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Executive Summary
In this episode of Startuprad.io, host Jörn “Joe” Menninger interviews Maximilian Wühr, the CEO of FINN Auto. Maximilian shares his motivation for starting Finn, which stemmed from a frustrating car-buying experience in the San Francisco/Bay Area. He discusses the fundraising process and emphasizes the importance of being persistent and solving a problem. Maximilian also highlights the differences between the US and German markets, particularly in terms of product-market fit and logistics. He shares his journey from finance to startups and discusses the advisory board experience. Maximilian concludes by sharing his vision for Finn’s future, including the possibility of going public.
Max’ Tips for Successful Fundraising“Fundraising in a lot of ways is like sales. So you ultimately want something from somebody and to get there, you need to be very convincing, you need to be a little bit charming, you need to have very good arguments, you need to be able to ultimately just make your case and convince the other person that they are doing something great by giving you money.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
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“So [an IPO] definitely is an objective that we have going forward, but not something that we work towards.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
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The Joys and Pains of Car Ownership: “I looked at kind of like, how will I get a car now? And it was a really painful process from kind of like, figuring out which car I want.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
Questions Discussed in the Interview:
1. How does the speaker’s experience with buying a car align with your own experiences? Have you found the process to be more difficult and painful than expected?
2. What are some of the key similarities between fundraising and sales, as discussed by the guest? How can these similarities be leveraged for successful fundraising?
3. Do you agree with the speaker’s assessment that Middlestone companies and startups can learn from each other? How might Middlestone companies contribute to the long-term stability and profitability of startups?
4. What are some of the challenges and advantages of operating a startup in the US market compared to Germany? How do logistics and the size of the country impact operations?
5. The guest discusses their decision to switch from the finance industry to startups. Have you ever considered a career change? What factors would drive you to switch industries?
6. How does the guest’s experience on the advisory board of a small Middlestone company differ from working at a startup? How might the contrasting cultures of these two types of companies influence one another?
7. What steps do you think a startup should take in order to prepare for a potential IPO? How might professionalizing the company and improving forecasting help maximize its value?
8. The guest emphasizes the importance of focusing on one thing and doing it well and quickly in order to compete against larger corporations. Can you think of any examples where a startup successfully competed against a larger corporation by taking this approach?
9. How did the guest’s initial motivations and career aspirations lead them to ultimately start Finn? What factors have contributed to the company’s success thus far?
10. Have you ever started a professional collaboration with someone you didn’t know personally? How did the dynamics of the relationship differ from those formed through personal connections?
Responsibility and Impact: “I’m one of the people that is very much driven by kind of like knowing at the end of the day what I have achieved throughout the day. Like, I want to see kind of like, which problems have I solved? Did I make a difference today?”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
The Video Interview is set to go live on September 7th, 2023
“I think it’s actually quite a good learning experience for founders to look into Private Equity and see what can I take from this? What can I learn from them? And how can I make my own company more profitable, more resilient, more stable, more oriented for the long term compared to what many startup founders are optimizing.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
The Audio Interview is set to go live on September 7th, 2023
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Starting a Company: “I knew for a while that I wanted to start a company on my own. And to be honest, I never thought initially that I would find it in automotive. But I met along the way like five very talented co-founders and how we met each other was always in a purely professional context and via very different channels, but kind of like we always felt a very strong sense of alignment.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
The Founder
Maximilian Wühr, CEO and Co-Founder of FINN Auto (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilian-wuehr/), began his journey in economics with the aspiration of becoming a financial investor. In pursuit of the best education, he recognized Bocconi as one of Europe’s top finance universities and decided that studying there would be a valuable experience. Despite the lack of an existing partnership between LMU and any Italian university, Maximilian was determined to study in Milan. Taking matters into his own hands, he navigated the process of organizing the exchange and securing a scholarship that covered his expenses.
For six months, Maximilian immersed himself in the Italian culture, enjoying both the university and the unique approach to teaching economics, which relied less on numbers and data. His time in Milan not only broadened his academic horizons but also gave him a newfound appreciation for the vibrant city. He later attended CDTM the Center for Digital and Technology Management, which also took him to UC Berkeley with their exchange program. In California, he bought a car, which turned out to be a not-so-pleasant experience. This gave him the trigger to join the founding of FINN Auto.
