments in the regional ferry ecosystem.

Product roadmap: inventory expansion, payments, and operator integrations

Onboard 40 ferry routes and 8 operator partners in the next 6 months to create 60% more inventory and give travelers more route options while maintaining revenue shares with established operators.

Inventory expansion targets the Bulgaria–Greece corridor and island hubs, adding 15 island-hopping routes and 5 cross-border transport bundles. This shift boosts discovery beyond mainland itineraries and accelerates daily-booking momentum, with a goal to exceed 100 routes by the end of the year and to support gundari and other regional operators in a cohesive ecosystem.

Payments streamline: enable multi-currency checkout in EUR and BGN at first, then expand to USD and local wallets. Support cards, wallets, and bank transfers, with 3DS and tokenized payments to reduce friction. Expect a 8–12% lift in completed bookings as checkout friction drops, and target 99.5% transaction uptime during peak days for seasonal spikes.

Operator integrations include two-three new partners per quarter, standardized APIs, and a 14-day onboarding window supported by an internship-style fast-track program for operator staff. This approach shortens time-to-listing, lowers integration costs, and improves data quality across routes, boats, and schedules, enabling faster compare-and-book experiences for travelers.

As the ecosystem grows, deepen partnerships with established players and explore revenue-sharing models that align incentives. We will formalize the collaboration with such partners as gundari and other regional operators, expanding the catalog and improving overall route coverage, benefits for travelers, and operator confidence in the platform.

Measurement focuses on days-to-list, route coverage, and shares of booked seats across channels. Track two-three key milestones per quarter, compare performance against market benchmarks, and adjust priorities to ensure long-term, sustainable growth beyond initial launches. The development cadence should keep travelers excited by new routes and seamless payments, while operator partners feel the value of a reliable, scalable platform.

Go-to-market and partnerships: ports, ferry operators, and travel channels

Launch a targeted partnership round with cyclades ports and ferry operators, anchored to Ferryhopper’s platform, to capture the summer departure window. Details are available here.

Offer an aligned value proposition to ports and established operators: steady traveler flow, better seat visibility, and co-branded marketing assets on the platform, which helps them grow revenue.

Set a revenue-share model and a three-tier approach: Tier 1 for flagship routes, Tier 2 for secondary lines, Tier 3 for seasonal promotions.

Onboarding plan: a six-week process to bring on 12 cyclades ports and 8 operators, with API integration, schedule feed, and content synchronization.

Internship program: launch a 6-week internship for local sales staff to train with port teams and operators, accelerating pitching and contract negotiations; this is not the only path, but it speeds up alignment.

Marketing and travel channels: work through Ferryhopper as the anchor platform, plus direct outreach to travel agencies and OTA partners; publish itineraries and bundle offers to open up summer trips. Each trip will display a unique bundle.

Operational readiness: align port infrastructure with schedules, ensure reliable electrical power for kiosks, and maintain open departure data; coordinate with operators to avoid disruption while the onboarding runs.

Governance and metrics: track significant indicators such as partner adoption rate, published trips via partner channels, and average booking value from these channels; run a weekly round-up and avoid lies in dashboards; however, over time, improve data accuracy.

Timeline and next steps: pilot in 3 cyclades ports this summer, then scale to 12 ports in round two; if results align, could extend to additional markets.

Risks, regulatory considerations, and milestones to watch in the next 12–24 months

Recommendation: secure a regulated Med ferry pilot within 12 months, align with Greek authorities and EU rules, and anchor the effort with metavallon and Papathanou port partners to accelerate investments and user adoption.

Regulatory and risk framework

• Maritime safety and licensing: obtain class approvals, crew licensing, and safety management certifications before any passenger service departs; document maintenance and provisioning processes to satisfy Greek and EU authorities.
• Route authorization: secure rights to operate on chosen Greek‑Mediterranean legs, coordinate departures with port authorities, and align with existing ferry schedules to avoid crowding or slot conflicts.
• Data privacy and consumer rights: implement GDPR-compliant ticketing, consent handling, and data retention policies; prepare transparent terms for cancellations and refunds.
• Insurance and liability: define coverage for passenger, cargo, and platform liability; ensure seamless risk sharing between operator, platform, and affiliates.
• State aid and competition: monitor EU guidelines to avoid selective subsidies; structure funding to meet state aid rules and preserve fair access for other operators.
• Electrical infrastructure: assess port charging capacity, grid impact, and energy sourcing for potential electrical ferries; plan for on‑site charging and contingency energy supply.
• Platform governance and interoperability: establish data interfaces with partner operators, shore facilities, and ticketing aggregators; enforce consistent service standards across routes.
• Local supplier and affiliate governance: formalize contracts with Greek and European suppliers; ensure cross‑border compliance and clear SLAs for maintenance, IT, and customer support.

Operational and market risks

• Demand volatility: seasonality and macro shocks can affect occupancy; mitigate with dynamic pricing, flexible packages, and bundled experiences for Mediterranean routes.
• Partner concentration: rely on a few shipowners or ports at first; diversify to reduce single‑point risk as the program scales.
• Technology and cyber risk: protect passenger data, payment rails, and platform uptime; implement incident response and regular security audits.
• Execution difficulty: coordinating regulatory steps, vessel readiness, and port slots requires tight project management; maintain a risk register with clear accountable teams.
• Capital runway: align milestones with ongoing investments; prepare pitching decks tailored to European funds and co‑investors to secure a signficant follow‑on round.
• Experience and user trust: deliver reliable departure times and transparent pricing to build credibility; collect user feedback to improve the journey continuously.

Milestones to watch over 12–24 months

1. 0–6 months: finalize target route set including departure from Papathanou and 1–2 Mediterranean ports, complete regulatory mapping, onboard metavallon and affiliate partners, and lock initial platform architecture.
2. 6–12 months: submit safety cases and licensing packages to authorities, confirm first route licenses, initiate a pilot with 1 ferry boat, test electrical charging readiness where applicable, and launch GDPR‑compliant ticketing and user onboarding.
3. 12–18 months: add a second route to the pilot, expand the affiliate network across European partners, introduce cross‑border payment means, and gather early data on user experience, occupancy, and revenue per trip.
4. 18–24 months: scale to 3–4 routes across the Mediterranean, secure additional investments from European funds or co‑investors, demonstrate meaningful year‑over‑year user growth, and refine the platform governance to support broader European expansion.