The world of startups knows that if there is no solution to a problem... it may be because there is no problem and no need for a solution. An oft-repeated truism that Alex Ootes and Virginia Strong dismiss out of hand. With years of experience at Amazon and HelloFresh, the CEO and COO of Partao, respectively, claim that they have the 'keys' to the spare parts market for tractors and other construction equipment.
Partao, their startup housed at the Luxembourg City Incubator, aims to address an almost invisible problem: when a farmer buys a tractor, they buy it for 50 years; but when they have to quickly find a part that is broken and has to contact the person who sold the tractor, the trouble starts. The market is highly fragmented and dealers often have geographical limits; there is no price comparison service for spare parts - even those manufactured by alternative suppliers - to find a better deal. And even if the farmer does find the part, nothing is done to ensure that they receive it as quickly as possible.
Five million parts already
This is where wants to make a difference, with its online catalogue of five million parts, which is already accessible but will be increased to between 22m and 50m as quickly as possible. The parts, both old and new, are already a competitive advantage. With the increased use of artificial intelligence - "which makes it possible to go five times faster than five years ago", says Ootes - the startup can retrieve information from manufacturers, integrate it into its own catalogue in partnership with them, consolidate data on both availability and trends, and adapt its offering. AI can also be used to match customers and sellers with compatible parts, even when information is fragmented or incomplete, thanks to a "part finder" that can be based on part drawings. Last but not least, the solution can be used to manage a stock of spare parts in the best possible way, as well as to reduce the time taken to deliver parts or to implement predictive maintenance.
Whether they are farmers, distributors of agricultural or construction machinery, mechanics, construction companies, self-employed in the aftermarket or from other sectors such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning or heavy goods vehicles, potential customers are numerous.
Entrepreneurs in a hurry
Naturally, when you've spent 16 years at Amazon, as Ootes has, managing the development of the American giant's distribution network from scratch in Italy and Spain, and you've worked in verticals such as the automotive and industrial sectors, you end up acquiring a certain amount of expertise in how to "bring businesses from 0 to a billion euros in turnover", he said in a meeting at the offices of Mangrove Capital Partners.
Accustomed to finding gems just about anywhere on the planet, this time the Luxembourg VC firm insisted that the star-up set up in Luxembourg and expand from there. According to one of the partners, Yannick Oswald, the pre-seed round he led was a great success, and its size - €3m - is a sign of the company's determination to go very fast and very hard. A second round, before the end of the year, is already planned. "We intend very quickly to reach sales in the tens of millions of euros", said Strong, who, in addition to Amazon, has also worked for HelloFresh and Gopuff, an American unicorn backed by Softbank that has already raised more than $5bn for its delivery service.
This tandem has also enlisted the services of a third person as chief technology officer. Hamlet Aslanyan, who studied at the Armenian Polytechnic, also worked for Amazon.
"Our past experience enables us to make the right decisions more quickly", stated Strong. Here again, the startup is breaking with the codes that would have us believe that after a certain age, entrepreneurs are considered to have less of the 'drive' required to fight for every centimetre of progress. In a market they estimate at $350bn, the Luxembourg startup hopes to be the "next billion company".
Read the original French-language version of this news report /