UpSteam expands to Poland, launches new product amid lockdown

Daily news keep writing about the rising unemployment and how countrywide restrictions have left thousands and thousands of people in the commerce industry without work. There’s chaos in economy, companies require governmental support, and world is digitalising fast.

Startups are ahead of all this as they are used to working in uncertain circumstances and pivot fast. Car wash platform UpSteam expanded to Poland, launched a new product made for home offices midst of crisis, and keeps growing.

Now 3 years old startup UpSteam, that raised 1 million euros through crowdfunding earlier this year, is digitalising car wash by bringing it to customers doorsteps.

“One of our funding promises was expand to three new markets in 18 months and we made enormous progress this March by opening offices in Warsaw,” Upsteam COO Valjo Kütt said in a statement.

UpSteam is focusing on apartment buildings and car fleets foremost and will not open service for individuals before third quarter of 2020.

With remote work becoming the norm, UpSteam had to adapt to the changing market situation too. As offices spread out from regular business locations to all across the city, they had to make car wash convenient for customers by creating new product – Pop-Up car wash. They created a new platform that creates a personalised booking page for every apartment building.

“Pop-up car wash is created for people living in apartment buildings and it works as a washing schedule. We can provide cheaper prices by having multiple customers in one location” said UpSteam’s CEO Martin Kristerson. “Building managers don’t have to worry about car wash locations impact on the environment as the parking lot remains clean and dry after each wash as the company uses 1-2 litres of washing detergent, without using flowing water, and by collecting all the dirt in microfiber towels.”

“The interest of apartments exceeds our initial expectations and it seems to be a perfect fit. We believe that our customer base will keep increasing during these times as car owners opt for smarter solutions” said Kristerson. “We have created more than 20 new locations across Tallinn in first few weeks and plan to multiply that number in next two months. New product launched in Finland and Poland simultaneously. On the other hand, UpSteam’s other product remain untouched and customers can still order car wash anywhere in their service region through phone app or inquire a personal offer for car fleets.”