StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

May 25, 2022 · 17m · top-founders

He used software to fix 10,000 bikes last month, made $400,000 revenue

Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Yeply co-founder and CEO Antti Kansanaho joins Nathan Latka to discuss how his mobile bike maintenance startup scaled to $400,000 in monthly revenue across Europe using in-house mechanics, leased mobile service vans, and high-volume B2B fleet contracts.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 44.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.3
05100:0010:000:54–5:13 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introducing Yeply and the In-House Mechanic Model Nathan quickly runs unit economics calculations to estimate total monthly revenue, but Antti clarifies that B2B fleet maintenance commands a much lower per-bike rate than consumer fixes. Antti also corrects Nathan's initial assumption that Yeply operates as a traditional gig platform by explaining that all mechanics are employed in-house.5:15–7:39 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 The Mobile Ice Cream Truck Operational Logistics Nathan probes into balance sheet assets and operational equipment. Antti explains their mobile ice cream truck concept, leased van structure, and multi-shift mechanic model across European cities.7:40–10:18 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Bootstrapping History, Founding Story, and Seed Capital Nathan inquires about early bootstrapping, co-founder equity splits, and the initial seed round. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative, with a sponsor ad read in the middle.10:20–13:15 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Secondary Transactions and Crowdfunding Cap Table Clean-Up Nathan presses on the mechanics of executing a $1M secondary during a seed round. Antti explains how the secondary was structured to provide an exit for roughly 50 to 60 early equity crowdfunders from their 2017 campaign.13:17–16:51 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Valuation Multiples, Tech Staffing, and Market Expansion Strategy Nathan directly challenges Yeply's valuation multiple, asking why it landed at 10-12x rather than typical high-multiple pure SaaS rounds, pointing out heavy headcount costs. Antti concedes that the market views them as a hybrid tech and maintenance service.16:52–17:33 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Metrics Recap Monologue summary by Nathan summarizing the company's financials, fleet operations, headcount, and capitalization history.0:54–5:13 · Guest teaching 5/10 Introducing Yeply and the In-House Mechanic Model Nathan quickly runs unit economics calculations to estimate total monthly revenue, but Antti clarifies that B2B fleet maintenance commands a much lower per-bike rate than consumer fixes. Antti also corrects Nathan's initial assumption that Yeply operates as a traditional gig platform by explaining that all mechanics are employed in-house.5:15–7:39 · Guest teaching 4/10 The Mobile Ice Cream Truck Operational Logistics Nathan probes into balance sheet assets and operational equipment. Antti explains their mobile ice cream truck concept, leased van structure, and multi-shift mechanic model across European cities.7:40–10:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 Bootstrapping History, Founding Story, and Seed Capital Nathan inquires about early bootstrapping, co-founder equity splits, and the initial seed round. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative, with a sponsor ad read in the middle.10:20–13:15 · Guest teaching 4/10 Secondary Transactions and Crowdfunding Cap Table Clean-Up Nathan presses on the mechanics of executing a $1M secondary during a seed round. Antti explains how the secondary was structured to provide an exit for roughly 50 to 60 early equity crowdfunders from their 2017 campaign.13:17–16:51 · Guest teaching 3/10 Valuation Multiples, Tech Staffing, and Market Expansion Strategy Nathan directly challenges Yeply's valuation multiple, asking why it landed at 10-12x rather than typical high-multiple pure SaaS rounds, pointing out heavy headcount costs. Antti concedes that the market views them as a hybrid tech and maintenance service.16:52–17:33 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Metrics Recap Monologue summary by Nathan summarizing the company's financials, fleet operations, headcount, and capitalization history.0:54–5:13 