No matter if bicycles, e-scooters or cars — rental and sharing concepts are increasingly shaping the image of urban mobility. But providers are faced with the challenge of finding the right collection points and managing their fleet in such a way that customers can always find a free vehicle. Munich-based start-up Synertics has developed a data-driven solution for this purpose, as founder Manuel Pessanha explains in an interview.
Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourselves and your business!
Manuel Pessanha: Hello Munich Startup ecosystem, my name is Manuel and I am passionate about contributing to the transition towards a more sustainable mobility industry, by enabling investors to make more environmentally conscious decisions. After completing my bachelor‘s in Commerce in Canada and China and my master‘s in Energy Management in France and the UK, I joined consulting and investment management companies specialized in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.
Mobility industry in transition
For the last couple of years, the mobility industry has been evolving rapidly with new concepts emerging and vanishing frequently. Most companies behind these initiatives have had a hard time turning a profit and thus raising capital competitively. As a result, Synertics was founded.
Synertics is a mobility sector specialized startup, which creates algorithms through the use of large datasets and strategically financial driven approaches. Our data driven software products help private and public sector entities structure location based investments and fleet management operations more productively. We want to make the mobility industry more financially attractive in order to accelerate a market transition into more carbon neutral modes of transportation.
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
Manuel Pessanha: The methods applied have been partially used in the real estate industry in the past. For example, when a bank opens a new branch, it looks at the characteristics of a location such as demographics, surroundings, competitors etc..
Application of machine learning
Synertics does all this on a larger scale. We have created an online accessible platform, that is fully automated and analyses a whole city at once through machine learning approaches. Users are consequently able to get a full picture on their options on where to deploy their vehicles/stations. This contributes both to a more profitable industry as well as to the general consent of the population.
Munich Startup: What are the three main ingredients in your recipe for success?
Manuel Pessanha: Amongst others, our product thrives from the following three ingredients:
- A common drive amongst the team for a more sustainable mobility industry
- Strong competencies within geospatial data analytics
- Continuous reflection of our customers, company direction and product development roadmap
Munich Startup: Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: How is business going?
Manuel Pessanha: 2019 was an important year for us, as we finalized our first pilot projects and validated our approach. Due to the positive feedback we received and the overwhelming demand for this solution in the market we officially founded the company at the beginning of January 2020. We are quite excited about this new chapter and look forward to shaping the mobility industry together.
Munich Startup: What does Munich mean to you?
Manuel Pessanha: It is my birthplace and second home. It’s a stunning city with a unique quality of life and a strong bond to nature. As the economic stronghold of Germany, with a variety of DAX companies at its doorsteps, it is also an ideal place for startups to connect with established companies.
Becoming a unicorn thanks to Synertics
Munich Startup: How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we be seeing you at an Epic Fail Night soon?
Manuel Pessanha: We are operating within a fast evolving market and fulfill a need by bringing transparency and structure into a new industry. Apart from hoping for ourselves to become a unicorn, we hope to be able help our partners to achieve such a status.
Munich Startup: Isar or English Garden?
Manuel Pessanha: As Haidhauseners, we frequent the Isar much more in comparison to the English Garden. However there is nothing that beats the surfable wave at Eisbach in the English Garden.