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#StartupStory: Solving the world's parking space problem with ParkUpp
24 Jun 2022
Finding a place to park is a quiet struggle that motorists deal with, particularly in cities where open space is almost nonexistent. Enter Parkupp Collector, a community basement parking facility for car collectors. A simple click, book, and park are all it takes to have one's collectable car safely parked alongside others.
Kwanele Tshabalala | image supplied
ParkUpp is fast positioning itself as an innovative driver of flexible parking solutions, the company has now secured 'collector community basements' in convenient locations across South Africa. Its national roll-out begins at Cape Town’s Cape Quarter with an initial 40-bay offering.
I caught up with ParkUpp's business development manager Kwanele Tshabalala to find out a little bit more about this startup.
Briefly tell us about ParkUpp
We are a company of young, diverse, creative, and somewhat quirky individuals who love solving global problems. For us it’s about serving, creating employment, and providing value to both users and owners.
We believe in simplicity, creativity and having an abundance mentality in all we do. Our business is built under the core principle that there is enough for all of us.
How and why did you get started?
We bought ParkUpp in February this year and in this transition, we have rewritten the website and repositioned our offering.
Our short-term strategic focus areas for the business are ParkUpp Classic which is our traditional monthly parking offering, ParkUpp Collector for car collectors and Parkupp Events which we are launching in July 2022.
My role as a business development manager is to take this business to greater heights and focus on building new partnerships with businesses that can service our network of parkers and merchants by offering a more holistic parking experience.
Finding parking spaces has and continues to be a huge problem in cities around the world and we are working on solving this locally through our intuitive and user-friendly platform.
What are some of the obstacles you’ve had to face since you started?
Educating more clients on the benefits and value of listing their space which is mostly unused. The platform is built to simplify the process of finding and booking parking seamlessly.
The second is increasing customer exposure so they are aware of our offering and the solutions we offer.
What service does ParkUpp provide?
ParkUpp is a marketplace that connects owners of parking spaces with companies/individuals who need parking. The website focuses on flexible parking requirements ranging from; daily to monthly parking and providing a booking and payment system.
Property owners benefit by not having to source, sign, or secure payment from a new tenant.
What future plans does ParkUpp have?
Finding new niches in the parking market, particularly around long-term services. To this end, the company recently launched Parkupp Collector, a community basement parking facility for car collectors, and is looking at other areas of specialisation.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Challenge yourself to be challenged and always be willing to learn.
For those in corporate who want to branch out into entrepreneurship, use that corporate phase of your life to learn about business, build your confidence and networks which will help you when you decide to take the leap. It is not easy but it is worth the try.
