⚡ How this Start-Up is Turning Every Journey into a Subscription

Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
🧭 How is this Start-Up turning every journey into a subscription?
🧊 How freezing your product can get you viral fame
🙅 An tool that helps you block distractions, until you ship.

✨ Last week’s most clicked link, was this link taking you through to apply for the Slush €1,000,000 pitch competition.

Happy hustling,

Rich

🎤 Opportunities + Events

🦄 Applications for HF0’s latest residency are open, having seeded 3 now Unicorns in their first year, they’re looking for more - apply here!

📱 Slow Creator Fund are looking to write $1m+ Seed cheques into creator entrepreneurs, apply here!

📣 Simply Business have launched their Young Entrepreneurs fund, and are looking to give 18-30 year old entrepreneurs access to a £50k prize pot - apply here!

We now have a community of thousands of Start-Ups and Founders, here are the hottest Start-Up job opportunities from the Innovators Uncensored community on our very own Start-Ups Job Board!

💼 Start-Up Jobs

📹 Social Media Video Creator, Jupitrr
👷 Full-Stack Engineer, JointFlows
🤝 Creator Operations Manager, Joli

📉 Klarna’s quarterly losses almost double amid IPO speculation Sifted

📈 StubHub is once again working on its IPO which could raise $1bn. TechCrunch

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Anthropic nabs Humanloop team as competition heats up. TechCrunch
 
💼 The Government is finally taking defence tech SMEs seriously. UKTN

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Book your rental here!

This is a summer stunt if ever I’ve seen one! The team over at Reternity had the general public scrambling with their latest ice block stunt.

Reternity are a young fashion brand trying to do things differently, and they certainly did with this stunt. They took one of their most popular items, a hoodie with their branding on, and froze it in a huge block of ice.

They left that block of ice in the middle of the street, and told people they could have the jumper if they could get to it. Passers by were trying to smash the ice, chisel their way in or just wait for it to melt.

People were coming from all over to defeat the ice, with crowds being drawn and videos being posted all over social media.

Can you freeze your product and get people to fight over it?

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our Start-Up community have recommended.

Sixteen helps you block distractions, until you ship. It syncs with your Linear workspace and unlocks your screen only after you finish your tasks. Guilt-free scrolling starts after the deep work.

Voltric: One Subscription for Every Journey

Voltric is on a mission to make mobility seamless. Founded by Julian, the company’s vision is to integrate all forms of transport into a single, on-demand solution.

Right now, Voltric operates a car subscription service. Users pay one fixed monthly price for the electric car of their choice, with tax, insurance, breakdown cover and more included. It’s a subscription-based, salary sacrifice-friendly model, operating across B2B, B2B2C, and B2C channels.

But this is just the start. The long-term goal? A world where mobility isn’t fragmented.

Starting With Service Before Tech

When Julian set out to build Voltric, the original plan was to lead with technology. But given the funding climate at the time, he realised they had to commercialise quickly. So instead, they launched a service-first offering before developing the full tech product.

The early model evolved through trial and error. At first, they tried selling EVs directly, but that didn’t stick. A partnership with a rental company worked better. Then, partnering with multiple rental companies unlocked real traction, offering users more choice.

To identify the right partners, Julian and his team ran surveys, gathered feedback, and invited prospects to test, potentially break, and critique the service. This approach built a deep understanding of the challenges, and set the stage for a smarter tech product down the line.

The First Customer, and a Website Malfunction

Voltric’s first customer came through search, thanks to some well-placed SEO magic. But when it came time to sign them up, the website didn’t work.

Luckily, this customer happened to be a tech whizz, fixed the issue themselves, and signed up on the spot - while Julian managed operations in the background. He even delivered the car personally, learning invaluable lessons by experiencing every individual step of the process and transaction.

The Fundraising Marathon

Julian had never raised capital before, and his first fundraising attempt in early 2020 was a crash course. A few angels committed through his network, until the COVID lockdowns hit and one of their biggest commitments dropped out.

Staying lean and scrappy, Voltric kept moving. In 2022, the team closed their first round, with the main investor here coming from a pitch event they’d watched Julian at. In this time period, Julian delivered over 400 pitches.

Finding the Right Co-Founder

Knowing he couldn’t build the business alone, Julian approached his local university to ask if they had any students who might be interested in helping him build out this EV subscription idea. So, the university invited him to pitch his idea to a class of 60 business students. Three came forward to work on it, so Julian worked with them all on an internship basis over the next six months - but one stood out.

That was Brent. The chemistry was clear, and the partnership stuck - the rest is history!

A Fleet Manager Who Shapes the Culture

The first hire was Leon, brought in as Fleet Manager through a recruitment agency. From day one, Leon took ownership of his role - and over time, he’s shaped the company culture itself.

Today, Julian often goes to Leon for ideas, a dynamic that reflects Voltric’s belief in trust, autonomy, and collaboration.

Where Voltric Is Headed

Voltric’s car subscription service is just the first step. With the tech product on the horizon, Julian’s vision is to integrate mobility into one frictionless experience—making it as easy to plan a trip across multiple transport modes as it is to book a taxi today.

Because in Voltric’s world, getting from A to B should be effortless, affordable, and electric.

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…