Munich Startup: What motivated you to start the company?
Julia Unützer: The motivation for founding the company came, on the one hand, from the great joy of defining and implementing projects ourselves. On the other hand, Max and I have been "fortunate" enough to gain knowledge of the practices and processes of the commercial vehicle industry since childhood through our parents' family business.
Retail in its current form is facing major challenges. This motivated us to be the first player in the market to break new ground and now Truckoo to represent digitalization in the commercial vehicle trading sector.
Both 'legal' and 'tax advisor' expert in one day
Munich Startup: What would you have liked to have known before starting your first business?
Julia Unützer: I would have liked to know what self-employment "feels" like on some days. However, before I founded my company, I had already had a lot of insight into the life of a founder thanks to my circle of friends. I'm thinking here, above all, of the "rollercoaster" of emotions between frustration and euphoria, success and failure. Also, how with each new employee, your sense of responsibility grows, and the variety of tasks allows you to become both a "legal" and "tax advisor" expert within a single day. You learn new ways to solve problems every day – no matter how challenging.
Munich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
Julia Unützer: We are funded by Global Founders Capital (GFC), and angel investors such as the Flixbus and Sennder founders. The who of the who of the new mobility scene.
Munich Startup: When and where do you get the best ideas?
Julia Unützer: I often get my best ideas when we brainstorm together as a team. For example, over the last two years, we've put together a really creative "Christmas" video series – available on YouTube. For larger topics, it helps me to think about them from a distance, for example, while hiking in the mountains or jogging.
Munich Startup: What are your 3 favorite work tools?
Julia Unützer: For our internal communication—especially while working from home—Slack is indispensable for our team. We use Notion for brainstorming, to-do lists, and as a product management tool. I find it a really cool "collaboration and design" tool. Figma also very strong.
Munich Startup: Your top tip on pitching?
Julia Unützer: My tip is to be prepared for the fact that you really only have 30 minutes to pitch your company to investors in the initial meeting. In fact, it's usually a bit less.
“It is clear to everyone that ‘business as usual’ cannot be the future.”
Munich Startup: Does this seem like a good time to start a business? Why?
Julia Unützer: We are currently proving ourselves in a very tense market environment for all players in the market. The chip shortage is leading to enormous delivery delays, which is pushing up used car prices, but not sustainably. Electrification and hydrogenation are coming rapidly and will pose challenges for dealers and, above all, workshops.
It's clear to everyone that "business as usual" isn't the future. Therefore, as the only player in the industry with a scalable digitization product, we are conducting very promising cooperation talks with all major players in the industry.
Munich Startup: Which technology or industry would you focus on for your next startup?
Julia Unützer: I would always focus on an industry that you're familiar with and in which you, as a founding team, can bring strong expertise. Starting out with any startup isn't easy, either way. It helps if you're very knowledgeable in your field, don't rely on external expertise, and get a "kickstart" from your existing network.
Munich Startup: In your opinion, what could be improved at the Munich startup location?
Julia Unützer: In my opinion, Munich is already doing a lot of things right. The Werksviertel district and your magazine, Munich Startup, are good examples of what's happening here. There are also many high-performing individuals who see a career in startups as an alternative. We appreciate that. However, we also conduct many interviews with international candidates from the software or product sectors who prefer Berlin or other cities as their hometown. For young talent, Munich needs to become a bit more hip and attractive in some areas.
Munich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person? And what would you ask them?
Julia Unützer: I would like to sit down with all the founders of the new "electrified mobility"—a kind of round table. Then we can talk about how we could bring hydrogen or electric trucks into the secondary market. The export market is usually years behind in its development. We see this as a challenge that should be addressed at every mobility panel.
