Employer stories: My Auto Shop

Tell us a bit about My Auto Shop.

My Auto Shop kicked off in early 2020 with the goal of making car maintenance easier for Kiwis. Sensing an opportunity in the archaic automotive repair space, My Auto Shop was founded by former GM of Uber Eats, Andy Bowie, alongside University of Auckland students Paul Rassie, Sasha Mates and Vincent Wong. Another strong addition to the team came in October with Richard Wafer, former COO at My Food Bag.

We’ve quickly become New Zealand's largest auto repair marketplace. With 290+ bookable independent workshops, ranging from general repairs, tyres, glass and auto-electrical. Some of our awesome network partners include automotive giants: The MTA, VTNZ, Novus Glass and Carters Tyres.

The information asymmetry between the customer and mechanic is a massive problem to solve. My Auto Shop has tackled this by developing an innovative tech stack to bring transparent upfront pricing tailored to a customer's car within a few clicks. Workshops have their own custom built SaaS management platform called MechanicHub, to ensure all bookings go seamlessly for themselves and customers.

The dream of making car maintenance that much easier was greatly boosted by Trade Me, who invested in the business in July 2021. Teaming up with New Zealand’s largest marketplace means that the 670,000 Kiwis who visit Trade Me motors each day will have access to vehicle maintenance now too. Customers are at the heart of all of our decision making, customer aroha is also incredibly important to Trade Me too, so it was easy to find alignment in our values.

What types of roles do you recruit for and what traits do you look for in candidates?

Being a tech start-up means most of our roles are unique, you’ll be doing something no one else in NZ is currently doing. We are constantly looking to expand our tech and operations team with full-time or part-time roles.

We are looking for individuals who are happy to get their hands dirty in growing our business, who have proven themselves outside of university grades. A self-starting ability is something we always strive to find. Showing interest in something outside of university grades and acting on this urge is key. Being a fast learner and having the ability to adapt to change quickly is essential. Working in a start-up there is no script or playbook, you’ll have a lot of responsibility and autonomy in any role.

Why would students want to work for My Auto Shop?

Three University of Auckland students were at the core of founding My Auto Shop, while still at uni! Forget your master’s degree, working at a start-up is the equivalent to a master’s in entrepreneurship. You’ll pick up invaluable skills you can’t learn in any other situation, which will put you miles ahead for other endeavours.

There is no hierarchy for ideas at My Auto Shop. No matter what your role is or how many hours you work a week, you’ll be responsible for owning a certain project or system, which is something you can’t achieve through your traditional student part-time role.

Can you tell us more about your recruitment process and what students should expect?

Our recruitment process is super relaxed compared to major firms, but this doesn’t mean it’s any less challenging. You won’t come up against any cognitive tests or assessments. After looking through your CV and chatting on the phone, we’ll line up a time in the office for an interview with our hiring managers. Afterwards, you’ll have a chat with the rest of the crew at My Auto Shop. At your interview we’ll ask challenging critical thinking questions related to My Auto Shop and problems we are currently facing.

One of our last hires came from a chance email sent to our general email inbox. We’re always open to individuals eager to learn.