Today, as the CEO of FINN Auto, Maximilian leverages the skills and knowledge he acquired during his studies and exchange program. His passion for finance and his experiences in Italy continue to shape his leadership style and drive him toward success in the automotive industry. Maximilian became CEO when his predecessor had to step down from the position.
“I think most of the time it comes down to focus and speed. So because you only do one thing, you can do it really well and do it a lot faster than many of your competitors.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
The Startup
Finn Auto, the startup co-founded by Maximilian Wühr, has made significant strides in revolutionizing the car-subscription industry. They have successfully raised multiple rounds of funding, including a recent funding round that secured several millions of dollars. In total, they raised close to one billion US$ (935 M). This financial backing has allowed FINN to expand its operations and continue to enhance its innovative platform.
What sets FINN apart from its competition is its focus on providing a seamless and user-friendly experience. Their platform streamlines the entire process, alleviating the pain points that individuals often encounter when renting or purchasing a vehicle. By leveraging the power of technology and data, Finn Auto offers personalized recommendations, transparent pricing, and a hassle-free process. This customer-centric approach, coupled with their commitment to quality and reliability, has earned them a rapidly growing customer base.
Furthermore, FINN has achieved significant milestones in a relatively short period of time since its inception. Their platform has already gained traction in the US market, catering to the convenience and e-commerce acceptance prevalent in the region. The company’s dedication to continuous improvement is reflected in its rapid product development and quick iterations. Their ability to adapt and iterate based on user feedback has allowed them to stay ahead of the curve and address the evolving needs of their customers. With a strong team, a customer-first mindset, and a user-centric approach, Finn Auto is poised for continued success in the automotive industry.
The Benefits of Studying Abroad: “I completely organized the exchange myself. So I just tried to find a sponsor at Bocconi. I found a scholarship that would pay for the whole thing and ultimately was able to go to Milan for half a year and not only really enjoyed the university there and was also a very different way of teaching economics compared to Munich.”— Maximilian Wühr — CEO FINN Auto
Hiring!
FINN is hiring. You can learn more about the open positions here: https://www.finn.com/de-DE/careers
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The Interviewer
This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:
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All Links and Show Notes
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Topics Discussed in this Interview
In this interview we are talking about
Ford Mustang, car, Germany, public transport, Bay Area, repairs, maintenance, insurance, buying a car, fundraising, sales, KPIs, numbers, vision, pickups, US market, convenience, e-commerce, logistics, operations, internship, finance industry, startups, Middlestone companies, advisory board, culture, CEO, Finauto, IPO, partner, economics, Bocconi, teaching approach, user experience, team culture, competition, passion, automotive industry, co-founders.
Automated Transcript
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:00:00]:
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Narrator [00:01:28]:
Welcome to StartupRadio rad dot I o, your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German StartupRadio with news, interviews, and live events.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:01:43]:
Hello, and welcome, everybody. This is Joe from StartupRadio dot Joe, your Startupradio podcast and YouTube blog from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Today, I would like to welcome Maximilian here with us from Finauto. Hey. How are you doing?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:01:58]:
Hey, Joe. I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:02:01]:
Totally my pleasure. You are the current CEO of Finauto because your predecessor had to step down to do an unfortunate incident. But we will dig a little bit into you, what you guys are doing, and how you guys are going to make car subscription successful because that is something even the big ones have been failing at. And it's for me totally fascinating how a Startupradio could make that. But before we get into that, I've I've been digging a little bit into your LinkedIn profile as everybody can do. We will link it down here in the show notes. And I've seen you've been, let's say, at the usual suspects. There is the LMU University in Munich and the Center For Digital, CDTM, the Center For Digital Technology and Management, which is part of Unterinemetum associated with it.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:03:02]:
And everybody who'd like to learn more can go down here in the show notes and talk a little and, can hear how they are helping Menninger to become a Startupradio hub. They're really, really awesome. Strongly recommended. But can you tell us a little bit how you got from Munich to balcony to Munich to Berkeley?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:03:25]:
Yeah. So I grew up in rural Bavaria. And so Munich was always kinda like the big city and the big leap for me. Like all my, friends went studying in in, Ratte Spon or in, DECKENDORF or in Passau, like, I would say also smaller Bavarian cities. And for me, Munich was always
