Ikenna Ordor grew up watching his mother “be a very successful woman in her own right,” he said in an interview with Forbes. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the entrepreneur was hungry for success.
“I grew up in Nigeria, and when I was about 14 I moved over to the UK,” Ordor told the outlet in 2019. “My mum was a grafter; she bought houses and was always interested in buying and selling. I always emulated that–I’d go take trips to look for houses to purchase.”
He added, “I’d say my influences really came from watching my mum.”
While he’s was influenced by his mom, that doesn’t mean his success came easy.
During an interview with AFROTECH, the tech entrepreneur explained failure was his driver to reach the destination. Throughout his journey, he was determined not to hit a dead end.
“I was the guy who would buy as much champagne as possible when I walked into a party. And then I realized that someone’s making a lot of money off this,” Ordor said, recalling his time while in school. “Then I became the organizer who made a lot of money off people spending a copious amount on champagne. But I still enjoyed the lifestyle that came with having a hospitality business.”
Between 2012 and 2013, he began to pivot and launch a transport car business. In 2015, he sold it because he didn’t see longevity in the venture and was looking to provide his clients with a more elevated experience.
Starr Luxury
Starr Luxury would be a byproduct of his manifestation, which he says he brought to life without outside investments in 2016.
According to information provided to AFROTECH, the company is described as an “easy-to-use on-demand luxury travel platform” that allows its users to secure automobiles right to their doorstep.
“Something I definitely saw in the market is choice. I believe our clients or the consumers in our ecosystem should have palatable choice of their options of luxury, and the ease of accessing luxury,” Ordor explained. “My industry is known as one where some of the largest providers or luxury car hire don’t have instant pricing available on their websites. We should be able to be able to see pricing instantly, be able to book instantly online, and also have the ease of delivery of a Lamborghini to your home address in the morning or the ease of requesting a Rolls-Royce to arrive at your home three hours from now because you have an event and would like to arrive in style.”
Solving A Problem
Ordor believes Starr Luxury is solving the need for ownership. When driving off the lot, a car will depreciate by 9% to 11%, Bankrate reports, and in five years, the vehicle is said to depreciate by an estimated 40%, according to Lending Tree.
“If you do really want to enjoy these vehicles, you can enjoy them on the weekend or for the week that you’ll take off,” he said. “After that, you can hand the keys right back and you don’t have to worry about insurance, you don’t have to worry about depreciation and you can go back to your desk or your entrepreneurial life where you have to be focused on what actually allows you [to] curate all the money that you make that allows you to be able to afford a Ferrari.”
Ordor added, “We’re solving the need of ownership. We’re solving for those who can’t afford to own it. We’re solving the cost of depreciation.”
User Experience
In terms of user experience, the application will present specific choices that suits preference for the day. Additionally, Starr Luxury hires chauffeurs at competitive rates that can be used for various events, including music videos, long lease, TV and film, weddings, and promotions, according to information provided to us.
To book a vehicle, customers will be able to use the insurance provided by the company. However, there may be some limitations, depending where the customer is located.
“In terms of self-drive, there are some barriers to entry in some regions. For example, in the U.S. there is no sort of [an] age restriction to drive a Lamborghini,” he said. “Whereas in the U.K., most insurance companies would not insure anyone younger than 28 to drive a Lamborghini on a self-drive higher policy. So we have those sort of barriers of entries with the different regions that we operate in, and that’s something that we as operators have to be knowledgeable in to advise our clients.”
Expansion
Starr Luxury Global is a London-based company, also available in the United Arab Emirates and United States cities, including Miami, FL, Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, and Houston, TX. In total, the company is available in 30 cities and Ordor expects the number to double in 2024.
“We looked at the most business cities in terms of tourism, in terms of business, and in also in terms of population. So those are what we made our choices on,” he explained. “Now, as we go forward to 2024, we will be looking at cities next to the most busy cities in terms of business or tourism because again, it compounds if you have a business city next to the other it also lends that people travel to neighboring cities.”
Ordor also told AFROTECH that the company has access to 250 million vehicles, thanks to their operators. In the next three years, the goal is to reach 1 billion vehicles.
Electric Supercars
Ordor also aims to offer environmentally friendly vehicles. In the future, he says he’d like to transition to a fleet comprised entirely of electric supercars.
“We promote the use of electric vehicles,” Ordor said. “I personally drive an electric vehicle on a day to day, and I commend Rolls-Royce with delivering an exceptionally perfect new electric offering, which is a Rolls-Royce Spectre, and it’s something that we will be offering on our fleet as soon as we have access.”
He added, “It’s climate friendly. It’s economical. Also, we are hoping that the more people that adopt electric cars actually make it much more accessible — ’cause right now they’re known to be a lot more expensive than your standard petrol or diesel vehicles.”
Raising Capital
Lastly, Ordor hopes to “turbo charge” the company through a $10 million raise aided by the right investors or partners.
“The company has been fully bootstrapped, and I intend to continue on that journey until the right partner presents itself,” he concluded.
