August 2019 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / 81DRIVING EFFICIENCY IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY| UAE STARTUP ALGODRIVEN“WE DECIDED TO BUILD A MOBILE
APP TO HELP CAR DEALERS
WITH THIS PROBLEM- VALUING
USED CARS THEY WISH TO
PURCHASE OR TRADE-IN. THAT
EVOLVED FROM THERE, AS WE
FOUND THAT BANKS, INSURANCE,
FLEET, AND CLASSIFIEDS ALL FACE
A SIMILAR PROBLEM.”
Glenn Harwood and Jaron Crossland, co-founders, AlgoDriven
was also the affirmation the duo needed
that it was a viable business. “Once
we started to get 5-10 customers who
started giving really positive feedback
and referring more customers, then we
knew we were onto something, and we
went all in.” When asked on how they feel
they fare in contrast to their competitors,
Harwood explains it’s their experience
that gives them distinct insights to solving
problems around automotive data. “It’s
these insights, which have allowed us to
build user-centric, easy to use mobile
apps for our customers,” says Harwood.
“We’re also obsessive about accuracy and
quality- ensuring that we produce the
best possible products for our clients, and
build in feedback loops that we can keep
improving. Finally, we’re tackling this
problem on a global scale, starting in the
MENA region.”
As the startup develops region-specific
products, Harwood asserts they focus
on the differences between the markets
they cater to (GCC, Australia, and New
Zealand), as they scale and explore
international markets in the future. On
a basic level, they take in differences in
the vehicle themselves and terminologies,
which they localize on both the app, as
well as on all the sales and marketing
materials. Next, they consider differences
in the process of how car dealerships sell
cars in the region. “We’ve been careful
to accommodate these differences in
both the look and feel of the app, as well
as the process flow. This is one area
where our experience working in [these]
markets has given us an advantage.”
At the same time, the co-founders call
themselves lucky for having been able
to grow their startup through word of
mouth. “We’ve found that by investing in
an exceptional product and service that
our customers love, they continue to refer
more customers,” says Harwood, adding
that they’re continuing this focus as they
scale regionally and globally, along with
a small sales team to help provide the
similar personalized, face-to-face service
the startup is now known for. Their
strategy seems to be working as Harwood
says that AlgoDrive’s product is now
used in over 300 showrooms in markets
where they operate, with it helping
clients evaluate “tens of thousands of
cars per month.” They’ve accumulated
customers consisting of single-used car
showrooms, franchised dealers, dealer
groups, rental leasing and fleet companies,
vehicle wholesalers, finance brokers and
vehicle brokers, alongside car dealerships
representing major players like BMW,
Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Lexus and Nissan.
As for its business model, AlgoDriven is
essentially a SaaS platform, wherein carshowrooms pay monthly access fees to use
the product. With all of its tech developed
in-house so far, the startup is continuing
to re-invest heavily in building new
features and products. It has bootstrapped
its growth to date, choosing to stay
lean and reinvesting revenues, while
also joining Oman Technology Fund’s
Wadi Accelerator, which also counts as
being AlgoDriven’s first investor. It also
recently raised US$625,000 from Oman
Technology Fund, Dtec Ventures, 500
Startups through its MENA-based 500
Falcons Fund, and Silicon Valley-based
Social Capital. With the help of their
new regional and international investors,
the co-founders now hope to learn from
their expertise, and open up new market
potential and partnership opportunities
in the future. The startup is also in the
process of rolling “exciting new features”
in its mobile apps, and “new data points
in our API products to add even more
value to our products and customer’s
businesses.” They’re also boosting sales
and marketing in MENA, and plus looking
for other geographic markets to expand to
in 2020.
When it comes to raising funds,
Harwood advises fellow entrepreneurs
to, “be passionate about what you’re
doing, know your business and its metrics
inside and out, and make sure you have
a well-polished, short, succinct and
compelling story to your pitch.” Much
like other startups, the AlgoDriven co-
founders have also faced the frustrations
of building a team, and in particular,
giving them the framework, processes
and support they need to thrive. This is
when, Harwood says, it’s good to have
mentors on hand you can call and get
advice from, as they’ve sure to have been
in similar situations as well. As the co-
founders reflect on their startup’s journey,
one recurring lesson they’ve realized is
the importance of good relationships in
business. “It’s easy, especially for a tech
startup, to get caught up in product and
code, and become disconnected from
customers and other stakeholders,”
says Harwood. “When we reflect on our
journey, we realize the importance of
these relationships with all stakeholders
in our business- whether that be
customers, team members, suppliers,
partners, or investors.”