85. Meet the Cofounder of Kyte, the Company Disrupting the Car Rental Industry - with Francesco Wiedemann

The Dirt

Francesco Wiedemann is Co-Founder of Kyte, a door-to-door, app-based car rental delivery company that ambitiously intends to become the largest fleet operator on the planet with 10 million trips per month by 2030.

Join Jim and Francesco as they how Francesco went from winning entrepreneurial pitch contests at Harvard and MIT to co-creating a rental car startup that has raised $300 million to date.

3 Key Takeaways

• Identifying Market Gaps: Francesco and his co-founders realized there was a gap in the mobility market for travel longer than an Uber ride but shorter than requiring a long-term car lease. This led them to create Kyte, a service that fills this gap. For entrepreneurs, the lesson is clear: look for areas where existing solutions are lacking or incomplete and aim to fill that void with a better offering.
• Finding the Right Pricing Strategy: Francesco discussed how they initially underestimated the complexity of pricing in their market. Over time, they invested in developing a pricing engine to optimize their offerings. Pricing is often an overlooked aspect of business strategy, but it's crucial for competitiveness and profitability. Entrepreneurs should continuously evaluate and reevaluate their pricing strategy to meet market demands and operational costs.
• Help Investors See Your Vision: Kyte secured a credit line from Goldman Sachs despite being a small operation at the time. This was possible because they could convey the potential of their business model and its scalability to investors. Entrepreneurs should focus not just on what their company is now, but also on what it could become, especially when pitching to investors or financial partners.

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On Ktye’s website or in the Kyte app, at checkout use “THEDIRT20” promo code to get a $20 discount on your purchase.

Resources

Learn about how Kyte delivers cars on demand, for any trip longer than a rideshare: https://kyte.com/

Francesco Wiedemann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescowiedemann/

Stratechery by Ben Thompson is the podcast Francesco recommends to The Dirt listeners: https://stratechery.com/

About Our Guest

Francesco Wiedemann graduated with an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Technische Universität München and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before starting Kyte, he worked as a Product Manager for BMW Mobility Services, where he launched mobility services combining carsharing and ride hailing in the US and China. In 2019, Francesco co-founded Kyte, where he leads the company’s product vision and product strategy.

Fun fact: Years ago, Francesco broke the Guinness World Records for the longest mountain bike wheelie in one hour.

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