Insights from research

During the 2013 Labor Seed, our team observed that Colombian labor market lacked enough of the fulfilling, growth opportunities that workers sought. In response, the team set out to “open the market” by disrupting a fragmented, tired industry with a new, scalable brand. Analyzing and testing dozens of sectors, auto repair was selected.

Business model

Autolab is a chain of consumer car care centers offering a full suite of services from routine maintenance to in-depth repair, on a wide range of brands and models. Autolab occupies the space between small car shops and high-end dealerships, offering the service and experience level of the latter, at a more approachable price.

Initial challenges

In order to match the service of a dealership at a lower price, Autolab needs to operate in an extremely lean manner. Year one saw Autolab building and refining operations – and the operating team, while working to understand and maximize customer acquisition channels. They want happy patrons coming back, and referring friends.

The venture today

Today Autolab serves over 300 customers per month in its first center, with an average repair cost of USD $250. Month-on-month sales growth has been X% since opening, and customer satisfaction rates (return rates, lifetime value) continually gain. They are breaking ground on their second center, double in size of the first.

What the future holds

Autolab has an aggressive expansion plan to open multiple shops in 2017 in Bogotá and Medellín. To achieve this growth, they are building replicable programs of management, operations, HR, and new site acquisition and preparation. They are also growing beyond consumer car care to service corporate clients and fleets.