AutoHelp
Car broken down? Describe the problem and get offers with price and arrival time from help nearby.
AutoHelp is a marketplace for roadside help. A car owner describes the problem, from a flat tyre to a tow, and nearby help companies send offers with a price and an arrival time. The owner picks one, follows the job live and rates it. Companies sign up themselves with a free trial.
- Stage
- Live
- Launch market
- Denmark, then other EU countries
- Revenue
- Subscription for help companies, later a booking fee
- Price
- Planned from 299 kr per company a month
- Buyer
- Towing, tyre and mobile mechanic companies
- Stack
- Laravel · MySQL · Flutter
The problem
- A stranded driver without roadside insurance has no idea who to call or what it will cost.
- Small towing and mobile mechanic companies depend on insurance contracts and phone calls.
- Prices are unclear until the truck arrives.
The product
A two-sided app. Drivers post a job with location, car and problem. Companies within range get it instantly and reply with price and arrival time. The driver picks the best offer, follows the status (on the way, working, completed) and rates the company.
- The driver opens the app, shares location and picks the problem type.
- Nearby companies get the request and send offers with price and ETA.
- The driver accepts one; the others are declined.
- Live status until the job is done.
- The driver rates the company, which builds its ranking.
Who pays and why
Business model
| Revenue line | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company subscription | 299 kr / month (planned) | Receive jobs and send offers, after a free trial. |
| Booking fee | Planned | Small fee per accepted job, as an alternative to subscription. |
| Featured listing | Planned | Higher placement in an area. |
Market and targets
Breakdowns happen every day, and many drivers have no roadside plan or a plan with long waits. On the supply side there are many small local towing, tyre and mechanic firms with idle capacity. A marketplace is valuable to both sides once each area has enough companies.
Targets are planning assumptions.
Go-to-market
Supply first, one region
- Sign up 30 companies in one region with a free trial
- Phone outreach using public company registries
- Make sure every request gets at least two offers
Drivers
- Search ads on breakdown searches in that region
- Partnerships with car forums and used car dealers
- App store optimisation for breakdown and towing terms
Region by region
- Repeat region by region
- Fleet and rental company accounts
- Booking fee model
Channels
| Search ads | People search for towing or flat tyre help at the moment of need. |
|---|---|
| Company outreach | A small, findable group per region. |
| Dealers and garages | They meet drivers who just had a breakdown. |
| Ratings | Good ratings bring repeat use and word of mouth. |
Competition
| Alternative today | Why we win |
|---|---|
| Insurance roadside plans | Bundled but slow and not available to everyone. |
| Googling and calling around | Slow, no price comparison. |
| Large assistance companies | Contract-based, not open to small companies. |
What we measure
- Offers per request and time to first offer
- Share of requests that get accepted
- Company retention after the trial
- Average rating
Status and roadmap
- Driver app with request, offers and live status
- Company app and self sign-up with trial
- Ratings
- Admin panel
- Online payment and booking fee
- Push notifications
- Fleet accounts
Risks
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| Chicken and egg problem | Launch region by region, supply first. |
| Companies bypass the platform | Subscription model, so there is nothing to bypass. |
| Urgent use case, low frequency | Search ads at the moment of need, not brand building. |
Want a product like this?
We build version one of products like AutoHelp from about $3,000: web app, admin panel, mobile app and API, live on your own domain. Then we can host and maintain it for $500 a month.