Azerbaijani Entrepreneur Launches a Single Subscription for City Parking and Reaches $40,000 in Revenue
Самир Гадиров, сооснователь Park Hub
Samir Gadirov has been launching projects across different industries since 2010. By 2019, his recycled paper products business had made $1 million, but it did not survive the pandemic. Today, he is building Park Hub, a Baku-based startup that lets drivers use different parking facilities with a single subscription. Since May 2026, Park Hub has sold $40,000 worth of subscriptions. Next up is Almaty, where the team expects to break even within its first year of operations.
For Digital Business and Astana Hub's joint project “100 Startup Stories from Central Eurasia”, Samir shared what inspired him to launch his new business, how Park Hub makes money, and why he chose Kazakhstan as the first market for international expansion.
“It’s really hard to find parking in central Baku – you keep driving around and around, but there’s nowhere to park”
– Samir, how did you get started as an entrepreneur?
– Even back in school, I was interested in projects that brought people together. I've always enjoyed meeting new people, talking to them, and organizing events. In 2010, while I was still a student, my friends and I started a Facebook group called Flashmob Azerbaijan. We organized large-scale events, and our videos racked up millions of views. At the time, Azerbaijan had only 17,000 Facebook users, and we regularly managed to get around 1,000 of them to attend our events. After completing my military service, I sold my share and left the project.
I then launched Xtreme Pro, a community for people who enjoy adventure sports. We organized activities like diving, windsurfing, snowboarding, and more, all for people with no professional training. But the business was seasonal, so I kept looking for new ideas.
Later, I launched GreenBaku, an eco-friendly startup that made corporate products from recycled paper, including notebooks, albums, and business cards. Some of Azerbaijan's biggest companies became our clients. By 2019, we'd made our first million dollars. But then the pandemic hit, corporate orders dried up, and we had to shut the business down in 2021. It was both my most successful startup and my biggest failure: the only business I wasn't able to sell or scale.
– How did Park Hub get started?
– In 2022, I joined PASHA Bank, one of Azerbaijan's largest banks, as a Senior Development Specialist. The office was right in the heart of Baku, an area packed with companies, thousands of people working there, and constant traffic jams. Finding a parking spot was really difficult. You could drive around and around and still find nothing. Parking also cost at least $10 a day, which was too expensive for most people.
My friend Orman Sultanli and I decided to do something about it, so we launched Park Hub – a single subscription for different parking facilities across the city.
Samir Gadirov and Orman Sultanli (right): personal archive
PASHA Holding has its own innovation ecosystem where employees can pitch startup ideas, and the company funds the most promising ones. We received $20,000, which we used to develop the first version of the app and pay for integration with major parking system providers. We ended up building a platform that can connect to the parking management systems used by different facilities. Today, we have eight people on our team.
We launched in Baku in May this year. That's also when I quit my job to focus entirely on Park Hub.
– How does Park Hub work?
– Drivers buy a subscription through our app and can park at any parking facility in our network. It's more convenient and cheaper than paying for parking every day.
In the app, users can see where parking facilities are located, get directions, and check how many spaces are available. They can also reserve a spot in advance, and if a parking facility is full, they won't waste time driving around looking for a space.
“Parking spaces at shopping malls sit empty until 4 p.m.”
– How much does a subscription cost, and how is it better value than paying for parking the usual way?
– People who leave their cars parked for the entire workday – around 9-10 hours – spend the most on parking. In Baku, that costs $10-13 a day, or $200-260 over 20 working days. A Park Hub subscription costs less.
We offer three subscription plans in Baku: $100, $120, and $150. The first is designed for office workers and gives them access to parking facilities from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The second allows parking for 16 hours a day, while the third offers 24/7 access.
– Why does it make financial sense for parking facility owners to work with you?
– We offer them three benefits. The first is automated subscription sales. Right now, if a driver wants a parking subscription, they have to contact the building management, sign a contract, and then make a payment every month. We take care of all that for them.
The second is extra revenue. Parking facility owners can make money from spaces that would otherwise sit empty.
The third is increased customer loyalty. With our platform, parking facility owners can offer drivers access to an entire network of parking facilities rather than just their own. It's like having a membership to a chain of gyms: you can work out near home today and near the office tomorrow.
– You mentioned that you help parking facility owners earn more revenue. How exactly does that work?
– Parking occupancy varies depending on the time of day. For example, shopping malls and hotels have plenty of empty spaces in the morning, but parking gets tight in the evening. Business centers are the opposite: their parking facilities are packed during the day but largely unused in the evening.
We connect parking facilities into a single network so drivers can use available spaces at different locations. For example, during the day, someone who works at a business center can park at a nearby shopping mall. In the evening, a shopper can use the business center's parking lot. This way, parking facility owners earn money from spaces that would otherwise go unused.
