Montréal-headquartered Boundless Life has secured $2 million in a SAFE, all-equity seed funding round from a combination of venture capitalists, angel investors, and syndicates.
“The work they were doing in a cubicle in an office can be done from anywhere , so why not explore the world?”
– Marcos Carvalho
American investment firm IDEA Fund Partners led the round, with participation from Anges Québec, Avalanche VC, CUBD Ventures, Massive VC, GV Angels, several founding families, and investors in real estate and education from Europe, North America, South America, and Asia.
Boundless has also received scout cheques from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. Scout cheques are provided by large funds for angel investors and operators to invest into a company or project they trust, allowing the VC firm to get to know the receiving company prior to its Series A round. Sequoia initiated one of the first scout programs over a decade ago, which has since been copied by other venture firms.
Launched in February by serial entrepreneurs Mauro Repacci and Marcos Carvalho, as well as Rekha Magon and Elina Zois, Boundless serves families that want to transition into the digital nomad lifestyle. Digital nomads are people who work remotely while travelling around the world simultaneously. Approaching this way of living can be complicated, especially with children. Boundless’ solution is to provide a network of “thoughtfully designed” communities located in different parts of the globe where people can live and work, while children can continue their studies in an education system that follows them in their travels.
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Inspired by the Finnish school system, Boundless’ curriculum allows students aged one to 12 to participate in global cohorts where their studies are adapted to the culture of the country they’re visiting.
All of the students’ school work and activities are documented in the Boundless Briefcase, a platform that collects the children’s work that can be presented to secondary or post-secondary institutions upon graduation.
To provide a customized experience, Boundless collects data from its users through multiple surveys before and during their travels. The company leverages their information, which includes families’ preferences in sports, properties, as well as medical needs, to “automate the transition to the nomadic lifestyle,” according to Carvalho.
Families can select between different types of packages offered by Boundless, ranging from a one-month getaway to a full-year.
Carvalho told BetaKit that the COVID-19 pandemic showed people that they can work wherever they want, which made them rethink the future of work and education.
“Now, people are really tired of staying in one place,” he said. “They realize they don’t need to live this nine to five [lifestyle], and that the work they were doing in a cubicle in an office can be done from anywhere , so why not explore the world?”
Carvalho also said that Boundless doesn’t have direct competition as the company is positioned in a niche market, targeting people who have children. He claimed that there are digital nomad services for families, but no one is integrating an educational system such as Boundless.
Boundless is not Carvalho’ first startup. As a serial entrepreneur, he also co-founded NestReady with his Boundless co-founder Repacci. NestReady, which is a home relocation platform that matches people with their suitable neighbourhoods, was acquired by Homebot last year. Boundless represents the third company that Repacci and Carvalho have worked on together.
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Having built a number of different ventures, both Carvalho and Repacci wanted a break and to live a “boundless” lifestyle, but then realized it was complicated to do that with children.
To provide a solution, Carvalho and Repacci began working on Boundless in the beginning of 2020 and interviewed thousands of families to understand their needs when it comes to the transition to becoming digital nomads.
Now, Boundless operates in Sintra, Portugal with the next location in Greece by June. By September, Boundless plans to be operating in Tuscany, and in Spain by the end of the year. Carvalho said Boundless will begin exploring further destinations, such as Bali and Costa Rica, next year. The travel startup’s goal is to have 30 destinations in three years.
Backed by fresh funds, Boundless plans to expand its team with experts in real estate across the world as well as educators.
Featured image courtesy of Boundless Life.
