Vieni is a transport startup, it plans to Uber up the old ways of group transport. This startup plans to address the gaps in the group transport market. It is taking the conventional model of organising group travel and making it much more efficient and cost-effective for both the supplier and the consumer.
This new startup is literally on fire, it has won two key awords, plans to transport party goers in Europe, India and Latin America and has just launched a seedrs campaign. This startup has a good head start, you should have it on your radar. Soon it will be taking you and your friends to your next destination. Fasten your seatbelts!
Joseph Telfer has taken the time to answer our questions. Hat tip and thanks. You will find his answers both detailed and interesting. Enjoy the interview.
Vieni is a new generation of charter coach booking platforms. We allow people who don’t know each other to collectivise their demand for transport needs. This means that spontaneous routes can emerge to service ad hoc demand when and where it’s needed. This means that users travelling to concerts, parties, festivals, protests, sports fixtures etc. can have a vehicle come direct to them instead of having to use multimode solutions. From the operator perspective too many vehicles have to make empty runs, returning from a drop off totally empty. Vieni matches this latent capacity with demand dynamically to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
What are the key target markets for Vieni in terms of geography and users?
Students engaging in sports activities, sports fans, festival goers, live music attendance and commuters. Geographically focused on the European market although expansion plans include India and LatAm.
Can you give us any insights into your market research?
UK festival attendance = 3.5m and 20% already travel by bus. EU festival attendance is 36m. Live music attendance in the UK is 17.5m and in EU 160m. Vieni has just launched into the University sports sector. There are 24,000 matches every season just in the UK. We are now building new web robots to pull down information on new markets like the FA and the RFU. There are approximately 7,500 teams in just the men’s leagues.
Have you developed the technical platform in-house? What stage of development is it in?
MVP is launched and generating revenue. V2 is specified and being costed by our external development team. Vieni wholly owns the code base.
Will you hire buses from third parties or will the firm purchase buses?
Hire model only. We do not wish to carry the liabilities and intend to scale quickly. There is an existing network of bus operators to utilise and we are part of the Global Passenger Network – the world’s largest network of bus operators representing 34 countries.
What are they key challenges and risks for Vieni?
Speed of scaling and technical development. Vieni needs to bring the technical team in house to develop lean and fast technology. Vieni already has supply agreements signed in the UK, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Spain with Ireland, Hungary, France, Germany and Norway following soon. We need to leverage this by scaling quickly.
There are other companies with similar business models, what is your competitive edge?
Our CEO sits on the board of the Global Passenger Network. The world’s largest private coach operator network. We have supply chain capacity in 34 countries globally. We wholly own our technology and we’re first to market in the UK with the ability to mimic the best parts of our competitors.
What are the key expenses for Vieni in 2017?
Staff (Operations, Marketing (Social), Technical (In house and agency)) – 65%, Administrative – 15%, Legal – 6%, Marketing & Advertising – 14%. – £240,000
What are your cash flow projections for 2017?
Gross profit target for 2017 = £226,000 – LOSS of £14,000
When are the current Vieni loans due?
Only loans are directors loans of £7,300 – Not due
What gave Vieni an edge to be accepted in the accelerator program and win the MassChallengeUK ?
We’re revolutionising the way people travel as a group. We’re ‘on trend’ by exploited the sharing economy, collaborative consumption, platform engineering and data driven marketing. Our solution makes profit, saves customers and coach operators costs and protects the environment.
Do you have advice for entrepreneurs who are considering taking their business ideas to the next stage?
Aim very very far because even if you fall short of that you will have achieved a great deal.
Investing in Vieni
Where can prospective investors find more information about Vieni and how can they become shareholders?
https://www.seedrs.com/vieni-global – or call Mr Telfer on 07467 949620.
