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"Setting up a fully compliant, hyper-optimized online channel in the US is near impossible, but Ekho made it easy. Their platform enabled us to spin up a Tesla-like checkout system in the US in a few weeks, which now allows our customers to purchase a bike online in minutes and pick it up from a dealer, or ship it to their home. They’ve helped us grow the population of Stark buyers, solve a critical revenue bottleneck, and enhance our customer experience. We’re excited to grow in this partnership together to continue driving online and in-person sales of Stark bikes."

Anton Wass, Founder and CEO

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About Stark Future:

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Stark Future is the maker of the Varg, the world’s most performant motocross bike, and is currently one of the hottest names in the 2-wheel world. They have raised close to $200 million dollars, including from strategic partners like Royal Enfield, and recently announced positive EBITDA. The Stark team prioritized US distribution early in the company’s journey, setting up a dealer network of over 150 dealers across the US that they hoped to pair with a unified online sales channel. Word quickly spread about the market-leading performance of the Varg, and Stark Future became a household name within the global riding community (as evidenced by their more than 200 thousand Instagram followers).

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Stark Future press:

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• Stark Future On Track to Become the Fastest-Growing Startup in Spain
• Stark Future – Groundbreaking Participation in X Games
• Tested: Stark Varg
• Stark Future Instagram

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Stark’s goals:

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As demand for the Varg surged, Stark struggled to reach customers in all locations in the US. They needed a channel that would allow customers to purchase the Varg from anywhere in the US - and do so in a transparent and efficient manner.

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Problem — Standing up a compliant, optimized online channel that thoughtfully supplemented Stark’s physical dealer channel

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Stark needed to solve for the following key issues in order to establish the online channel they were hoping for:

• Esoteric state legislature: Figuring out how to deal with strict state laws across the US that make it legally prohibitive for certain entities to consummate vehicle sales
• Per-sale regulatory minutiae: Understanding and complying with the complicated regulatory requirements involved with processing new vehicle sales across all 50 states, at scale (tax, fees, signature workflows, DMVs, etc.)
• Symbiosis with the physical channel: Making sure that the online channel provided local physical retailers a way to participate in the upside of the revenue expansion that online sales would bring‍
• Critical components of vehicle Checkout: Ensure online buyers have access to retail financing that can be guaranteed and contracted quickly, as well as assistance with state-specific titling & registration

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Solution — Ekho’s turn-key online vehicle Checkout

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Working with Ekho enabled Stark to immediately address their growing sales bottleneck within weeks of a signed contract. Our teams were also able to align on a long-term strategy that will ensure physical retailers share in the upside of online sales expansion.

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Challenges solved by Ekho:

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"As a tech-first manufacturer, being able to interact with Ekho’s Sales Processing Engine programmatically was table stakes. Fortunately, with Ekho’s APIs, we were able to do this, automating the vehicle-specific tasks that are involved in each US sale"

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• Speed to Market: Stark was able to go live with online sales in all 50 states just two weeks after signing a contract with Ekho.
• Looping in dealers: By utilizing Ekho’s comprehensive suite of API endpoints, Stark was able to automate operational tasks, such as VIN assignment andcreation of dealership pick up locations, allowing them to seamlessly integrate their nationwide dealership network into Ekho’s Checkout and ensure dealers get paid for network participation.

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"Thanks to Ekho, we could close deals in a matter of minutes, turning potential leads into sales faster than ever before."

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• Conversion optimization: Ekho’s optimized Checkout enabled Stark to close unprecedented volume during launch weekend and beyond.

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"We were impressed by Ekho's ability to handle large volumes right out of the gates.”

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• Handling sales at scale: Ekho's platform handled massive volumes that came in over launch weekend, processing millions of dollars of sales over just a few days.
• Automation of sales minutiae: Ekho's API suite allowed Stark to automate many of the cumbersome parts of processing a new vehicle sale

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The Future — New models, increased automation, and standardizing the buying experience across retail contexts

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“Ekho not only powered our initial success but has also laid the foundation for our future growth in the US. We’re excited about this partnership as we continue to grow our US presence, bringing our cutting-edge electric bikes to riders across the nation.”

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Looking ahead, Stark is excited to leverage Ekho as a unified sales platform to power a consistent, optimized purchase experience across online and in-person transactions. This will come with deeper integration with their extensive dealership network that sees physical partners as a key piece of the DTC purchase experience.