RepairNet is a mobility platform of the future built to make the auto repair service industry affordable, transparent, and customer-centric. Powered by AI, we are enabling consumers to get certified mechanics wherever they are, whenever they want and save up to 30% in maintenance and repair costs. We are also empowering these hard-working mechanics to control their quality of life, earn more money, and do what they love doing, working on cars.
Current Status
We’re initially targeting the $900M Kenyan market for mobile auto repair. We make our money by collecting a 15% transaction fee from mechanics. We acquire customers primarily through online marketing and we get a 5x return on our customer acquisition cost. We have recently partnered with NIITA, TVET, Toyota Foundation as our Assessment and Accreditation of Mechanics partners and AA Kenya as our 24/7 Vehicle Recovery Service.
Market
Market Analysis Summary:
RepairNet has a focus on meeting the demand of a local customer base, as well as towed vehicle drop-ins from local and freeway traffic traveling on nearby freeways. RepairNet has established relationships with major local tow truck companies for the referral business of stalled vehicles requiring a tow to an auto repair facility.
RepairNet's 80% of revenues come from the established local clientele and 20% from the local and freeway traffic tow-ins.
Market Segmentation:
RepairNet focuses on the middle- and upper-income markets. This market looks for high quality, rapid service with as much convenience as possible. Most individuals in this market segment are willing to pay an extra premium within the pricing of auto repair services to avoid the common inconveniences of having a vehicle tied up in a repair shop.
Problem or Opportunity
Price & Quality of Service:
Dealing with car problems is not only a time-consuming and frustrating experience but it is also expensive. Car owners often lack visibility regarding the quality of service and prices can be unclear; guarantee is not always included and often there are annoying surprises afterward.
At the same time, the mechanics who put in the hard work fixing cars make very little money at repair shops (less than 20% of what consumers pay), and rarely get the recognition they deserve.
No easy way exists:
There is no easy way to get your car fixed at your convenient location.
Solution (product or service)
RepairNet has the core competencies amongst its certified mechanics to work on all makes and models of domestic and foreign vehicles. With presence across all counties in Kenya, our mechanics are focused on superior customer service, delivering what they promise, and building strong customer relationships based on trust and integrity.
Competitors
The auto repair market has a lot of competition; RepairNet will compete by not only offering mobile repair service but also insurance as a service, spare parts, and towing services. Not only will this serve a wide range of customers, but the parts and department will support the service department by allowing the service department to turnaround jobs far faster than the competition with generally all of the needed parts and on location.
RepairNet will attract and maintain a loyal customer base through its customer-oriented focus on business. All mechanics are trained and held responsible for providing superior service, developing a long-lasting trust bond with customers. This is very important, especially in the auto repair industry where trust and honesty are not the images of repair facilities.
Primary competitors are engaged principally in the retail sale of automotive parts, tires and accessories, automotive maintenance and service, and the installation of parts.
Larger competitors have adopted the "supercenter" store model, a freestanding, "one-stop" shopping automotive warehouse that features state-of-the-art service bays. These "supercenters" carry thousands of stock-keeping units and serve the automotive aftermarket needs of the "do-it-yourself," the "do-it-for-me" (automotive service), tire, and "buy-for-resale" customer sectors.
Large competitors' stores typically carry the same basic product line, with variations based on the number and type of cars registered in the different markets.
Advantages or differentiators
RepairNet will differentiate itself by offering clear benefits for the entire market. Whether you need us as a car owner, a business owner, or an auto repair specialist, we put user-friendliness, quality, and transparency first and foremost for all our users. We offer services at your chosen location, 7 days a week, and provide fair and transparent estimates upfront.
RepairNet also differentiates itself by having a presence across all counties in Kenya and Africa as a whole. This offers incredible value to customers who need their cars fixed right away. Waits for service and parts are ideas not entertained by RepairNet. Lastly, RepairNet offers unlimited mobile service for repair customers making the entire service experience as painless and convenient as possible.
Finance
RepairNet being a peer-to-peer platform has various revenue streams. We make money by collecting a 15% transaction fee from our mechanics, and 5% from our business partners. Our business partners are insurance companies selling their insurance on our platform and spare parts and towing companies offering their services to our consumers.
Business model
RepairNet business model and operating model are highly aligned. While the primary cost drivers for repair shops are equipment and labor, Our main assets are our network of mechanics and our platform. Since we do not operate physical retail locations and the mechanics own their own tools, we are able to address large geographic markets with our distributed workforce while maintaining extremely low overhead.
Our mechanics are independent contractors, so mechanics are only paid when we convert a customer. Our minimal operating costs also allow us to pay our mechanics 3-4x more than their competitors while still passing along meaningful savings (up to 50%) to end-consumers. This advantage helps us attract and retain high-quality mechanic talent.
Money will be spent on
We are raising a series A round of funding for repairnet.io So we can reach $6M in sales, scale/refine marketing/customer acquisition, scale customer service (mechanics), and scale infrastructure.
The auto repair market has a lot of risks, the main risk faced is the Quality of Service offered by mechanics and repair shops. At RepairNet, we are mitigating the risks by partnering with Engineering bodies like The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) who are our main training and assessment partner to make sure that all our mechanics have the relevant qualifications before they are allowed offer their services in our platform.
Incubation/Acceleration programs accomplishment
ALTS Capital Accelerator Entrepreneur First
Won the competition and other awards
Kenya National Finals winner in this year's Entrepreneurship World Cup 2020 Technology disruptor to watch for at the World Innovation Forum 2020.