– Are all parking facility owners open to working with you? Have you faced any resistance?
– Reactions vary. Businesses in Azerbaijan tend to be quite conservative. Parking facility owners are reluctant to share data on vacant spaces or offer discounts, so we have to explain the benefits of this model. People were skeptical of Uber when it first entered the market too, but now the service is widely used.
But some agree to work with us quickly. The largest shopping mall chain in Baku immediately said they were happy to partner with us if it meant filling their parking spaces in the morning. They have 3,000 spaces that remain vacant until 4 p.m., even though their operating costs stay the same.
– What financial results have you achieved so far?
– We launched the product in May. Over the first six months, our turnover reached around $40,000 – an average of $6,000-7,000 a month.
Since our subscription covers different parking facilities, how much we earn depends on where our customers choose to park. We lose money at some locations but make a good profit at others. On average, after paying the parking facility owners, we keep 10-15% of the money generated from subscriptions.
In Baku, we currently have eight properties connected to the service, including shopping malls, hotels, and parking facilities. We have 1,400 registered users, although not all of them have purchased a paid subscription. Demand is also seasonal. In summer, many people go on vacation, so demand for parking drops. But these fluctuations are something we expected.
“In Almaty, subscriptions will start at 22,000 tenge a month”
– You started in Baku. Which markets are you planning to expand into next?
– We're looking at cities across Europe and Central Asia, and we've decided to start with Almaty.
Kazakhstan is one of the most technologically advanced markets in the region. We also have a partner here – Parqour, a Kazakhstani company that has developed a parking automation system.
Parqour gives us access to the parking facilities it works with in Baku and Almaty. In return, we recommend its solutions to building owners who don't yet have automated barriers or license plate recognition cameras. It's a gentleman's agreement between us.
– How much will subscriptions cost in Almaty?
– We'll have three pricing zones. A subscription covering parking facilities in the Zhetysu, Turksib, Auezov, and Alatau districts will cost around 22,000 tenge a month. Access to parking in the central districts will cost 33,000 tenge, while a subscription covering the entire network, including the upper business district of the city, will cost 45,000 tenge.
We're keeping our prices affordable to make it easier to enter the market. I've interviewed people who work in business centers, and they spend 40,000-50,000 tenge a month on parking just during working hours, not counting any other trips around the city.
Our advantage is that customers get more flexibility for less money. Instead of paying for a subscription to a single parking facility, they get access to several.
– When are you planning to launch in Almaty?
– By the end of this month, or possibly in early November. The app is ready – we've added a country selection option.
I'm currently looking for a co-founder in Kazakhstan. We need someone who knows Almaty well and can be based there full-time.
– What financial results are you aiming for in Kazakhstan?
– By the end of next year, we expect to sell 600 subscriptions in Almaty and break even. Park Hub is a digital product: we don't build our own parking facilities or invest in physical infrastructure. This helps us keep costs down and reach break-even faster, after which the business can start making a profit.
“We're looking to raise $150,000 for an 8% stake in our business in Kazakhstan”
– How are you preparing to enter the Kazakhstani market?
– We're currently taking part in Central Eurasia Market Entry, a 12-week international accelerator program that helps B2B startups enter the Kazakhstani market. It's a great opportunity for us to learn more about the local business environment, connect with potential partners, and prepare for our launch. At the end of the program, Astana Hub will host a Demo Day where participants can pitch their projects to potential investors.
We're looking to raise $150,000 for an 8% stake in our business in Kazakhstan. We want the Kazakhstani operation to stand on its own financially rather than depend on money from our business in Azerbaijan. We've already met with several investors. A few funds have shown interest.
We're also considering becoming an Astana Hub participant. We want to make use of all the opportunities the cluster offers to help us grow the business, including infrastructure, educational programs, expert support, and access to the tech entrepreneur community.
Astana Hub is already helping us navigate the legal side of entering the Kazakhstani market, including how to register a company and obtain an Individual Identification Number (IIN) and a digital signature.
– What are your plans for Park Hub?
– We're planning to expand into major cities. Our first targets are Almaty and Tashkent, followed by Istanbul and Tbilisi. We're also exploring opportunities in the Middle East and have already started applying to accelerator programs in Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
There's huge potential to scale because finding a parking spot is a real headache for drivers in any major city. Our startup does more than speed up processes or make digital systems easier to use. It helps solve a real problem that people deal with every day.
And we're especially happy that Almaty will be our first step beyond Azerbaijan. We're excited to offer such an important service to people in Kazakhstan, a country with which we share close ties, and we hope to build a long-term partnership.