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Yeply and the In-House Mechanic Model Nathan quickly runs unit economics calculations to estimate total monthly revenue, but Antti clarifies that B2B fleet maintenance commands a much lower per-bike rate than consumer fixes. Antti also corrects Nathan's initial assumption that Yeply operates as a traditional gig platform by explaining that all mechanics are employed in-house.5:15–7:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Mobile Ice Cream Truck Operational Logistics Nathan probes into balance sheet assets and operational equipment. Antti explains their mobile ice cream truck concept, leased van structure, and multi-shift mechanic model across European cities.7:40–10:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bootstrapping History, Founding Story, and Seed Capital Nathan inquires about early bootstrapping, co-founder equity splits, and the initial seed round. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative, with a sponsor ad read in the middle.10:20–13:15 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Secondary Transactions and Crowdfunding Cap Table Clean-Up Nathan presses on the mechanics of executing a $1M secondary during a seed round. Antti explains how the secondary was structured to provide an exit for roughly 50 to 60 early equity crowdfunders from their 2017 campaign.13:17–16:51 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Valuation Multiples, Tech Staffing, and Market Expansion Strategy Nathan directly challenges Yeply's valuation multiple, asking why it landed at 10-12x rather than typical high-multiple pure SaaS rounds, pointing out heavy headcount costs. Antti concedes that the market views them as a hybrid tech and maintenance service.16:52–17:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Metrics Recap Monologue summary by Nathan summarizing the company's financials, fleet operations, headcount, and capitalization history.0:54–5:13 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Yeply and the In-House Mechanic Model Nathan quickly runs unit economics calculations to estimate total monthly revenue, but Antti clarifies that B2B fleet maintenance commands a much lower per-bike rate than consumer fixes. Antti also corrects Nathan's initial assumption that Yeply operates as a traditional gig platform by explaining that all mechanics are employed in-house.5:15–7:39 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Mobile Ice Cream Truck Operational Logistics Nathan probes into balance sheet assets and operational equipment. Antti explains their mobile ice cream truck concept, leased van structure, and multi-shift mechanic model across European cities.7:40–10:18 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Bootstrapping History, Founding Story, and Seed Capital Nathan inquires about early bootstrapping, co-founder equity splits, and the initial seed round. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative, with a sponsor ad read in the middle.10:20–13:15 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Secondary Transactions and Crowdfunding Cap Table Clean-Up Nathan presses on the mechanics of executing a $1M secondary during a seed round. Antti explains how the secondary was structured to provide an exit for roughly 50 to 60 early equity crowdfunders from their 2017 campaign.13:17–16:51 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Valuation Multiples, Tech Staffing, and Market Expansion Strategy Nathan directly challenges Yeply's valuation multiple, asking why it landed at 10-12x rather than typical high-multiple pure SaaS rounds, pointing out heavy headcount costs. Antti concedes that the market views them as a hybrid tech and maintenance service.16:52–17:33 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Metrics Recap Monologue summary by Nathan summarizing the company's financials, fleet operations, headcount, and capitalization history.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 50.1% · guest 49.9%0:00 · Nathan 50.1% · guest 49.9%3:00 · Nathan 34.5% · guest 65.5%3:00 · Nathan 34.5% · guest 65.5%6:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%6:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%9:00 · Nathan 70.9% · guest 29.1%9:00 · Nathan 70.9% · guest 29.1%12:00 · Nathan 37.9% · guest 62.1%12:00 · Nathan 37.9% · guest 62.1%15:00 · Nathan 44.9% · guest 55.1%15:00 · Nathan 44.9% · guest 55.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:39 Pushing back on valuation classification

