Dusseldorf Hakan Koc is back: Around two years ago, the entrepreneur left the board of the used car company Auto1, which he co-founded, for the IPO and also relocated privately from Berlin to London. Since then, many in the German venture capital scene have wondered what the 39-year-old would do with all his energy in the future.
Now it is clear: Koc has founded again, this time not in the automotive sector, but in the telecommunications business. The man with the obvious passion for banal, catchy web addresses – first wirkaufendeinauto.de, now betterroaming.com – wants to break into the global data roaming market and is possibly attacking a lucrative business of the big network providers such as Vodafone, Telefónica and Deutsche Telekom.
In fact, Koc has apparently developed a business model that is already being offered in all major mobile phone markets in Europe, America and Asia for the official commercial launch this week.
The new digital platform Betterroaming, Koc explains to Handelsblatt, enables users to download a free so-called eSIM card by scanning a QR code on the website. The eSim can then be used almost worldwide and in all common mobile phone models in the local networks and, according to Koc in the best marketing German, offers “affordable data roaming without any cost risk in over 115 frequently visited countries”.
Experts see market opportunities in data roaming
While the customer was previously tied to his own provider and his offer, with the new eSIM card he can now top up the credit on his own smartphone abroad without an Internet connection. He also wants to offer large companies tailor-made roaming solutions for their employees.
By the time the grandmother from Kreuzberg understands how roaming works when she visits her home in Turkey, the first 50 euros are often gone. Hakan Koc, betterroaming.com
It’s no secret in the industry that global mobile communications providers earn a lot of money with roaming. Koc says: “By the time the grandmother from Kreuzberg understands how roaming works when she comes home to Turkey, the first 50 euros are often gone.” This also applies to business travelers to the USA or the Gulf States. Or to put it another way: “If the customer does not feel comfortable with roaming, they switch off data roaming. And nobody really benefits from that.” All of this can easily be avoided with better roaming.
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The fact that Koc, a lawyer and former employee of Rocket Internet, is convinced or enthusiastic about his new business model is in the nature of every inventor and his ideas. But well-known telecommunications experts also see the market potential. The former boss of Telefónica Germany, Thorsten Dirks, can be quoted as follows: “The industry has neglected the topic. Now innovative digital entrepreneurs are cleaning up the field from behind.”
Former Telekom boss René Obermann says: “The topic of roaming outside of Europe is certainly no longer up-to-date. That’s why it’s good that there are new companies trying to solve the problem, especially with a view to the often non-transparent costs.”
Bought Abramovich’s Truphone company out of bankruptcy
And a well-known Berlin venture capitalist, who wants to remain anonymous because he doesn’t see himself as a proven telecoms expert, says: “My mother, who travels a lot (interested testers have been able to use the offer for about four weeks, ed.) is already a busy user . And if she is enthusiastic about it and can use it directly without help from me, then an important test has already been passed.”
The industry has neglected the issue of data roaming. Now innovative digital entrepreneurs are cleaning up the field from behind. Thorsten Dirks, former CEO of Telefónica Germany
Koc has bundled the new roaming offer with his partner Pyrros Koussios, who holds ten percent of the shares, under the umbrella of the newly founded TP Global Operations in London. This included essential parts of the telecommunications company Truphone, including server capacities, licenses and contracts for the use of fiber optics.
Truphone acquired Koc and private equity specialist Koussios from bankruptcy proceedings. The Betterroaming brand is the first new development of the two on the platform. In addition to the symbolic purchase price of one pound for Truphone, 17 million pounds of private financing guarantees have been deposited, and that “until sufficient new income stabilizes the business,” says Koc.
The insolvency administrator also received a so-called debtor warrant. This means that Truphone creditors would later benefit if business develops positively. According to Koc, Truphone has been active in its core business of recording calls for highly sensitive compliance processes for years. A total turnover of 60 million pounds will be achieved. Among other things, well-known Wall Street banks would use the service.
The company belonged to Roman Abramovich until 2022 and the beginning of the Russian sanctions. The oligarch and former owner of football club Chelsea London held almost 25 percent of the shares. At one point, the company was valued at half a billion dollars.
Until 2022, Truphone was part of the Russian oligarch’s corporate empire.
(Photo: Reuters)
Apparently as a result of the economic uncertainties caused by the sanctions against Abramovich and the resulting uncertain future and financing prospects, the British supervisory board registered planned insolvency proceedings, from which Koc and Koussios are now rehearsing a new start with 400 employees.
Koc is also a member of the supervisory board at Auto1. The panel is headed by former Siemens chief controller Gerhard Cromme. The board will continue to be led by Koc’ co-founder Christian Bertermann. In 2022, the Auto1 Group, which has been listed in Frankfurt since February 2021, achieved sales of 6.5 billion euros. Losses have recently been declining and were reported at 246 million euros for 2022. In the previous year, the group loss was 374 million euros.
Koc believes that once the profit zone has been reached, the share price will certainly receive “a new push”. According to their own statements, the two founders together hold almost 25.1 percent of the shares. Based on the closing price on the first day of trading – at that time the company was valued at 10.6 billion euros – the share lost more than 80 percent of its value.
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