Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Finn Auto do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Finn Car: Finn Auto was launched in 2019 by six founders. We complement each other perfectly thanks to our academic backgrounds and, in some cases, our many years of professional experience.
Max-Josef Meier (35, LMU, CDTM), CEO of Finn Auto, co-founded Stylight and is also an investor (including at Personio). Maximilian Wühr (25, LMU, CDTM) is responsible for user acquisition. His previous professional positions included business development at Kaia Health and Picus Capital. Max Beyer (31, LSE), Chief Financial Officer and Managing Partner, previously worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for six years, most recently as a Principal. Nikolai Schröder (30, FAU Nuremberg), VP Operations at Finn Auto, also comes from BCG. Hans-Peter Ringer (36, Vienna University of Economics and Business) is Senior Director Fleet Purchasing. He worked for Sixt for more than eight years, most recently as Director International Fleet Purchasing. Andreas Wixler (37, KIT) is our CTO. At Westwing, he was previously Head of Software Development for Consumer Products.
We already knew each other before Finn Auto, partly through our studies and partly through our circle of friends. What united us from the very beginning was a clear vision that mobility as it exists today can be significantly simpler and more sustainable.
Reduce paperwork to a minimum
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Finn Car: Our goal is to make mobility fun, easy, and, above all, sustainable. Anyone faced with the decision to buy a car—whether through purchase, leasing, or long-term rental—is currently confronted with opaque and high costs. Added to this are vast amounts of formalities and paperwork, especially when it comes to financing, registration, or insurance. Often, one must also accept inflexible contract terms. This is where we at Finn Auto come inWe reduce all these processes to the absolute minimum. Ordering a car should be as easy as buying shoes online. That's our goal.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Finn Car: On our website, customers can order their dream car without any paperwork or administrative hassle. They don't even have to get up from the couch. They then quickly register their car, have it delivered to their doorstep with insurance, and can immediately hop in and drive off. A key focus from the very beginning: Finn Auto offsets the CO2 emissions of its cars for the entire term of the contract.
Finn Auto: CO2-neutral car subscription platform
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
Finn Car: First of all, we need to establish the right partnerships that don't just work for one side or the other, but are valuable for both. Furthermore, it was very important to us that we create added value not only for our customers, but for all participants in our ecosystem. And finding the right people with the right mindset to tackle these major challenges remains an important strategic point on our agenda.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Finn Car: We've clearly defined our goals for 2021. Of course, we want to further establish ourselves and become the best-known name for car subscriptions on the market. This includes, among other things, offering our customers access to the most important manufacturers. And in five years, Finn Auto should be synonymous with the easiest and most popular way for people – whether in the city or the countryside – to own their own vehicle.
Munich: “a very special place as a startup location”
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Finn Car: Munich is a very good and, above all, very special place as a startup location. Two factors stand out in our view. Firstly, the opportunity to find many young, committed talents here who are passionate about tackling new challenges and dedicating themselves to a specific task. Secondly, the access to important investors who are very open to startups.
Munich Startup: Coworking or your own office?
Finn Car: Definitely your own office. Not only do you bond better as a team, but it's also much easier and simpler if you want to communicate with each other. The office is also simply unsurpassed in terms of interpersonal relationships – something that can easily get lost when working from home, for example. The team spirit is simply better in the office, as are the flexibility and flexibility to accommodate the individual needs of our employees.
