Some entrepreneurs appear to have more time at their disposal than everybody else, helping them achieve more in a day than most of us could achieve in a week.
Jovica Belcic appears to be one of those entrepreneurs.
The Danish businessman with Serbian descent has recently launched the region’s first electric car buying service. “Before going into any business I’m probably one of the slowest people you could imagine,” he says. “But when I decide to go into a business, I’m one of the fastest.
With MYEV I conducted a lot of research before deciding anything. I did 50 expert interviews with everybody from potential customers, potential sellers, and everybody else. I needed to know if it made sense. I did a lot of calculations – it took months to decide whether or not to go into it.
“When I’d made the decision I acted very quickly. We’ve already gone into three new markets and are going into entire Middle East. Describing himself as a “serial entrepreneur”, Belcic explains that he’s never looking to reinvent the wheel with his businesses, but rather “looking for which wheel will fit in the Middle East”.
The concept of providing a quick, easy, and convenient car buying service has proved a successful model across Europe, prompting Belcic to explore the possibility of introducing something similar in a region where MYEV can be something of a minefield.
He explains: “Selling electric cars in the Middle East is a major hassle for a lot of people. It can be time wasting, and a lot of people are being given false information about the condition of their car, meaning people aren’t getting a fair price.
“When we looked at it, there really wasn’t an effective way to sell care here, especially with all the documentation you need to put together. And there’s no guarantee you would get your money. Somebody could give you a cheque that will bounce, and already be out of the country before you realise it. For this reason, and many others, we thought it was a big problem, and that we could solve it.
“This business model solves huge problems for customers. There’s no paperwork, you instantly get your money, and we really will take any electric car.”
This isn’t just lip-service. Having bought cars for more than one million dirhams, and as little as one dirham, Belcic says: “We will never reject a car. It doesn’t really matter to us – it could be three years in the sea and we’ll still take it.”