A group of fatty for young people attract funds from Ridshare App, Mark Cuban, YC

When he was a senior at the Texas A&M University, Matthew Eomi realized that there were no good options for transporting groups of people. The colleague went on for the night together with the students of the College Ledge, with the same feature, access to sexuality, and a typical ride-hail platform such as Uber and Lift, there was no access to the demand ride.

“Once you hit those six to seven (person) marks, you had to take partition and multiple cars, which are inefficient and not best for durability. Plus it is a secondary experience because not everyone can ride together, “now 25 -year -old Emomi told Techcranch. “Another option was to reserve a charter vehicle days or weeks in advance.”

The latter choice usually pays for more hours than the group needs to ride, there is no easy way to split the payment among friends.

In 2020, he and his co-founder Justin Rath decided to use a party bus and experiment to create an on-demand group Ridshare service, which serves between seven to 14 passengers. They named it NearbyFrench marine word for expansion of one’s family.

“We choose to say that the mantra of Ridshare is bringing people together,” IMy said.

Five years later, FTI now claims to operate in 68 cities in six states, including Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix and Scotsdale, and transports more than 200,000 passengers per month. And when Fetii provides the ability to reserve rides in advance, Eomi says that the majority is -75% to 80%-at the time.

AUST Stein -based startups closed with the lead by Mark Cuban, with the participation of Y Cambinator, Goodwater Capital and others. FETI will use that money to expand the new markets including Florida, California and Massachusetts.

For young people, by young people

The first startup to build a business around a group ride is not FETI. Years ago, there was PeopleA travel shuttle startup that Ford got in 2016 before, before, before Closing it in 2019. Iomi explains that chariot focus on employee and commuter rides is a difficult model because it requires service for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening.

In 2022, Uber launched Uber charter In partnership with the US coachways, the application was busted quietly as a way to help the riders book party buses and passenger van.

These failures were lessons for Eomi and Chariot. Some of the children of the College Ledge were to boottrap, “Millions of dollars were found in the city without burning, as these ridshare companies usually raise this huge round and just try to kill it.” Is “

Instead of targeting corporate events, wedding or other use cases, charter companies usually focus on the beginning, with FETI honoring students of Callege Ledge.

“I think it’s the biggest thing that people who don’t find it before us. It is to create a service and brand that is more equipped with young adults and people who gather more often in groups. ”

Most of the fatty riders are between 21 and 30 years old, and the use of platforms ranges from night and night to wedding and sports games. Fetii also provides rides for corporate events, conferences and groups rather than festive.

“They are using us several times a week, whether they are just going out with friends or they have a formal pioneering or an event or anything like that,” Emmi said.

Thinking through the payment system was also a unique challenge for FETI.

“When it shows the van, the (riders) salary is like a lime and a bird by scanning the QR code, so everyone in the group – one person puts the whole payment down and hope they pay back – can pay their rent in person, “The typical fare is about $ 5 per person,” IMy said.

The FETI has developed a playbook for the first COLLEGE Ledge students, the FETIA scale.

“We prefer to start at universities first. We partner with many organizations, sports teams, communities, sororitis and teach us how the product is used, “he said.

The first ride is always free, which Eomi says it helps to make Fati a foundation in the college community. This allows the startup to attract drivers and ensures that there is a supply-demand balance.

Fetii uses a program called “Fetii VSP” (Vehicle Service Provider), which allows companies with their own fleets and drivers to be placed on their van fatty platform.

Once the startup co -colleges install the base in the Lejo, it expands outward. People begin to see the branded fatty van driving around and spreading the mouth. As Iyomi said, each player of the group can be converted into a customer, which can then convert others, resulting in efficient growth of healthy, cost.

In fact, it was a user, Mark Cuban’s daughter’s rave reviews, which attracted a billionaire investor and a former “shark tank” star in the fat round of fatty.

“My daughter used a fatty non -stop with her friends and tortured about it,” Cube told Tekkranch. “He told me that I should invest. So I reached Matthew and the more I heard about it, the more I liked it. “

When asked if Cuban was trying to make Offer to invest in Uber in 2009He said: “Uber was the first, so it was a different market at that time. Faty has the opportunity to be global and do something amazing. “

Iyomi told Techcranch that when he started the business, Uber or Lift Acquisition was a topic in mind as an exit strategy. It changed over time, though the FTI would still be interested in partnering with Ride-Hail Giants.

Cuban, too, did not seem to be struggling to go to the M&A route. “I always like to be obscene profitable and throw cash,” he said.