After studying a master's degree in business administration, several alumni created a think tank or laboratory of ideas. From this think tank came the idea of replicating the success of the pay-per-use model of a well-known brand of printers, but extending it to all kinds of electronic devices and household appliances.
In July 2019, Miquel Manzanas, Martín Dupraz, Luis Sierra and Ivo Valdiviels created the Tecfys start-up. Instead of owning, they propose the consumption of electronic devices and appliances by subscription. “We break the buy-use-throw pattern. If the product is within its optimal period of sustainable renewal and can be reconditioned, we take care of it and give it a second life, either through our commercial channels or through the social economy circuits. When the product no longer has functional capacity, we refer it to specialized managers for its treatment, disassembly and recycling," says Manzanas.
After several changes in the business model, Tecfys is currently aimed at both companies and individuals. Among the former are managers of real estate assets –workspaces or shared homes, hotels, vacation rentals…–, schools, town halls or residences. Manzanas acknowledges that they reject "70% of the requests due to the risk of non-payment by the client, but above all due to lack of financing". They currently have more than 700 subscription products and nearly 300 contracts.
Manzanas states that each month they invest 100,000 euros in buying new products. On its platform, it has a catalog of refurbished products from leading brands that it acquires through partners such as Solidança, Foxway, Bak2, BackMarket or Refurbed. Likewise, if the client requests brand new products, they have agreements with distributors such as Proselco (Milar or Tien21 purchasing center) or MediaMarkt, and buy directly from manufacturers such as Apple, LG or Balay.
Based in Barcelona and with a team of ten people, Tecfys has been financed so far through two rounds of investment totaling 545,000 euros, an Enisa loan of 130,000 euros, another of 200,000 euros with the Institut Català de Finances, and they have signed a investment agreement with Zubi Capital for a value of 250,000 euros. On the other hand, they have now opened a round of participatory financing with La Bolsa Social to raise 440,000 euros. They expect to end the year with a turnover of 350,000 euros.
