Thanks for the lively discussions. I am the co-founder of fleetzen. We are a two-person startup that went live about 4 weeks back and now we are in the process of operationalizing it. Like many of you have mentioned we have a long list of operational and technical challenges to consider and address and I really appreciate you for the time and thoughts.
As a business we create value for three main constituents.
For customers – The core experience we want to deliver is that a driver/helper with a vehicle is available at the pickup location in less than 30 minutes, on-demand, regardless of the source of request (be it stores, Craigslist, an estate sale, or an apartment etc.,) and we want to offer the service at a competitive price. They no longer have to ask favors from their friends or wait for days for the stores to deliver, or drive to rental places such as U-Haul. It will be a “cab” like experience for moving stuff. It is convenient, saves ton of time and less expensive than other alternatives.
For drivers – A 2nd or 3rd job, an opportunity to make some additional income while doing some of the similar work that they used to do for free or as favors in the past. They are not the cab drivers who wait around the block. We do envision a world where, if we are successful in generating volume, they might wait around the block which could cut down our time to arrival. But we are long away from getting there.
Businesses - The direct effect of the above to the businesses and sellers is that, goods clear the shop floors faster with little to no overhead to them and probably increased sales.
Let me try to address some of the comments below.
CDL: As tzs mentioned our drivers do not need CDL to provide services. Washington state DOL has a nice flowchart at http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/cdlrequired.html that can help you understand how we meet this requirement. We do not carry super heavy goods and most of the items can be carried by two people (just like you and your buddy would). Pickups are not designed to carry loads that breaches this criteria.
Insurance: I cannot probably cover all the aspects of this subject here. We are in the process of procuring insurance for the Cargo that our drivers carry and it will meet or beat the state requirements. As some of you have mentioned the damage to the goods is likely and we will be able to address it. What separates us from likes of Uber in terms of liability is that we do not let the customers ride with the drivers. If we did, it will put us in a whole different category of transport (a taxi) and liability exposure. Basically we do not expose customers to any accidents on the road. For these reasons we are less risky from insurance company stand point.
Trust: Chance of drivers stealing customer’s stuff is highly unlikely. The drivers go though a rigorous background check (criminal plus driving history) and we ensure that there is nothing in their past that could be damaging to the customers or to fleetzen as a brand. They are as trustworthy as any outsourced help you hire. In addition we review the driver performance on a regular basis.
Permits/registration etc.,: Fleetzen, in it’s current form, is a “buddy with the truck” concept. The drivers are not movers per se. They do not provide any packing services etc.,. When customer books the service, they get a vehicle and one driver/helper. We are relying on the requirements listed at http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=480-15-181 that exempts them from needing a household goods permit. It is essentially a customer assisted move. That is one way we are able to provide a great experience at a competitive price. We have business license to operate in Washington and we are Delaware corporation.
About Uber: Never even for once we think that Uber cannot roll-out something similar to fleetzen and crush us. They have the resources (financial and technical :)). They have an incredible infrastructure that can reach a customer in matter of 5 minutes and that is enabling them to unlock plethora of customer scenarios. Most of their “non-car” based offerings (ice cream trucks, mariachi bands, pets etc.,) have all been delivered through partnerships. The closest they have come to moving is when they partnered with Bellhops, who only provide muscles for your moving needs. As far as we know the market for large item delivery using an Uber like model is still in it’s early stages with few other players including us are trying to solve.
Technical recommendations: Thanks for the suggestions on SSL, email, tips. We will look into it.
Contacts: We are a registered Delaware corp with address at 701 5th Ave, STE 4200 Seattle. Our toll free number is 1-844-329-3299
As a business we create value for three main constituents.
For customers – The core experience we want to deliver is that a driver/helper with a vehicle is available at the pickup location in less than 30 minutes, on-demand, regardless of the source of request (be it stores, Craigslist, an estate sale, or an apartment etc.,) and we want to offer the service at a competitive price. They no longer have to ask favors from their friends or wait for days for the stores to deliver, or drive to rental places such as U-Haul. It will be a “cab” like experience for moving stuff. It is convenient, saves ton of time and less expensive than other alternatives.
For drivers – A 2nd or 3rd job, an opportunity to make some additional income while doing some of the similar work that they used to do for free or as favors in the past. They are not the cab drivers who wait around the block. We do envision a world where, if we are successful in generating volume, they might wait around the block which could cut down our time to arrival. But we are long away from getting there.
Businesses - The direct effect of the above to the businesses and sellers is that, goods clear the shop floors faster with little to no overhead to them and probably increased sales.
Let me try to address some of the comments below.
CDL: As tzs mentioned our drivers do not need CDL to provide services. Washington state DOL has a nice flowchart at http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/cdlrequired.html that can help you understand how we meet this requirement. We do not carry super heavy goods and most of the items can be carried by two people (just like you and your buddy would). Pickups are not designed to carry loads that breaches this criteria.
Insurance: I cannot probably cover all the aspects of this subject here. We are in the process of procuring insurance for the Cargo that our drivers carry and it will meet or beat the state requirements. As some of you have mentioned the damage to the goods is likely and we will be able to address it. What separates us from likes of Uber in terms of liability is that we do not let the customers ride with the drivers. If we did, it will put us in a whole different category of transport (a taxi) and liability exposure. Basically we do not expose customers to any accidents on the road. For these reasons we are less risky from insurance company stand point.
Trust: Chance of drivers stealing customer’s stuff is highly unlikely. The drivers go though a rigorous background check (criminal plus driving history) and we ensure that there is nothing in their past that could be damaging to the customers or to fleetzen as a brand. They are as trustworthy as any outsourced help you hire. In addition we review the driver performance on a regular basis.
Permits/registration etc.,: Fleetzen, in it’s current form, is a “buddy with the truck” concept. The drivers are not movers per se. They do not provide any packing services etc.,. When customer books the service, they get a vehicle and one driver/helper. We are relying on the requirements listed at http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=480-15-181 that exempts them from needing a household goods permit. It is essentially a customer assisted move. That is one way we are able to provide a great experience at a competitive price. We have business license to operate in Washington and we are Delaware corporation.
About Uber: Never even for once we think that Uber cannot roll-out something similar to fleetzen and crush us. They have the resources (financial and technical :)). They have an incredible infrastructure that can reach a customer in matter of 5 minutes and that is enabling them to unlock plethora of customer scenarios. Most of their “non-car” based offerings (ice cream trucks, mariachi bands, pets etc.,) have all been delivered through partnerships. The closest they have come to moving is when they partnered with Bellhops, who only provide muscles for your moving needs. As far as we know the market for large item delivery using an Uber like model is still in it’s early stages with few other players including us are trying to solve.
Technical recommendations: Thanks for the suggestions on SSL, email, tips. We will look into it.
Contacts: We are a registered Delaware corp with address at 701 5th Ave, STE 4200 Seattle. Our toll free number is 1-844-329-3299