Antti defends his company's valuation multiple against Nathan's aggressive SaaS comparisons by framing their positioning between physical maintenance and technology.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:24 Host challenges valuation multiple

Nathan strips out mechanic headcount costs to isolate higher-margin revenue and demands to know why the seed round valuation multiple was relatively low compared to SaaS peers.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:24 Differentiating fleet pricing from consumer pricing

Antti corrects Nathan's extrapolation of $1.4M in revenue by explaining that fleet bikes generate lower recurring fees than one-off consumer repairs.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:00 Drilling into seed secondary structure

Nathan demonstrates deep financial savvy by interrogating the exact mechanics of raising a secondary during a seed round to buy out early crowdfunding backers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Yeply and the In-House Mechanic Model 6524 Nathan quickly runs unit economics calculations to estimate total monthly revenue, but Antti clarifies that B2B fleet maintenance commands a much lower per-bike rate than consumer fixes. Antti also corrects Nathan's initial assumption that Yeply operates as a traditional gig platform by explaining that all mechanics are employed in-house.
The Mobile Ice Cream Truck Operational Logistics 5413 Nathan probes into balance sheet assets and operational equipment. Antti explains their mobile ice cream truck concept, leased van structure, and multi-shift mechanic model across European cities.
Bootstrapping History, Founding Story, and Seed Capital 4212 Nathan inquires about early bootstrapping, co-founder equity splits, and the initial seed round. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative, with a sponsor ad read in the middle.
Secondary Transactions and Crowdfunding Cap Table Clean-Up 7425 Nathan presses on the mechanics of executing a $1M secondary during a seed round. Antti explains how the secondary was structured to provide an exit for roughly 50 to 60 early equity crowdfunders from their 2017 campaign.
Valuation Multiples, Tech Staffing, and Market Expansion Strategy 7336 Nathan directly challenges Yeply's valuation multiple, asking why it landed at 10-12x rather than typical high-multiple pure SaaS rounds, pointing out heavy headcount costs. Antti concedes that the market views them as a hybrid tech and maintenance service.
Episode Summary and Key Metrics Recap 0000 Monologue summary by Nathan summarizing the company's financials, fleet operations, headcount, and capitalization history.

Statements from this episode (17)

Disclosure
Yeply Employs All Mechanics In-House Rather Than Using Gig Workers
“Are they all, we employ them all. So it's all in-house. It's not your typical platform business.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 1:42
Disclosure
Yeply Employs Around 60 Bike Mechanics Across 80 Total Staff
“Bike fixers is about 60 of them. All companies. Okay. Probably somewhere close to 80 at the moment.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 2:24
Disclosure
Yeply operates in Germany, Netherlands, and Austria, targeting UK expansion in 2022
“Then we're operating how in Germany, having nationwide coverage there, the Netherlands and then Austria at the moment, looking to open up the UK market still this year.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 2:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yeply completed roughly 10,000 bike repairs in the prior month
“It's about probably closer to 10,000, I would say last month.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 3:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yeply's average consumer revenue per fix is €100 to €110
“We do our average revenue per customer is about a hundred euros, a 110 euros, depending on the market.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 4:15
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yeply generated €300,000 to €400,000 in monthly revenue
“That's probably somewhere around three to 400,000 last month.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 4:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mechanic salaries represent approximately 70% of Yeply's cost structure
“70%. You're pretty close to the cost structure there.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 5:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mobile service units are likely Yeply's second-biggest monthly cost
“Yeah, that's probably the second biggest cost of the month. The actual unit service units, but then if we compare it to a traditional bike shop where you are looking at the costs of your venue.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 6:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yeply currently leases around 25 mobile service units
“Currently it's probably somewhere around 25 at the moment.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 6:45
Disclosure
Yeply Raised Capital in February 2022 from Wolt Founders
“We raised capital. Now we got in venture the guys behind Walt, for example they joined us this February.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 8:30
Assertion Supported
Yeply raised nearly $3.5M total including secondary transactions
“The secondaries three point, it was almost 3.5”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 10:56
Disclosure
Yeply raised $800K across two crowdfunding rounds for German expansion
“We did one round with 300 K one round with half a mil.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 11:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
50 to 60 crowdfunding investors cashed out in Yeply's secondary round
“Not all of them. There was the ones that wanted to sell had the opportunity to sell. So I think about 50, 60 of them.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 12:05
Disclosure
Yeply founders invested more capital instead of taking secondary liquidity
“No, no, we're putting more money in.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 12:17
Disclosure
Yeply employs six to seven full-time software engineers
“Full-time engineers, probably somewhere six, seven at the moment.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 14:14
Disclosure
Yeply enters new markets via B2B fleets before launching consumer services
“What we do is basically open up, when we open up a new country, we start with our fleet business. So, B to B operations. We go basically have a nationwide coverage. If we look at how we opened up the Netherlands back in last October or November we started off …”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 14:35
Assertion Supported
Gorillas co-founder Felix Chrobok serves on Yeply's board of directors
“I really much enjoy talks with Felix Krobor, one of the co-founders of Gorillaz is also on our board and our mentor.”
Antti Kansanaho (Antti Consala) May 25, 2022 ▶ 15:45
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more