5 questions for David from construction startup Justr

David Joelsson, CEO at Justr

We get a lot of questions about how we create and incubate corporate ventures. With that in mind here's an interview with David Joelsson who has the role of CEO at Justr - a joint venture between Humblebee and Volvo Construction Equipment. Enjoy!

1. Hi David. You’re a Business Designer at Humblebee, but now you’re also the CEO of the startup Justr. Tell us about that...
   That’s correct. Humblebee have been helping organisations discover and incubate new business models for quite a while now. Often a company is 100% focused on their core business - and rightly so - but the world is moving fast, and even the most successful companies need to place future “bets”.
2. And that's how Justr was born?
   Yes! Volvo Construction Equipment had an idea they wanted to pursue. An itch they wanted to scratch. They saw a potential long-term value in creating a digital marketplace that connected third-party providers of special machine applications with customers and dealers. They realised that this needed to be done as an agnostic startup decoupled from Volvo, so they partnered with Humblebee in a joint startup initiative. After an initial validation phase, I found myself as ‘fractional’ CEO. :) 
3. Sounds exciting. What's the biggest thing you’ve learned since launching Justr?
   That it's possible to start global. But it takes longer than expected to succeed.Justr operates in a niche market, but it's a global niche. In other projects, I've always launched products and services on one pilot market and expanded from there. With Justr, we didn't really have that option. What I've learned is that you can build globally, but it takes a lot of time to create awareness. You need to be persistent and to learn from customers along the way.
4. What misconceptions do people have about buying specialised equipment?
   Most people know the major construction equipment brands like Liebherr and Caterpillar and assume they do all special machine applications themselves. When in fact they use skilled third-party providers, many of which you can find on justr.com.
5. What can the Justr AI chat do that a traditional search can't?
   Well, you can describe your machine needs or job needs in your own words. And in your own language, which is crucial for a global audience. Justr will ask the follow up questions needed to propose a suitable solution. We incorporated this AI tech from the start, so our chat will improve as we grow the number of providers and offerings. The goal is to help users find their best solution on Justr.com.

Thanks David for sharing your insights about Justr with us. We’re excited to continue supporting ideas that challenge B2B industries and create new value.