What motivated Fixico’s foundation?
Back in 2014, our CEO Derk Roodhuyzen de Vries was driving his mother’s Volkswagen when he bumped into a pole. He opened Google, expecting that he could quickly find a good body repair shop nearby that would repair the damage. When he couldn’t, he realised just how outdated and complicated the traditional damage repairhandling process was. He was convinced that there was an easier way to do it. With that, the idea for Fixico was born.
What is your added value for your customers?
Fixico’s platform offers drivers and managers a seamless and transparent process for managing vehicle damage repair. First, drivers and managers enjoy an optimal digital journey, which improves NPS scores. Second, Fixico offers a clear overview of different repair options and transparent workflows. That’s how we enable managers to select the most suitable repair solution for every damage. As a result, partners reduce repaircosts and benefit from lower cycle times.
What is the biggest success Fixico has experienced since its foundation?
We view success as the sequence of milestones we reach. Our biggest achievement would probably have to be our growth journey these past years from a small startup in Amsterdam to a European company operating in 7 countries, withover 150 international partners and a network of 2,500 qualified body repair shops. Knowing that we’re working everyday to digitally reshape an entire industry is what drives us as a team.
What was the biggest challenge you had to face?
As a newcomer to an established market, it was difficult in the beginning to build enough credibility to earn companies’ trust. We realised we needed to prove our platform’s value, so we started setting up pilots with clearly defined and measurable KPIs. Once some major partners realised the value we provide, we gained visibility and were able to open more doors.
What are three key lessons you have learned since you started?
In the early days, we used the same one-size-fits-all approach for all of our partners. However, we quickly realised that each partner has a unique way of operating and a different set of goals. Fixico makes sure to understand partners’ processes and builds its solution to integrate seamlessly into existing workflows thus delivering benefits tailored to each partner’s needs.
Last year, many of our partners were significantly impacted by the pandemic and were forced to shut down or massively down-size their operations. By focusing on improving flexibility and agility, Fixico developed innovative solutions for its customers to enable them to continue operations. For example, we developed a non-permanent polycarbonate protective shield for our mobility partners, enabling them to continue taking passengers despite contact restrictions.
Thirdly, growing a company more than 300% every year while maintaining the culture of a young, dynamic and entrepreneurial startup really highlights the importance of hiring the right people. We learned to build a community of incredible talent, with like-minded people to stay true to our original values.
Nächste Woche geht es weiter mit 5 Fragen an CarValoo… Wir freuen uns drauf!
