Mallard Bay – a SaaS-enabled marketplace for hunting and fishing adventures – announced the closing of a $4.6 million Series A round. Led by Soul Venture Partners, the round also saw follow-on investments from existing investors Acadian Capital Ventures, along with contributions from various new and existing angel investors.
Every year, Americans spend over $140 billion on fishing and hunting. Trip expenses are over $45 billion, equipment expenses are over $60 billion, and other expenses are over $35 billion.
The outfitting industry comprises the people and businesses that provide customers with the guides, lodging, and equipment they need to succeed in the field. It commands an impressive global market worth over $60 billion annually.
Despite this trajectory, many outfitters use outdated paper-based systems, hindering their operational efficiency and growth potential. But Mallard Bay has become a prominent provider of user-friendly booking platforms for outdoor enthusiasts looking to set up hunting and fishing excursions with trusted outfitters and charters across North America.
The company’s SaaS solution is tailored to address outfitters’ challenges. It offers seamless online booking management, a flexible calendar system, and frictionless payment collection. Mallard Bay’s focus on improving the booking process aims to transform the hunting and fishing industries.
Mallard Bay’s technology empowers outfitters in today’s competitive landscape, offering real-time trip marketing, seamless booking, and centralized client management features. Mallard Bay is poised for global expansion with 380+ charters and outfitters onboarded, spanning 38 states and seven countries, including industry leaders like Cadillac Creek Outfitters and Buffalo Nickel Lodge. And its vertical SaaS software is finely tuned to meet the specific needs of hunting and fishing guides, cementing its role as an indispensable partner deeply integrated into their workflows.
Mallard Bay recently unveiled GuideTech, a solution empowering guide and charter services to revolutionize their operations. And with GuideTech, managing calendars, reaching new clients, and accepting payments seamlessly converge into a single, powerful platform. This tool is meticulously designed to streamline every aspect of running a guide or charter service, offering unparalleled efficiency and convenience.
Mallard Bay saw tremendous growth over the past year and anticipates that the new funding will further drive this upward trajectory. Since being founded, Mallard Bay has achieved impressive milestones:
1.) In January 2024, the transaction volume surpassed the total transaction volume recorded in 2022 and almost all of Q1 2023.
2.) Throughout 2023, Mallard Bay achieved an extraordinary 600% year-over-year growth rate.
3.) Mallard Bay generated over $8 million in trip bookings over the past two seasons.
4.) The platform successfully onboarded over 380 outfitters across 38 states and seven countries.
5.) Mallard Bay facilitated memorable experiences for over 4,500 sportsmen and women over the past two seasons.
KEY QUOTES:
“As passionate sportsmen and women ourselves, we’re thrilled about this funding milestone for Mallard Bay. Our leading SaaS GuideTech product is revolutionizing the outdoor experiences industry, simplifying the process of booking hunting and fishing trips for both outfitters and enthusiasts. We recognized a need for improvement in this area, and we’re grateful for the support of our investors, including Soul Venture Partners and Acadian Ventures. With this Series A funding, we’re poised to spearhead further innovation in the outfitting industry.”
– Logan Meaux, CEO and Co-Founder of Mallard Bay
“We’re pleased to announce our partnership with Mallard Bay, recognizing their significant impact in the outdoor experiences sector. Through their innovative SaaS technology, GuideTech, Mallard Bay has effectively addressed key challenges for outfitters, enhancing bookings and operational efficiency. Positioned uniquely, Mallard Bay is poised to lead the way in the hunting and fishing market, shaping the future of outdoor adventures.”
– Prasanth Chilukuri, Managing Partner of Soul Venture Partners
“We are happy to close this funding round and add Soul Ventures to our team of stakeholders. The pieces are now in place with an experienced team, growth funds, and industry-leading software to offer our outfitters, charter captains and sports enthusiasts the tools they need to grow their business and enjoy the outdoors nationwide and soon around the world.”
– Chris Meaux, Chairman of Mallard Bay
“Mallard Bay has truly transformed the way we do business at Cadillac Creek. Mallard Bay’s GuideTech system streamlines payments, calendar management, and client communication, which has freed up more of my time to focus on what matters most. Through using GuideTech, we’ve been able to cut administrative time by about ten hours per week and reduced our time to collect deposits from about seven days to minutes. The system has also helped to normalize our cash flow, which enabled us to build a new lodge, adjust our pricing, and essentially double our capacity over the past two seasons.”
– Toby Brohlin, Owner of Cadillac Creek Outfitters