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:03:43]:
Hang on. Hang on. I grew up in a rural town. How how rural are we talking? I I grew up in a town with less than 200 people. Can you beat that?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:03:52]:
No. I cannot beat that. So, the town that I grew up in had, like, a gymnasium. It, like, it had, like, 7 supermarkets. So it was, like, not as rural. Like but it's quite far away. So it's, like, 2 hours in the northeast, from Munich. It's on the, at the border to the Czech Republic.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:04:11]:
And, I think we we had 3,000, 3,500 inhabitants maybe.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:04:17]:
Mhmm. Mhmm. I see. And Joe, basically, you want to go to Munich Yeah. And study there. And how did you then get from there to, balcony? Yeah. And, how did your journey develop there? And when did you realize I want to do start ups?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:04:36]:
Yeah. So, I studied economics. And so during studying, I always thought, like, I'm I'm gonna end up as an financial investor, basically. And so, I looked for ultimately the best universities in Europe, and Bocconi was or still is one of the best finance universities in Europe. And so I thought, like, okay. I I I love Italy. I can speak a little bit of Italian, so why not spend a semester abroad there? And there is actually no cooperation between the LMU and, I think, any Italian university. But I wanted to go there desperately and so I completely organized the exchange myself.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:05:21]:
So I just tried to find a sponsor at Pokoni. I found a scholarship that would pay for the whole thing and ultimately was able to go to Milan for half a year. And not only really, really enjoyed the university there and was also very, very different way of teaching economics compared to Munich, like, a little bit less numbers and data driven, I would say. But I really, really enjoyed the time in Milan as well, to be honest.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:05:49]:
I can totally see that. What actually surprises me is that there's no cooperation between LMU and a university in Italy because I've heard quite frequently, especially in terms of food, that Mi Mix sees itself as the most northern city of Italy.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:06:06]:
Maybe I'm also getting that wrong and I just didn't find it by back then. But, I mean, also I was dead set on bucconi. Right? Like, I was like, hey. I wanna go to bucconi specifically. Like, this is the place to be. This is the best university of Italy, one of the best in Europe. And so, maybe that fixture also is is clouding my memories. But, I I I definitely was very, very driven to kinda, like, find a way to end up there.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:06:33]:
I have to admit, I also love Milano, especially it's not too far away from the Alps. You can see it from some of the rooftops, and it's also not too far away from the ocean, which is also very beautiful, has amazing restaurants and, the the the, espresso bars that even inspired Starbucks.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:06:53]:
Yeah. And, you also have a bunch of, like a concept that is called Aperitivo, which is the best thing for a student, that that that ever existed. You basically get one drink for, let's say, €5, and then you get, food, a buffet, for the whole night for free. And that is that is amazing for a budget conscious, student.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:07:16]:
I see. And how did you get then into CDTM?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:07:20]:
So, I was talking with a very, very good friend of mine about kinda like what else is there that we can do. He's an architect. I'm an economist. I think we both, after studying, these these two very, very different, study programs, became kinda like we we love digital technology, and we're looking for a way to kinda, like, learn more about it, but also do more projects about it. And so we came across CDTM and started talking about it. I started talking to several people. I had one acquaintance that studied there, and, I was actually, really falling in love with the curriculum and the opportunity to study at CDTM because it felt like something very, very hands on, very, very project driven, very practical. So in a very stark contrast to the quite academic environment of economics itself.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:08:16]:
Mhmm. And from then on, you also went to Berkeley?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:08:21]:
Yeah. That was actually via via the CDTM. So the CDTM has a bunch of partner universities, and that was a lot easier to organize. But you also needed, like, to talk to a professor and kinda, like, get get approved to kinda, like, move over there. And that was also a very, very fascinating period, not as practical as the CDTM itself, but also very, very cross functional, which is, I think, one of the common themes throughout my life that I've always kinda, like, been trying to understand different disciplines and kinda, like, learn from from everyone that I come across. And so Berkeley was, definitely that for me as well.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:09:01]:
And, I also heard that kind of sparked the idea, of Finn inside of you. It's associated with a Ford Mustang.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:09:12]:
