Tuvalum, the online platform leading second-hand bike trading in Europe, has closed a Series A investment round of €3 million, led by Demium and Athos Capital. The funding round also saw the participation of renowned business angels such as Joshua Novick, Andreas Mihalovits, and Daruan Venture Capital, the investment vehicle of businessman David Ruiz de Andrés.
The startup, founded in 2015 in Valencia by Alejandro Pons and Ismael Labrador, was born out of the lack of trustworthy bike trading online services for bike riders and aficionados. Having achieved success in its niche in multiple countries across Europe, Tuvalum’s newly acquired funding will help them expand in the Italian and German markets, and continue its growth in the neighboring country of France.
“This round is a reinforcement in the trust of our business model as an agent of change and transformation in the second-hand bicycle market. It will help us drive our new business model, based on the acquisition, purchase, reconditioning, and selling of bicycles throughout Europe” said Alejandro Pons, CEO of Tuvalum.
Complementary to their current marketplace focused on professionals, Tuvalum has successfully launched a line of recommerce with the aim to speed up the purchase and reconditioning of second-hand bicycles. This new offering will also let users appraise their products free of charge, preventing the sale of stolen and counterfeit bikes.
To date, almost half of Tuvalum’s sales come from outside of Spain. Their team hopes that, with this new financing round, they can become the European benchmark in the sector of buying and selling second-hand bicycles. The company expects to close the year with a turnover close to €10 million euros after experiencing a growth of over 300%.
The recommerce trend, focused on selling second-hand goods to extend their life and reduce mass consumption, is growing globally, particularly amongst Gen Z and Millennial consumers. In 2021, the market was valued at $160 billion USD in the United States alone, 15% more than in the previous year.
