“Be a visionary, but not a dreamer”
Winning the Smart Mobility Start-Up Award at the Fleet Europe Awards last year provided WeProov with the leverage for spectacular growth – both in employee and customer numbers. But of course the foundation is a strong product, as CEO Alexandre Meyer explained to the Start-Up Lab at the Fleet Europe Summit in Estoril.
“When everything in the automotive industry is moving towards renting and sharing, you generate a lot of transfers of responsibility. Adequate and timely verification of the condition of the car becomes a crucial problem”.
Verifiable proof
Condition reports on paper are often inaccurate, confusing and unproductive, and frankly outmoded. But simply taking pictures is not considered a valid method of validation. That's where WeProov comes in – providing a tool that turns photos into verifiable proofs of the condition of vehicles – or real estate, artworks, and other valuables, for that matter.
But it's not just that simple, but novel methodology that's proved the success of WeProov, also its approach of the fleet industry itself. “Everybody always focuses on fleet managers. We've decided to zoom in on the driver. The idea is that they make a photographic report each time they take a specific car”.
Close scrutiny
This creates a day-by-day chain of data on the state of a vehicle fleet. And such close scrutiny can significantly reduce the cost of maintenance and repair. Just one example: “One client experienced 200 broken mirrors per year, at €300 each. Since WeProov, that toll has gone down by 90%, generating a savings of €54,000 per year”.
WeProov recently secured €1 million in fundraising, a testament to the company's doggedly determined pursuit of its core business: “Never think a customer is too hard to reach with your product”, Mr. Meyer said. “And always ask a thousand questions and focus on your positive points”.
Breaking even
With demonstrable results: “We're a small start-up, but we're making big money already. In fact, we're already breaking even”. For Mr. Meyer, working with big corporates is an easy fit for a start-up: “I often find it funny that corporates are trying to replicate the dynamism and creativity of start-ups, and that start-ups attempt to capture the discipline and organisation of bigger companies”.
One advice to start-ups trying to replicate the meteoric rise of WeProov? “Be a visionary, but not a dreamer!”