The decision to get listed
We speak more and more often of new mobility and new ways of buying or just sharing means of transportation, in particular automobiles which still represent the main mobility option of individuals. At the same time, even auto manufacturers and the car dealers' networks are not standing still and have started policies of international consolidation. For companies active in the retail automotive segment, then, it becomes essential to support growth plans that look beyond national borders and ride the trends of the entire sector. This is why "we decided to do an IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange at the beginning of last November", explains Marco Marlia, Bocconi alumnus and co-founder and CEO of MotorK, a company specializing in SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions for the car retail industry.
"This way we not only find more resources to fuel our global development strategy", remarks the CEO of MotorK who recently announced three new acquisitions in Europe, in addition of three others which have already been finalized. "But above all, when we introduce ourselves to work with pan-European groups, we offer the profile of a listed company and, therefore, with a well-structured governance and a profile of transparency guaranteed by the controls of the exchange commission". The decision to get listed was taken after comparing various growth hypotheses such as the choice of one or more strategic partners or partnering with venture capital funds: "you must always have alternatives to ensure growth", adds Marlia. "Even landing on the stock market raises questions, for example regarding the temporal uncertainty of the initial listing, due to the numerous steps you have to go through before admission, and the greater efforts required to clinch it and comply with subsequent obligations, once you are a traded equity. But it is equally true that the stock market can allow you to accelerate your development path".
Furthermore, according to the CEO of the company founded in 2010, the stock of a company that wants to be an aggregating pole in its sector is being rewarded, thus overturning the stereotype that a young company must necessarily only be object of corporate aggregation. And if Marlia were to give advice drawn from his experience, he would indicate the stock market as a growth solution for those companies that are already partly structured.
Today MotorK has 300 employees in seven countries, with its platform it serves more than 660 groups of distributors and 13 manufacturers in EMEA markets, also thanks to its research and development department for the digital automotive sector.
What will MotorK's next steps be? "We will continue to ride the market and explore the opportunities offered by the evolution of the software world for the automotive sector", concludes Marlia, "by debuting in new markets, strengthening our role in proposing and distributing technology in the automotive retail sector and, finally, by supporting the new mobility trends with a business-to-business positioning".
Marco Marlia graduated in Economics of Financial Markets and Institutions at Bocconi University. He has contributed to the birth of various digital companies and of his university training period he says: "The international mentality and the professional network gave a boost to my entrepreneurial spirit. I founded my first company during my studies at Bocconi, where I learned the importance of openness to innovation which still today proves indispensable for making inroads into the digital automotive industry".