Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
2nd: Johannes Stoffel, 29, holds an Executive Master's degree from ESCP Europe in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership. After completing his bachelor's degree, he founded Karosso in Berlin. Together with Axel Springer, he built the Amazon for used cars in the accelerator program at Plug&Play in Berlin and sold it at the end of 2016. At Karosso, he identified significant limitations in the used car business that severely disadvantaged the B2B business with used vehicles. Thus, Karosso provided the breeding ground for 2trde.
Marcus Lankenau is 44 years old and holds a degree in electrical engineering with a specialization in computer engineering. He has 20 years of experience in IT projects, including at O2, Vattenfall, Swisscom, Xing, and Friendscout24, four years of experience in IT consulting, and three years as a software architect. He is CTO and the first developer at 2trde.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
2nd: Traditional B2B marketing of used cars is a lengthy and slow process. It involves numerous Excel spreadsheets and mailing lists. Car dealerships are often linked to and dependent on a single marketing channel. With 2trde, dealers can conduct auctions individually. Vehicles are advertised on up to five auction platforms simultaneously, thus increasing reach and residual values. Digitizing the process shortens the entire auction process, which in turn saves time and money. Data quality is also improved: The entered data is enriched and optimized with information from various vehicle databases using a learning algorithm. True to the motto: The better the data, the better the results!
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
2nd: Parts of this value chain already exist. Unfortunately, these services are very manual and analog. Accordingly, they are difficult to scale and cost too much money, which cannot be realized in this business. With 2trde, we are digitizing the entire value chain. We don't do this alone, but with our partners, such as the auction houses, and of course with our customers!
2trde: “Things are going pretty well for us”
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
2nd: First, to find automotive investors with petrol in their veins. Second, to find the right employees who will go the extra mile with us. And third, to advance the relevance and benefits of digitalization in the automotive business.
Munich Startup: How are things going?
2nd: Things are going pretty well for us. Just this summer we completed a seed financing round of 2.5 millionThe world's leading automotive VC Maniv Mobility from Israel is the lead investor in the seed round, but renowned business angels have also invested.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
2nd: Munich is a very attractive startup location. Its proximity to major automotive manufacturers and important trade organizations plays a key role. But the proximity to top universities and talent pools also has a positive impact on us!
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
2nd: Shooting Star Champion DNA!
