Keeping tabs on pricey out-of-office equipment, Belgium’s Cheqroom raises $15 million

Gent-based Cheqroom has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round that will see the company expand operations in the U.S. and open an innovation hub in Spain Prior to this round the Belgian startup had taken on just $300,000 in external funding, acquired in a seed round in 2014.

As a professional photographer, I can personally attest to the blessing that both in-house providers and rental houses can be. Whether it’s a specific lens not in my collection, or a better, stronger, faster, more-suited-for-the-job piece of gear, an out-on-loaner can often make or break the value of a production.

To be fair, I’ve never really thought about what happens on the other side of the depot, but I have certainly noticed the tags attached to said gear alongside the thorough combing-over done upon return. And I’m just one person. What happens when you’re managing a fleet of gear out on assignment with sometimes hundreds of AV technicians? 

Now let’s toss a global pandemic into the mix and add a whole lotta 'other' pricey items that need to be out-of-office on a regular basis.

Let the nightmares ensue.

According to Cheqroom CEO and founder Vincent Theeten, “The process of managing inventory is largely still done via Excel or pen & paper.”

Offering a soup-to-nuts software solution that includes equipment checkout, booking, maintenance, scheduling, and reporting features working in tandem with asset management and tracking functionalities, it would seem as though, while niche, Cheqroom has replaced this nightmare with a sound night's sleep.

“Cheqroom has solved this problem and emerged as a leader in the equipment management market by delivering hard ROI to their customers: decreasing equipment loss and downtime, improving equipment useful life visibility, and enhancing productivity of media and live event production teams,” commented investor Level Equity’s Charles Chen.

Counting Amazon, Google, DJI, Airbnb, VICE, ESPN, Fox Sports, and Electronic Arts amongst its client base, Cheqroom intends to use a portion of the new funding to not only build upon its success but begin branching out into new verticals.

“Today, we mainly focus on video production, but we see much potential in related industries. Just think of visual inspection with drones, software & game developers, or e-sports production. To appeal to those markets, we need to invest to better reach these industries and help them understand how Cheqroom can uniquely cater to their equipment management needs,” explained Cheqroom’s head of marketing Diederik Syoen.

Bonus Material:

Cheqroom offers a treasure trove of video content not only on how to use their own product but helpful tips and tricks and behind-the-scenes views of the gear rooms of some of the biggest production houses on the planet.

And it's nice to see they don't take themselves too seriously.