Fresh out of Baloise’s Kickbox programme, EasyBuy aims to increase trust in the second-hand car industry and help customers in their journey of buying a used car that works as well as advertised.
When Pierre Pull and Eric Solagna, Business Process Analyst and Change Manager respectively, first joined Baloise a few years ago, little did they know that they would create a startup together shortly after.
The idea for EasyBuy first came to Pierre and Eric when taking part in Baloise’s Kickbox programme in 2021, an intrapreneurship programme that allows employees to be part of the innovation process at Baloise.
“We both had some ideas which we thought were worth developing, but in the end, we went with Pierre’s idea because it seemed like it was the most manageable one which could also be developed quite quickly,” says Eric.
A platform for interested buyers of second-hand cars, the “whole idea for EasyBuy centres around confidence” and “creating trust” in an industry that is sorely lacking it, comments Eric. “The problem is that people lack the skills to verify the quality of second-hand cars, which means that often they then refer to a professional car dealer because they think it’s safer,” adds Pierre.
While buying from a car dealership may lower risk, it also bumps up the price considerably. With EasyBuy, Pierre and Eric aim to provide the same level of trust and quality as a professional car dealer at a fraction of the price, all while being less time consuming and stressful for the buyer.
A Full Package
Currently available as an online platform, Easy buy performs two main functions. It uses Big Data to provide potential buyers with an accurate price quotation for the car they want to buy.
If the buyer’s price matches EasyBuy’s quotation, the interested buyer can get in touch with a licensed Easy Buy expert who will do a physical inspection of the car and provide a detailed report, covering 90 checkpoints, including the car’s history (mileage, record of theft, etc). After the inspection, the potential buyer will be better informed to make a decision about buying the vehicle.
While the first function is already available free of charge, the second is still under development and will be the main source of revenue for the startup.
With over 60,000 second-hand cars sold on a yearly basis in Luxembourg, EasyBuy’s market niche is certainly worth keeping an eye on. Still part of Baloise’s Kickbox programme, Pierre and Eric are about to pitch their idea to a panel of investors after which they will have the chance to unlock further investments and continue developing their idea. With their proactive mindset and more ideas for development in the tank, their odds are looking good.
