On course for growth: Resourcify CEO Gary Lewis (M.) wants to use the fresh capital for expansion. Resourcify
The founders Gary Lewis and Felix Heinricy know well that you can make a lot of money from other people’s trash. Her startup Resourcify, founded in 2015, helps companies process the disposal of materials such as plastic film, cardboard, wood and metal digitally via a platform and connect them with local recyclers. Their goal: on the one hand, to relieve the burden on companies and, on the other hand, to prevent recyclables hidden in the trash, such as copper, from accidentally ending up in the bin.
Investors see potential in Hamburg’s business model: the amount of waste in Germany as a whole has recently fallen, according to figures from Federal Statistical Office show. However, despite efforts to make processes and packaging more sustainable, companies accumulated almost 50 million tons of waste in 2021, around 4.7 percent more waste than in the previous year. There is therefore growing demand for their waste management tool.
Vorwerk Ventures joins as a new investor
The founders have now raised 14 million in Series A financing for their software in September. The round was led by the Berlin venture capital firm Vorwerk Ventures. The tech fund Revent, the Munich-based impact VC Ananda Impact Ventures, Speedinvest, the social capital provider BonVenture and the investment arm of the family business Wepa also took part. Resourcify has thus far received around 23 million euros in risk capital. The startup now wants to use the fresh money for its expansion in Europe and further develop its platform.
So far, customers can use the tool to see which waste is generated at which points in the company. The startup evaluates the data in detail and creates reports on how processes can be optimized to reduce waste volumes and costs. Resourcify covers more than 200 types of waste. Waste disposal companies then take care of collecting, weighing and sorting the discarded items from the company. They then give the data back to the customer. In addition, reusable materials go back into the material cycle.
Read too
Collecting trash on the beach led this founder to her million-dollar startup
International customers include the fast food chain McDonalds’s and the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. In Germany, the hardware store chain Hornbach, the food giant Rewe and Frankfurt Airport also use Resourcify. 63 tons of waste are generated here every day. According to its own information, the startup has so far processed more than 500,000 tons of waste via its platform. Since 2022, the startup has also been cooperating with the environmental service provider Interzero, founded by Axel Schweitzer. Resourcify has developed its own waste manager for its customers, including the American burger chain Five Guys. The partnership allows the startup to access waste worth an additional 100 million euros, said CEO Lewis.
You can see here how the Resourcify founders managed to win Vorwerk Ventures as a lead investor in their Series A. Your 10-page pitch deck is available exclusively to us. You can also find other exciting presentations on our pitch deck topic page.