Munich Startup: What does Aampere do? What problem do you solve?
Nikolaus Schmidt, founder and managing director: Aampere is a European C2B marketplace for used electric cars. We enable e-car owners to sell their cars quickly. You will receive an offer within 48 hours and at the best price in Europe. We provide our partner dealers, who are spread across Europe, with easy and secure access to electric cars that are only available from us. We take care of the transaction, including payment and delivery, so that both parties can be sure of the sale or purchase.
Aampere: E-car auction as C2B business
Munich Startup: But that already exists!
Niko Schmidt: That’s actually not the case! If you want to sell your e-car today, you either have to sell it yourself on popular marketplaces or sell it at a buying station or the dealer around the corner. And nobody knows e-cars as well as we do. So you have to choose between the best price and a stress-free sale – we combine both for our customers. Simply enter the details of the e-car, we auction the vehicles to our dealers and collect the car from your doorstep if the contract is successfully concluded.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Niko Schmidt: Flo and I have known each other since school and have often had plans to build “the next app”. Maxi and Flo know each other from their studies at the TU Munich and that’s how Flo brought the three of us together. We’ve been working together as a team for three years – before Aampere we worked together on a project back then, but that would be a longer story. Fortunately, we are now not only building “the next app“ but are also contributing to the transformation towards sustainable individual mobility with Aampere. Of course, it’s still early days on the market, so a lot of education needs to take place among our users. We are contributing to this.
Making decisions under uncertainty
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Niko Schmidt: Making decisions under uncertainty – I think every entrepreneur knows that. The biggest challenge at the moment is certainly to unite the right people behind the vision of Aampere – in other words, to build a team that will enable Aampere to grow in the long term.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where would you like to be in five years?
Niko Schmidt: In one year, we plan to have around 20 to 25 employees and to have developed the relevant product modules. In five years, this team and our product will enable us to be Europe’s largest marketplace for used e-cars. So when the market becomes really huge, we will no longer be in the starting blocks, but already ready!
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Niko Schmidt: There are many great minds in Munich who want to change things for Germany and, above all, for Europe. We are united by the will to change and the constant questioning of the status quo.
Putting all your eggs in one basket
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Niko Schmidt: That’s a funny question for a startup: risk, of course! We are aware that we are putting all our eggs in one basket and that’s what makes it so appealing. Having the freedom to make decisions but then also taking responsibility for the consequences – that’s the risk. The alternative of sitting on our hands is out of the question!