Not yet the idea itself, but it definitely is now one of the main sources of motivation that that I have every day when I, when I work on Finn. So, ultimately, I bought my first car there. So in Germany, I never needed a car. I lived in Munich, in Milan. You don't need a car. Once you come to the Bay Area, you realize, oh, public transport is not really a thing here. And so, the the need for a car becomes, significantly stronger. Like, if you wanna go to a supermarket, you need to have a car.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:09:43]:
If you wanna go, on a weekend trip, you need to have a car. And so, ultimately, I looked at kind of like how would I get a car now? And it was a really, really painful process from kind of like figuring out which car I want. I ended up getting a convertible Ford Mustang that was quite rundown. And as a result, I also had to worry a lot about repairs, about maintenance, about insurance, like, all these things that you typically don't think about when you think kinda like you see a advertisement for a car, and it promises you all of this freedom, like, all of that excitement, all of that experience. But when you actually start, kinda like, buying 1, it it can be quite a hassle, and it can be quite painful.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:10:29]:
Mhmm. I remember friends of mine at college in Texas also had a car, a quite old old mobile where the reverse gear didn't work. So always, the the lightest person had to get in. We had to push it, and he had to steer it. It was
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:10:45]:
thankfully, it wasn't that bad, but we I also had a bunch of problems. Like, one of the, cats was broken. And, yeah, it was like a a a whole thing that, kept me busy for, the better part, of half a year. Yeah.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:10:58]:
I see. And then he came back, and I can see you've been doing a few analyst positions, in private equity, venture capital, or something like that. And then somehow you enter business development at start ups. How did this happen?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:11:15]:
So before, I was joining CDTM, I was, doing an internship at a private equity not fund, but, like, a firm. Like, basically, a family office of, like, 3 very, very rich, high net worth individuals that kinda, like, wanted to play with their with their money. And, that was a very, very interesting experience. If you recall, like, all my life, I thought I I would end up in the finance industry. And, so, I when I when I ended up there, I realized maybe it's not a perfect fit for me. I'm I'm one of the people that is very much, driven by, kinda, like, knowing at the end of the day what I have achieved throughout the day. Like, I wanna see kinda like which problems have I solved. Did I make a difference today? All of these things.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:12:00]:
And in finance, you have responsibility for a lot of money. You make very, very large decisions. But for most of the days, it can be somewhat a grind. And so I actually thought to myself, how can I actually get more responsibility? How can I have more impact? And that's why I switched to Startupradio and also why I was very interested in joining CDTM.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:12:24]:
Mhmm. I see you've been there. One of them, I don't know, a health care venture Startupradio then you you started venture development. What did you do there?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:12:39]:
So yeah. Like, Kaya Health, which was the kinda, like, first real proper job that I had. Like, afterwards, I wanted to, kinda, like, shorten my learning periods, and I wanted to learn a lot more and see a lot more different things in a short period of time. And so venture development is just a fancy name for ultimately saying you do everything that is necessary to get a company off the ground. And so, what I did at that Fintech, company builder, was I ultimately tried to find customers. I designed logos. I, built products and, minimum viable products specifically, just prototyped a lot and, try to find ideas that we would be able to get off the ground. Mhmm.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:13:27]:
And from your CV, it looks like you've been jumping from there into founding or cofounding Fin Auto as chief growth officer. With the background, it kind of makes sense. But I want to stop at at one step in between because you're a member of a supervisory board of classical German Mittelstand. Can can you talk a little bit about here the clash of the cultures?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:13:54]:
Of of of course. So, I was very, very lucky to kinda like after, after kinda like seeing a couple of different experiences and seeing a couple of different industries, I was asked to join the advisory board of a, Mittelstand company. And, it's a very, very small one. So it's like a 20 employees. It's, a couple of millions in revenue. It is a, old school business. It's a publishing company. And so, yeah, joining the advisory board there is a vastly different experience to what you typically see at a start up.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:14:33]:
So there is quite a strong contrast of cultures and Joe one or the other is better, but I think both can learn from each other. And so when you look at kinda like what is the underlying skill set that, these companies do very, very well, I think it's actually quite a good learning experience for founders to look into the Mittelstand and see kinda what can I take from this? What can I learn from them? And how can I make my own company more profitable, more resilient, more stable, more oriented for the long term, compared to, what what what many Startupradio founders are are optimizing towards?
