US-based shipping start-up EquaShip has closed a $900,000 round of financing with Newell Rubbermaid, the US-based consumer goods conglomerate which owns shipping brand DYMO Endicia, among the backers. The remainder of the funding was invested by undisclosed angel investors.
EquaShip is aiming to provide small and medium-sized businesses with a cloud-based logistics service that it claims can undercut major shipping companies such as UPS and FedEx, as well as the US Postal Service, by utilizing a range of regional carriers and couriers.
Scott Galovan, a director of Newell Ventures, Rubbermaid’s corporate venturing unit, will join EquaShip’s managing board as part of the deal. Newell Rubbermaid has also recently invested in fellow US-based shipping company Shipwire.
EquaShip has stated it will use the equity to establish live operations including a customer care centre. The company plans to launch in September, in time for the 2011 US holiday season.