Bizaway, developer of software for recruitment and management of business trips, consolidates its commitment to Barcelona with new offices and the expansion of the workforce. The company, born between Italy and Spain in 2015, expects to exceed 60 workers before the end of the year, a step of more than 50% over the current 39. It will concentrate them in new offices of 1,000 m2 in Passeig de Gràcia to join the headquarters it had on the same artery and in Poblenou.
Luca Carlucci, co-founder and CEO, justifies the bet on the city because “it has a lot of talent and international origin”, which makes hiring easier “when it grows so quickly”. Bizaway has just closed a ten million euro round that will allow it to complete its growth and continue its current plan. It will also be used to finance purchases, after one in April and to finalize another in Europe.
The pandemic, logically, was a hard blow, “but we didn’t stop, we continued to sell, even if people didn’t travel, and in 2020 alone we doubled our customer base”, he says. “We have been recovering the volume of trips, this year it will already be above that of 2019”, he ventures. The turnover will exceed 90 million euros, and will triple last year’s figures.
The secret is “to have innovated in a sector that had not innovated”. Although holiday trips have been digitized with speed, business trips not so much. “It is one of the biggest costs after wages. Our tool manages travel, booking, expense control, regulatory compliance…”, he details. The whole cycle. The main global providers of transport, accommodation and services such as rental cars are integrated into the platform.
With this proposal and the promise of savings, the average size of customers is increasing, including banks, construction companies and retail chains, within a wide range. The rapid growth is still maintained without annual profits, but “with some months in positive ebitda”, explains Carlucci. Entry into profits is expected for 2024.
Sales are mainly concentrated in Italy and Spain, each with a quarter of the pie. The idea is to keep the focus on Europe and the Middle East, where it has an office in Dubai. “We see many opportunities in this market”, he explains. The other side of the Atlantic does not attract so much attention at the moment, although it has some American clients.
In Spain, it also has headquarters in Vigo, with 25 employees. Italy and Albania complete a network with 238 people.