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:15:14]:
Mhmm. I see. I see. And then you jumped into Finauto. What was, like, the the founding story behind it? Was it like a bunch of guys sitting around the table drinking beer and saying, oh, let's let's do a Startupradio how did you approach this? And what was, like, the moment you said, okay. I I'm in. I'm gonna cofound this.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:15:38]:
Yeah. So, I knew for a while that I wanted to start a company, on my own. Like, after seeing this for a couple of times, I was kinda, like, very, very driven and motivated to find a topic that I'm excited about myself. And to be honest, I never thought initially that I would find it in automotive. So it's actually something that, was a little bit of a of a pleasant surprise because, one of the, one of the companies that that I worked with was also Pico's Capital. And, we we I worked quite closely with one of their partners, and that was actually the the push that I got to ultimately look a little bit more into automotive. And I really, really, like, appreciated that because then I remembered the the buying experience that I had on my own and kinda like how painful it was and found a lot of motivation to ultimately build fit. But I met along the way, like, 5 very, very talented cofounders, and how we met each other was always in a purely professional context and via very, very different channels.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:16:42]:
But kinda like we always, felt a very strong sense of alignment. So kinda like we all had the same goals to ultimately, like, simplify that experience, to make operations more efficient, to kinda like build a product that is really loved by, by its customers. And so it's something that, that united us and that resonated with us. But, ultimately, I I didn't know any of my cofounders before cofounding with them. We spent a lot of time together, and we worked a lot together until we said, like, hey. This is the right group. But, I think it's a quite unromantic story compared to many of the other Startupradio stories out there that sound like, more like a rom com. Yeah.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:17:28]:
Like, I've I've known this guy for, the last 12 years, and he's my best friend from school. For us, it was actually quite a different experience and rather a professional connection.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:17:40]:
Mhmm. You guys offer car subscriptions, but not only here in Germany, but also you entered, a more than a year ago, I do believe, the US market. Right?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:17:52]:
Yes. We entered the US market one and a half years ago. And, yeah, that that's kind of full circle. Right? So, like, my my poor buying experience was in, in in in the US, in in California. But, so we are not there yet. But, that's definitely on the bucket list to ultimately Joe full circle here and be able to say kinda like now we now we are solving this in California as well.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:18:15]:
Mhmm. My understanding is you guys are headquartered in New York City, and you split your time between Munich and New York City?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:18:25]:
Yes. So I'm roughly 70% of my time in New York and 30% of my time in Munich.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:18:31]:
I see. Do do you also do, like, pre Christmas New York? I love that, Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony, the the the Christmas spectacle at Radio City Music Hall and all the touristy stuff like that.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:18:45]:
I I I did it like the the first PE experience that we talked about. Like, that was, in New York, and I I did all the touristy stuff back then. But now it's a little bit more kinda like head head down and work, but, but not as much, touristy stuff anymore.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:19:03]:
Do you try because, I was back in 2014, I was driving in New York City. I I had to do some stuff there. And, I realized how freaking expensive it is to park a car there. It cost me something like $50 a night, all the toll roads and all that stuff. Do you use a car yourself in New York City? I don't. You don't? Okay. I see. And can you tell us now a little bit that we have established a base? Can you tell us a little bit about how you guys are making it possible to subscribe to cars and really apparently make it better than your competition because BMW and Mercedes, they first, merged their car sharing ventures, and now they're in the process of selling it.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:19:53]:
And you guys are still going strong. What is the difference in the approach? How did you start differently? What are you doing differently?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:20:02]:
Yeah. I think you can often ask these kind of questions for Startupradio generally. Right? Like, why why is it possible that kinda like a very small company, Steve Jobs called it like a pirate ship, why can a, how can a pirate ship compete against the Navy? And that is very, very, difficult to answer always. I think it most of the time it comes down to focus and speed. So, because you only do one thing, you can do it really, really well and do it a lot faster than many of your competitors. And so this is also how I look at at FIND and why we are able to offer very, very exciting user experiences. We are able to do from Menninger till evening, nothing else, but make sure that the process, the product, and the user experience works. But, we also have a very strong team, a very strong culture that enables us to ship products quickly and get results, very, very quickly.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:21:06]:
