Snap-It App: App For Plumbers, By Plumbers

“Don’t chase the money”, the old saying goes, “solve a problem – and the riches will follow.” Anybody who has lived in London would know about problems with plumbing — repairs are time-consuming and expensive.

One reason for the delays is getting the (right) spare parts to the client. Parking. Taking off again (losing the prepaid parking slot). Getting stuck in traffic. Queuing up at the point of distribution. Is the part available? Returning to the impatient client. Parking space taken. Client yelling: “I have waited all day! Where have you been?”. You get the picture.

Young, award-winning London entrepreneur to the rescue. Viktor Muhhin (“Vik”, 34) set out to match this problem with an app. Qualified as apprentice plumber and now running multiple service teams, he has the experience and appreciates the challenge. Naturally competitive, he dived into the fray of app developers and created Snap-It: a retailer and a market place technology that enables tradesmen to do more by selling materials directly to tradesmen and delivering them from on-boarded partner stores throughout London.

The start-up got initial seed funding of £363k from reputable and successful angel investors such as Jack Beaman (founder of Syft), Matt Smith (professional footballer, Millwall FC), and Alex Macdonald (velocity.black). Adam Blair (ex Funding Circle, SeedLegals) continue to support the venture with outstanding success.

“I invested in Viktor’s business because I think he’s solving a real world problem I’ve had experience with myself. I love both his plan and his team.”

– Matt Smith

With the assistance of angel investors, and by taking a pay cut as well as investing his last savings, Vik set out to solve a problem: how to save time for plumbers who are always late. His new company has an ethos, beautiful in its simplicity — allow plumbers to buy time.

The technology and the ecosystem his young team of seven is developing is more complicated. The tech team is headed up by the Finnish whiz kid Timo Tuominen (Nokia, lead developer MoneyCorp), who is focused on the app’s ease of use and smooth backend integration for the multiple users: customers, plumbers, drivers, inventory holders, administrators, and managers.

The app is integrating client service with conveyer belt part dissemination from large suppliers while also allowing small independent suppliers to grow their sales. The logistics part of the app has unique proprietary algorithms that exploit the idle time of Uber, fleets and couriers and utilises geofencing for the nearest transport solution, e.g. from an airport drop-off where the expenses can be passed on.

Streamlining the process of sourcing, procurement and delivering (by contactless drop off) the spare parts creates value by enabling the plumber to boost the number of billable hours. Other major advantages include more cost-effective customer services and transparency.

Lower fuel costs and reduced traffic congestion add to the carbon neutrality and environmental benefits for London.

Snap-It Limited (snap-it.app) is already an agile technology company with a proven track record of customer satisfaction at each part of the vertically integrated B2B2C supply chain. Turnover is on a trajectory of doubling every 12 months.

Openminded and driven by nature, not resting on his laurels, Vik has set his mind set on growth. He is in the process of expanding into Birmingham (the UK’s second-largest city), and then we take Manhattan. Vik’s expansion path includes widening his catalogue trade to include boiler parts and electrical parts.

In addition to scaling sales, he sees opportunities for system cost savings when consolidating the purchasing power of independent operators and suppliers through new buyer groups with better bargaining clout.

The fund is seeking £1.5m by issuing new equity at a company valuation of £5m. No wonder investors are queuing up. Guided by the past value creating growth as well as the drive of the principal, this company is set to go places and solve problems.

Read the artcile from CFI.co Summer 2020 Issue.