RaftUp of Little Rock announced this week the launch of its namesake mobile application in the iTunes App Store. The company is working on the Android version and hopes that will launch by the Fourth of July.
Founder, CEO and only full-time employee Corey Boelkens, said, “We’re excited to get this out there. We’re looking forward to many people wanting to use it. The saying is people will see value in it when it starts to save them time. That confidence is what we care about.”
The app uses location services, like GPS and Google Maps, to create an interactive map with marine-related information that is accessible while on the water, he said. Boaters can use it to see points of interest (ramps, fishing spots, dive sites, marinas, restaurants), find and add friends, find locations during events like poker runs and see nearby boaters that also have the app.
He also said boaters who break down or have another emergency will be able to send out an SOS geographic location notification through Urban Airship that would alert the closest marina and emergency services provider, as well as RaftUp users within a five-mile radius. They could see the boat in distress in real time.
Parents could use it to track where their kids are on the water, too, Boelkens said.
He envisions the app providing social engagement later. The feature, set to be added this summer, will allow boaters on the water to communicate anonymously about water temperature, how fishing is and other topics.
Boelkens said he founded RaftUp in June 2015, and began development of the app in September. He said he’d raised $85,000 in seed money from family and friends. He also won second place and $5,000 at a weekend event hosted by Startup Junkie Consulting of Fayetteville.
Boelkens also said an investor in Pensacola, Florida, is going to invest $25,000 in the company because he’s interested in coastal boaters using it to engage and collaborate while on the water.
The app costs users $7 for a three-month subscription or $10 for a year-long subscription, and RaftUp is partnering with boat rental businesses so that they can pay $2 to offer customers seven-day memberships.
Boelkens said he has three part-time employees who have full-time jobs elsewhere, and he quit his job two months ago to go full time. RaftUp doesn’t have revenue yet, he said, but “I’m all in.”
Boelkens said RaftUp is in a “flip-flops on the ground” stage, and he’s sold a boat and truck to pursue this dream job.
His background is in marketing technology, software development and software architecture. Boelkens said he worked at Acxiom of Little Rock for seven years and at Merkle Inc. of Little Rock for six years.
But boating has been a lifelong passion; his first job was as a dockhand at a Bull Shoals marina. He worked there from ages 14-18 and during college.
The fire department and emergency call center in Osage Beach, Missouri, are considering using the RaftUp application and its corresponding web portal, according to a news release.
“The moment I learned about RaftUp, I knew it would benefit our response time and the way that our department could help to keep boaters safe on the water. Everyone takes their phones with them everywhere now. There is no reason for a boater to be stranded for hours on the water waiting for help. And in the case of an emergency, it’s a lifesaver. Plain and simple,” Osage Beach Fire Chief Jeff Dorhauer said in the release.
Kevin Eastwold of Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock said in the release, “Boaters who dock at our marina — and even the first-time boaters that come to the marina to rent — no longer have to rely on paper maps or directions scrawled on a piece of paper to find their friends, family, or a great fishing location on the water. RaftUp lets boaters spend more time doing what they came to the water to do — have fun and make memories.”