Autto.in
Autto.in was an on-demand doorstep car maintenance service operating in Hyderabad, India, founded by Deepak Murthy in 2017. The startup acquired customers through guerrilla marketing at apartment complexes but faced unsustainable unit economics with a $12 customer acquisition cost and long 10-12 month retention cycles. The business failed after burning $15,000 in initial investment against only $5,000 in revenue, eventually shutting down due to high burn rates and concern about the Indian government's announcement to phase out gasoline vehicles by 2030.
Key Takeaways
- •Used word of mouth as primary growth channel
- •Got first customer via Leaflet distribution across a community of 2000 houses, which converted only 1 customer
- •Most effective channel: Guerrilla marketing through car service camps in large apartment communities
- •Monetizes with subscription pricing
Revenue
Traction
Why They Built It
Deepak experienced expensive and poor service at authorized car garages after his car went out of warranty, motivating him to create a doorstep car service solution where mechanics visit customers at home.
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