And I think, ultimately, some of these larger corporates are also constrained in the environment that they currently operate in. So, sometimes it's not easy for them. Sometimes it's quite political. Sometimes they don't have the resources they need to ultimately build this up. Whereas for us, it's a little bit easier because it's the only thing we focus on.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:21:25]:
To be clear, you you're not yet profitable, but you're working towards getting unit economics towards profit?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:21:34]:
So our unit economics are profitable, quite significantly Joe. And we are working towards, profitability, like net income profitability. So to really be a profitable company within the next year, year and a half.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:21:49]:
Mhmm. For everybody who doesn't have a business background, unit economics means you're you're, half a subscriber, and basically, you're making profit with him. But you if you add all the layers, all the stuff on top of it, then you're not profitable yet.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:22:06]:
Exactly. And so, like, if you do you need to pay a bunch of salaries, you need to pay rent, like, all these things kinda, like, still make it unprofitable. But as you are growing, you hopefully can add more subscribers and not rent an additional desk for for every subscriber, but, are able to scale the business as you're growing the subscriber base.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:22:27]:
Mhmm. We we've been talking about your investors yet recently. Debt funding, in total almost a 1,000,000,000 US dollar according to Crunchbase. Do do you have some tips, for entrepreneurs here? I do know there's a handful of entrepreneurs. I just talked to somebody who got a seed round, and he told me, you know what? The Startupradio inspired us to, get here. You don't need a rich family to be an entrepreneur. Can you tell us a few secrets for the people out there just learning entrepreneurship?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:23:02]:
Yeah. Of course. I think, like, the main, the main, advice is to ultimately, be persistent and solve a problem. I think that's, that's unfortunately the, the not so sexy advice that I can give. I think, like, fundraising in a lot of ways is like sales. So you ultimately want something from somebody and to get there, you need to be very convincing. You need to be a little bit charming. You need to have very good arguments.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:23:31]:
You need to be able to ultimately just make your case and convince the other person that they are doing something great by giving you money. And so what works for us incredibly well is just being extremely focused on the KPIs that we are producing on the numbers that we are generating, but also, give a very exciting view of the future. So tell investors what you can do with that money and what you will be able to build, how you're gonna use that money. And I think, like, balancing these 2 is something that is very, very important. And I've seen a lot of, entrepreneurs that do either very well, but not both.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:24:09]:
Mhmm. I see. And, hang on. I just had a oh, yeah. Going a little bit back to the car subscription because I got I forgot something very important to ask because you have business in Germany and you have business in the US. Do you see major differences here? I mean, not not only that the US guys always love to either drive Porsche or pick up personal experience.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:24:38]:
Yeah. So pickups are definitely a thing in the US and not in Germany. I can I can second that? But, we see a very, very, strong product market fit in the US as well. And even a little bit of a stronger product market fit because the US market is a lot more convenience driven. It is a lot more, has a lot more acceptance towards ecommerce. And so we see a very, very strong traction in the US market. Something that just like feels like something stupid to say. But it's it's nonetheless very, very true.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:25:13]:
The US is just huge. Like it's such a big country and it, coming like from Germany where everything is fairly close together, where it takes you 5 hours to get from Munich to Berlin. The US, in contrast, is just gigantic. And that is definitely a big difference where logistics and operations become a little bit more important compared to Germany.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:25:36]:
Mhmm. Yeah. I remember from Texas where Menninger on the traffic jams, you can spend 8 hours driving within the state.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:25:43]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Easily.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:25:46]:
