What inspired Vassilis to venture into creating and operating software specifically tailored for car rental businesses?
What motivates him both personally and as a leader?
What key milestones mark his successful journey spanning three decades?
Vassilis Devletoglou is the Founder and CEO of Wheelsys, a Greek software company specializing in the management of various car rental operations.
Why did he choose the car rental industry in his early twenties during the late 90s? It was during his master's program in technology and yield management that he discovered the complexity and fascination of car rental operations. In December 2003, he introduced the first functional software that clients could fully utilize.
"The disparity in quality between Vassilis personally handling a task and micromanaging a team to do it his way is merely 5%." However, this micromanagement consumes opportunities for business expansion. Granting the Wheelsys team autonomy allows the company to operate successfully on its own.
The success isn't solely attributed to Wheelsys being good software, but rather to their ongoing commitment to creativity and weekly updates, continuously enhancing their operating system. They are not content with staying within their comfort zone. As an example, Vassilis Devletoglou made the bold decision to transition Wheelsys entirely to a web-based version, while many competitors still operated on local servers or maintained both options.
How do you prepare for such a significant change in the operating system? A successful migration begins with management's commitment to the switch and a thorough understanding of internal strengths and weaknesses. It goes beyond merely signing a contract and paying a fee. Success hinges on the team's dedication, supported by the management team. It requires stepping out of the company's comfort zone, and it's essential not to expect operations to continue in the same way as before. Engaging a consulting firm can significantly facilitate communication between the client and the supplier.
Let make things by the staff that technology can not do.
Vassilis Devletoglou on linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilis-devletoglou/
Timeline
- 0:00:00 to 0:08:00 Introduction of Vassilis Devletoglou
- 0:08:00 to 0:17:00 Vassilis history as software engineer who focused on car software
- 0:17:00 to 0:26:40 Vassilis first rental experiences in 2001 to explore the process
- 0:26:40 to 0:36:15 2004, Olympic games and first 5 clients followed by 30
- 0:36:15 to 0:42:30 Hiring: no coincidence in two persons matching
- 0:42:30 to 0:52:00 Sharing values but no micro-managing
- 0:52:00 to 1:04:45 Internationalization and migration as a webapp
- 1:04:45 to 1:25:10 How to prepare a system migration with success
- 1:25:10 to 1:43:45 The future of the operating system
- 1:04:45 to 1:52:28 Impact of electric fleet
- 1:52:28 to end How does Vassilis continue to learn, conclusion
References
- Avance.gr
- Greenmotion
- Migration journey from Denis Maure, Sepamat Europcar Atlantic, Podcast #10
- The Infinite Game from Simon Sinek
- The 5am Club from Robin Sharma
This podcast is produced by WeYield, the revenue management company dedicated to the car rental industry.
