Bellhops raises $31 million, most by any startup in Chattanooga history

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Bellhops announced Tuesday that it has raised over $31 million in its most recent fundraising campaign — marking the largest amount of funds raised by a startup in the history of Chattanooga. And the company plans to keep most of that money right here in the Scenic City.

Thanks to investments from venture capital companies, Chattanooga’s own Bellhops has become a multi-million dollar company.

“This is money that comes in from the outside, from investors from the outside, comes into our community and then gets put into people who will be working right here in our city. That’s huge economic development for us,” Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said.

Mayor Berke expects at least 120 new jobs to come from this growth.

Bellhops can be described as the Uber or Lyft of the moving industry — revolutionizing a traditionally brick and mortar service to be streamlined online.

This year alone, Bellhops expanded services to 10 new cities and increased revenue by 150 percent.

“We’re very focused on job creation,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Christy Gillenwater said. “Job creation, talent pipeline development, and it’s exciting to see both Luke, Cam, Kyle, other team members here at Bellhops really lean in, not only about their own success here at Bellhops, but the community’s successes as well.”

Bellhops began with the mission to help college students move in and out of their dorms easier.

Now, the digital company has grown to 31 cities in 13 states.

However, the business model keeps everything headquartered right here in Chattanooga.

“The way that you can grow things centrally, keep things based in Chattanooga, and then also providing a better service is through technology. And that’s, we’re the only player in town that can do that, the only player in the industry who can do that,” said Luke Marklin, CEO of Bellhops.

Bellhops plans to use most of this 31 million dollars in new Chattanooga hires. For a full list of job postings, check here.