Founded by two students from Emlyon Business School, Trustoo is revolutionizing the purchase of used cars. Based on the observation that the sale of cars between individuals can lead to numerous scams, Maxence Ghintran and Alexis Harnist decided to launch a startup that protects consumers. The latter looks back on the creation of this young company which has become very popular.
The journey of Alexis and Maxence, co-founders of Trustoo
Hello Alexis, can you come back to your journey and that of Maxence?
I am originally from Grenoble and I did a DUT Tech de Co in Saint-Étienne before living for a year in England. I passed the competitive exams, but realized that I had rushed and decided to take a sabbatical. I created Harnist Consulting & Marketing Agency (HCMA), my first company which supported several clients. With the money raised, I went to do humanitarian work in Madagascar with the WWF. So I took the business school exams again and arrived at Emlyon in September 2018. That’s where I met Maxence.
Maxence joined emlyon after having completed an M1 economics-mathematics at Paris-Dauphine. He had already had the idea for Trustoo when he arrived at school. We met at a party and we immediately hit it off on a friendly level, but also on a business level. So he asked me to join him.
The Trustoo adventure
Trustoo, what is it?
The Trustoo mission is to eliminate fraud and scams linked to the purchase of used vehicles and unmask dishonest sellers. We realized that there is a real asymmetry of information on the second-hand market. La Centrale carried out a study in 2018 which shows that 8 out of 10 French people believe that you need to have mechanical knowledge to purchase a good used vehicle. There is a certain opacity about the real state of the vehicle. Our desire is to break all that. We position ourselves on the buyer side. We are the buyer’s trusted third party who mandates us to carry out an inspection of the used car before purchase.
How does Trustoo work?
A customer who buys a car does his research on Le Bon Coin or in garages near him. He finds a car he likes and notices that the seller is knowledgeable. The technical inspection is good, but he sees that there is something wrong. Rather than buying it with your eyes closed, call us and we will send a Trustoo specialist who will carry out the complete inspection on 200 checkpoints (administrative, vehicle history, interior/exterior condition, check of the engine compartment, cold static test , road test, etc.). He then gives a favorable or unfavorable opinion. If he notices minor defects that do not prevent the purchase, the expert will help the customer negotiate the price. We have to our credit some good negotiations which make it possible to reimburse the price of the service, or even to save money. The price of the Trustoo service is €179 on average, but it depends on the category of the vehicle.
We offer Trustoo customers the opportunity to accompany them with a specialist during their meeting with the seller, but also to inspect vehicles they have spotted on the other side of France and deliver them directly, without having to move from their homes. This is a service that is of great interest and in high demand.
The Trustoo mission is really to secure the second-hand market. For this, we approached several partners: Cetelem, for financing the vehicle, CER Réseau, the first driving school franchise in France which offers our service at a reduced price for their students, Le Lynx, for car insurance , GRAY SAVOYE NSA for the mechanical part, Garagely for the delivery of vehicles to a home – a service which became particularly popular during the two confinements – and an online registration site.
The impact of Trustoo on the sale of used vehicles
What do sellers think of Trustoo?
Sometimes, when certain customers announce that they are bringing a Trustoo specialist, some sellers immediately hang up, which is a sign that they have something to hide. What’s interesting is that the very fact that Trustoo exists reduces the number of scams. However, this does not make all dishonest sellers back down. Recently, we carried out an inspection of a Porsche Cayenne. The expert’s opinion was positive, but when he checked the vehicle’s history, he realized that it was a wreck taken out of the water and should have been destroyed.
The future of Trustoo
Where is Trustoo today?
We crossed the 500 customer mark in January 2020 and 1,000 customers at the end of the year. We are present in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg with more than 550 specialists. We try to meet the demand of Belgians and French people across Europe.
How do you imagine the future of Trustoo?
The French market represents 6 million vehicles per year. The idea is to develop leadership in this market then grow in Europe before reaching the United States within 3 years. It’s a huge market that represents 120,000 vehicles per day! Ultimately, we hope that Trustoo becomes a reflex for the seller who will have his vehicle certified before putting it up for sale.
Trustoo raises €900,000 to support its growth
Faced with a market that shows growth of 15% each month (data at the end of 2020), Trustoo decided to step up the pace and managed to raise €900,000 for its very first round of funding.
Several business angels and funds are entering the capital of the young startup which was founded in 2018 by two emlyon students. The main investors are Christophe Sapet, who is the man behind Navya, and the HCPV Ventures fund. The national positioning and international ambitions of Trustoo were able to attract these investors.
With this fundraising, the Lyon startup intends to achieve three objectives:
• Continue to develop in France and Belgium
• Strengthen the presence in Europe, by setting up in 3 new countries by the end of 2021
• Deploy a service entirely dedicated to professionals, allowing companies to call on Trustoo specialists
This step is only the first in an ambitious journey that is taking shape for Trustoo. Indeed, Maxence Ghintran, co-founder of the startup, specifies: “ If our development plan continues as planned, we intend to complete a series A within 18 months, to open the first European markets bordering France with national teams in Germany, Spain and Italy. »
Today, Trustoo is: a team made up of 7 employees, more than 550 specialists based in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg and nearly 1,500 customers won over by the service.
