From organising star-studded parties to becoming a global brand ambassador for Prosecco Casanova, an Italian wine brand, and venturing into private jets and car hire, Ikenna Ordor is all about the luxurious lifestyle.
Ordor is a prominent provider of the ultimate luxurious experience and has a robust clientele of prominent clients he has serviced across his business venture. These include Drake, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Trey Songz, P-Diddy, Tiwa Savage, Mr Eazi, Dj Cuppy, 2 Face and Banky Wellington. He undoubtedly holds the wheel to the luxurious lifestyle lived by a few and wished by many, but this was all borne out of passion.
“When I enjoy an activity or a service, there is a natural calling to want to share experiences with my network, which births thoughts of the feasibility of the opportunity and the financials – I am an adventurous entrepreneur, and I tend to press GO very quickly on new ideas. That is how I created Starr Luxury, a company I have been running for five years,” he told Ventures Africa.
Renowned for his on-demand Luxury car hire service – Starr Luxury Cars, the Nigerian-born serial entrepreneur is ready to take over the $15 billion luxury car rental market, projected to reach $311 billion by 2028.
Starr Luxury Cars boasts the largest fleet of luxury cars and owns an exclusive fleet in the United Kingdom. According to Ordor, the company has access to vehicles worth over £150 million. Ordor clarified that the company does not own the vehicles, therefore its scalability is unhindered.
A business of this kind would definitely require a significant amount of finance, however, Ordor said it is not as intensive as generally perceived. His finance is primarily bootstrapped. He explained, “Every tech company has time to raise capital. I have chosen “proof of concept” first, and now as a thriving business, I believe the time is now for any investor to be part of a unicorn business at its infant stage, of which aggressive growth has a trajectory of a billion valuation within the next five years,”
Starr luxury car is second to none and is better said to be the only one in its space. The reason is not far-fetched. No luxury car hire platform operates an all-encompassing luxury car hire service. The platform permits instant booking of luxury cars for self-drive and offers a luxury chauffeur and driver on-demand service. Simply put, the platform is one hub for all luxury travel options by road.
“There is no platform or luxury car hire platform that operates a 360 luxury car hire service. I think we are unique as a company, and because we are that one-stop shop, people tend to be able to identify us as unique in our space,” Ordor said.
These great service offerings, branding, and good reputation built over the years with a great SEO made the platform record an online user growth rate of 100 per cent per annum. Ordor believes the future is digital. So on an augmented scale, the business has a state-of-the-art app in the pipeline to give clients and members immediate access to book supercars and chauffeur services globally. “This digital support will create a heightened seamless service. With the app, clients can make and get requests immediately rather than waiting for feedback from a company representative,” he said.
These exceptional services put the company at a vantage point for collaboration which is pivotal for its business. One of its most recent collaborations is with Hotel Café Royal, a five-star hotel in the UK that has partnered to offer supercar experiences to clients staying in their signature suite. The collaboration is the first of its kind across the globe that would have a supercar hire company and a five-star hotel integrating signature suites with supercar experiences.
The transportation sector, where Starr Luxury Cars operates, accounts for 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions globally, making it one of the colossal contributors to emissions. The emission from fossil fuels has adverse effects on the environment. Consequently, there have been efforts to start using electricity as a transportation fuel. A McKinsey report reveals battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) will be dominant across all luxury-segment tiers by 2031. As Starrs luxury thrives, so is its consciousness to reduce its carbon footprints. Like many businesses globally, the platform embeds climate-smart policies and practices in its operations.
“Zero-emissions is a mission we are championing. And we are perfectly positioned to demand more from our partner operators, as we encourage them to switch to electric and hybrid cars for the market. We also need the manufacturers to immediately increase the electric offering as well as the experience of using an electric car just so you do not feel like you are losing out on the experience of typical sounds of enjoying the V8 engine behind when you drive,” Ordor explained.
Also, because its service discourages the purchase of new supercars, promotes less ownership, and fosters renting, emission reduces. Lesser cars on the road translate to reduced emissions. On the flip side, less ownership of luxury cars is perceived as disadvantageous to luxury car manufacturers, but every industry needs to undergo evolution as Ordor noted. “Some manufacturers are already offering the rental service on their own accord. We are of the school of thought that within the next five years, most luxury manufacturers will explore launching a rental service or require a platform to partner with and launch this service. We are the only company perfectly positioned for such partnerships,” he explained.
The company’s growth trajectory and expansion are not devoid of challenges. Recruiting great talents for its service offering has been a challenge, and this is not unrelated to the shrinking global workforce caused by the pandemic.
Progressively, Starr Luxury Car would venture into the US, starting with cities like Miami and Los Angeles. Its tentacles of expansion will also touch the UAE and other parts of Europe. Africa is also on Ordor’s radar. He asserts Africa is creating a great ecosystem for the automotive industry by improving infrastructure with better roads and permits for car lovers to enjoy the luxury of driving supercars. According to him, music artists like Davido and his fleet of luxury cars are a sign and encouragement for the popularity of luxury cars on the continent. “For Africa and Nigeria, we need to map out the cities and countries to be present in. Being a Nigerian myself, I already know the terrain. I already know we want to offer the chauffeur service in Lagos and a combination of supercar rental and chauffeur in Abuja. When the time is right, we will be present in Africa and Nigeria,” he said.
Beyond cars, the Starr Luxury brand is into real estate and private jet hire, with over 2,000 charters and a five-star rating. Interestingly, Ordor hints he would be revisiting his hospitality background, a decision reignited by a trip to Miami. “My team has put together a plan to relaunch in hospitality. They are working on a brilliant concept to launch beautiful and vibrant rooftop concerts in the UK and beyond,” Ordor stated.
