The Story of Auto Finesse: A man, a van, and passion for car detailing
From services business, to global distribution, to accredited network and content factory.
It’s tempting to get caught up in tech. Crazy valuations, rapidly growing user numbers and the eye watering exits. Software might be eating the world, and AI might be eating software, but you don’t necessarily have to be in tech to build an interesting business.
Listen to Nick Huber (@sweatystartup) or Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) and it’s clear there’s plenty of opportunity in “boring” businesses, where rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty is all in a day’s work.
Today we’re breaking down Auto Finesse, a business that definitely sits in the Sweaty Startup category. So what’s their story?
Founded in 1999, the journey started with a man, a van, and a passion for clean, shiny cars. Originally JB’s valeting (after founder James Batty), they gained a name for high quality work, moved to higher end vehicles and rebranded as Auto Finesse in 2005.
Today, they do a lot more than valet cars. Let’s dive into it.
Like many businesses (incl. ProfitWell from last week), Auto Finesse started as a service business, targeting car enthusiasts who valued sparkling clean cars. It’s difficult to know the acquisition channels used in the early days but given it was 1999, we’re probably safe assuming fliers, local papers and word of mouth.
Generating revenue from each job at low cost (time & materials); it’s likely the business was profitable from day one.
After gaining a reputation for high quality car care and building the Auto Finesse brand, they leveraged their key resources to launch their own range of detailing products to a much bigger group of the same car enthusiasts.
Selling the tools the professionals use shifted their channels online, and to a global distribution network reaching 1000+ locations across Europe, Asia and the US. Their customer relationships shifted from personal to self serve, and their key activities grew to include product development, manufacturing, marketing and sales.
Again leveraging key resources, the brand, the products and their knowledge, they tapped into a new customer segment, people in the car enthusiast community who were also entrepreneurs. Creating an academy gave entrepreneurs access a ready made business aligned with a passion.
Generating revenue through a training fee and a subscription fee for the accredited network, they monetised the creation of a community of brand advocates, and consumers of their products.
Finally, their very own content factory. For the same enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and the general public like me, they offer practical knowledge and entertainment through social channels, all while promoting their products, services and accredited network.
You’ve probably noticed no revenue, and if you’ve watched the content the investment is significant and given the quality. I see a big opportunity to grow this part of the business from a marketing cost feeding the other parts of the business model to a standalone business.
Look at the size of their presence relative to other channels dedicated to detailing (like the Detail Geek) and it’s easy to see there’s huge head room for growth. It could be through advertising, brand partnerships, merch and more. Maybe even a modern day Wheeler Dealers on the Discovery channel.
From 1999 to today, they’ve evolved, demonstrating what a man, a van and a mission can get you. Keep an eye, who knows what they’ll do next.
Thanks for reading. If you’ve got feedback or suggestions for another piece, hit reply.
Ian
it was really great
https://www.motorvehicleperfectreview.com/professional-car-detailing-kit/