Interview with Use Beez: “Our next move is to make our mark in the UK”

 

Use Beez, Techcelerator alumnus from Batch#2, has received a new €1.2m investment in a round led by GapMinder Venture Partners and ROCA X. This is the biggest round succeeded by a Techcelerator startup to scale their product.

 

Founded in 2018 by Lucian Cramba and Vasile Tamas, Beez targets online shoppers who finance their purchases with credit, building an alternative to a credit card, a product that has the same benefits but with zero interest and no commission or late fees.

 

We asked Lucian and Vasile some questions to find out more about Beez’ next moves.

 

Congrats on this new round! Tell us, how does it feel?

 

Thank you! We are thankful for this round’s outcome, but we must admit we are both thrilled facing the new challenges, but determined to get our future progress according to the plan. We are focused to move to the next stage: improve the product features and expertise,  and tackle all relevant opportunities for development.

 

What was the most difficult part of your journey until now?

 

Our approach is a very fluid one, meaning we adapt fast & change often. And sometimes this has its backdowns regarding the internal “order” of things and keeping everyone aligned with rapid changes in our short term goals.

 

How did the Techcelerator program help you?

 

Techcelerator supported us with boosting our ideas, plans and know-how at another, upper, level. It’s a factory where our product was polished, our endeavors got clearer and the context of sitting down around experts matured us. 

 

How do you think Beez changed the Romanian shopping ecosystem?

 

We can already see it improving. It’s, of course, a matter of changing the mindset first and the behavior afterwards. We are still in the battle for shifting the mindset and win, first with those users who heard or read about us, tried our app out of curiosity, but are impressed now with the benefits: the sweetest deals, best cashback rewards, and every day promotions. … for the time being 😊

 

What are your next moves? What are your plans for the future?

 

Making our mark in the UK. 😊 We are aware of the UK market potential for Beez, but it’s still a field not fully explored by us, so we’re definitely going to be more ‘aggressive” there. In Romania, we’ll go on developing our offline partnerships, as well as our 4 non-commissioned installment buying.

 

Do you have any advice for early-stage startups?

 

Yes, to set up clear goals, measure along every step of the way and reach out systematically to your customers always have the clearest solution for their problem.