For a company whose mission is to make it easier for you to park, SpotHero certainly has no problem slamming its foot on the gas pedal.
Today, the company announced plans to explode its acceleration in New York City. In a move to drive that growth, SpotHero has brought on Zipcar’s John Horton (pictured below) to lead the company’s NYC expansion efforts.
"We’re excited to accelerate our growth in New York,” said Mark Lawrence, CEO of SpotHero in a statement. “Given John’s background at Zipcar, we know he is the perfect person to help us continue to build upon our strong relationships with parking operators.”
The announcement follows a $20 million Series B secured in August of this year, which was led by New York-based Insight Venture Partners. At the time, CEO Mark Lawrence said those funds would be used in part to onboard 25 new positions across Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Today’s announcement reiterated SpotHero’s hiring efforts, as Horton will be responsible for hiring 10 employees to work out of NYC's WeWork.
The spotlight on the company’s growth comes just a week after Techstars Chicago’s Demo Day. Lawrence, a graduate of the program, spoke at the event about the effect his participation in the program had on the success of his company.
If his ventures in New York are any indication, the accelerator program seems to have done its job well.
SpotHero says its already increased the number of parking facilities it offers in New York to 645 — up from 183 just a year ago. Sales of monthly parking spots have also spiked, with the company anticipating New York to eclipse Chicago as its largest market by the end of next year.
Horton joins SpotHero after a series of additions to its fast-growing executive team. Earlier in October, the company announced it had hired Kristen Cho and Elissa Beckman as Digital Marketing Director and Head of Talent and Recruiting, respectively. SpotHero also brought on a VP of Finance in Jason Pinter, and Tim Maloney, VP of Sales.
“SpotHero is the clear leader in this space,” said Horton in the statement. “I look forward to building upon this year’s momentum, partnering with parking operators and making parking easier for drivers in New York.”
The company is quickly driving its way across the country, with operations in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Boston.
The four-year-old startup has already secured $27 million in venture capital and has established itself as one of Chicago’s most-watched startups.