Well, just one more out of curiosity. What is your most popular car in Germany versus the US? Do you know that?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:25:55]:
The in in in Germany, funnily, it's the Jeep Compass. So it's a it's a US car. I think it it is heavily driven by the the the cars that we were able to buy over the past 2 years. And so, I think if people see a great car at a great price, they love it. And so, we we have, like, Jeep Compass is one of our bestsellers, but also Opel Crossland, I think, is a great value for money car, really, really good vehicle. I think in the US, the best selling car is a, Chevy Blazer, so kinda like a small, mid sized SUV, but we also have trucks that are selling quite well. Tesla is also one of our most selling brands. We very much focus on EVs.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:26:42]:
So, like, more than 30% of our portfolio are electric vehicles. And, so we see a very strong demand there as well.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:26:52]:
Mhmm. Going a little bit looking into the future, because we're already talking around 25 minutes, and I don't want to bother you too much. I've read some articles that you may or may not plan an IPO in the future. So at first, I was thinking, are you open to talk to new investors? And is this IPO really a potential future scenario?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:27:16]:
So I think it's definitely a future goal. So we are not working right now at this moment in terms of, like, when do we list and which, like where do we list at and how is the IPO going to look like? But it is definitely one future goal that is uniting us and that we want to achieve over the course of the next years. And we also do kind of like the I think there's a bunch of steps that you need to do, towards an IPO to professionalize the company, to make sure that you have great forecasting, that you have a really, really predictive company. And we are already working towards these goals. And so it definitely is, an objective that we have going forward, but not something that we work towards. And ultimately, if you're answering the investor question, I mean, we are always open to see kind of like how we can partner up. Ultimately, my goal is to maximize the value of Fin down the road. So the goal is to see kinda like how, into what, company can we build Fin 10, 15 years down the road.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:28:23]:
Of course, what will be the valuation then, but also, much more important, like, how can we solve more problems? How can we make our customers' lives better? And also, how can we ensure that we are a great environment to work at? And so, we are always interested in talking to partners and having conversations, but, the there is no concrete plans at this moment.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:28:47]:
Mhmm. I see. A trick question. Would you rather IPO in Europe or in the US?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:28:54]:
So, I've had a lot of different differing opinions on that. But if you ask me personally, not what is best for Fin, but where would I love to kinda like stand and ring the bell? Doing that at Nasdaq, kinda like at Wall Street, that would be really, really cool. I think that would be definitely a life dream fulfilled. So, I I think I have to go with New York there just from a personal perspective. I think from for Finn, it really depends on the ultimately, the the revenue mix and the geographical mix that you will have, by the IPO. If you're a predominantly German company, it makes sense to IPO. In Germany, if you're predominantly a US company, makes sense to IPO in the US.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:29:37]:
Mhmm. I see. We we're going towards the last topic of our, discussion here. Usually, people already know who you are, what the company stands for, what they're doing, stuff like this. I would be wondering, are you currently hiring?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:29:55]:
Yes. We are currently hiring, and we have a couple of positions that, are quite important to us. And so, if you are looking for a job, then definitely look on our careers page. It would be great to have you on board.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:30:08]:
Yeah. Everybody who'd like to learn more, they can go down here in the show notes. We like your career page, And the the code word is StartupRadio to get into an interview. Right?
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:30:20]:
Exactly. If you, if you say if you attach that to your CV, you, you, it it definitely helps. It definitely doesn't hurt to do research on the company that you're applying to.
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:30:32]:
Great. Maximilian, it was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you very much. Hopefully, we can catch up at one point in the future, maybe pre IPO or after another funding round.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:30:43]:
Yeah. Of course. It was great to talk to
Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:30:44]:
you, Joe. Have a great day.
Maximilian Wühr | Co-Founder & CEO at FINN [00:30:46]:
Bye bye. Thank you for having me. Bye bye.
Narrator [00:30:53]:
That's all, folks. Find more news, streams, events, and interviews at www.startuprat.io. Remember, sharing is caring.
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