Friday, April 30, 2021

#AtoZChallenge - Zoomcar

This is the last in the month-long series -- Blogging from A to Z April Challenge -- one post a day, except the four Sundays. I was posting on features related to my current place of residence, Bengaluru, formerly called by its anglicised version Bangalore. 

A big thank you for stopping by and keying in your comments. I'll follow up on the blogs and posts that I have missed as we get on the road trip from tomorrow. 

See you soon! And take care!

Zoomcar is the first self-drive car rental company in India. It was founded in Bengaluru in 2013, not by Indians, but by two Americans, David Back and Greg Moran. It's like the Zipcar services in the US.

That was a time when many Indians, who had gone to the US for studies and then worked for some time there, were returning home with entrepreneurial dreams and founded startups. 

One of the early examples was Anshuman Bapna, who did his MBA from Stanford, later quit his job with Google in New York, and moved back to Bengaluru to start Mygola, a travel planner in 2009. 

Mygola in a few years was doing so well that some of the world's biggest venture capitalists like Blumberg Capital and Helion Venture Partners were pumping in money. After six years Mygola was acquired by Makemytrip and all its employees moved to the new firm.

Even Americans were moving to India to set up companies, and among them were David Back and Greg Moran, who had met at the University of Pennsylvania from where they graduated. 

This what David Back had to say in a programme on PBS in 2014.

You know, it's being separated from our parents. For me, it's being– separated from my girlfriend for a year and a half. I think that's the real opportunity cost. It's still worth it, though. The scale of the opportunity here, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Greg Morga said:

I mean, we are still young. We're both under 30. We're not married. But we were very fortunate in the fact that for us at least, it was the perfect time in our lives.

Two years later, David Back resigned from the firm and returned to the US.

Zoomcar started with seven cars and now they operate in 28 cities with over 6,500 cars, with an average of around 3,000 rides daily. 

There are many other players too: like Driezy, Carzonrent, Ola Drive etc. But Zoomcar is pinning its hopes high. In this interview last week, Greg Morgan says:  

We are already seeing a 400% rise in demand and we expect this to settle down at 200-300% over the next few months. People are now looking for shorter-term mobility access as opposed to a long-term investment. As people would avoid public transport to keep themselves safe from contracting the virus, the need for rental cars will only go up.

(This concludes the A2ZChallenge.)

25 comments:

  1. Congratulations Pradeep on successfully completing another year of A2Z challenge.

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    1. Thank you, Rajan. Somehow managed it since there were so many other official and personal commitments. Maybe I should have planned and scheduled the posts in advance.

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  2. Hari Om
    I had a look at that site - there are rental companies around here who might benefit from studying that rental model!!! Fuel cashback? That's incredible and a definite drawcard. Transparent pricing... Well done Zoom car!!! (And I am so glad that's what it turned out to be and not that other zoom that has risen to fame of late &*P)

    Congrats on reaching the full alphabet - it has been fun, as always! YAM xx

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    1. Hi Yamini - Cashback is a very common incentive here. Chasing deadlines is always good fun!

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  3. Congratulations Pradeep. You did it!
    I've learnt a lot about BLR from your posts this month.
    I hope you and your family are all well.
    Keep safe and well and hope to see you again soon:)

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    1. Hi Arti - Thank you. Ya it was good fun!
      Yes, we are doing well. Tks.
      We just got to know today's figures: 48,296 new cases in Karnataka; out of which 26,756 are in Bengaluru. That's huge jump from yesterday.
      The effects of the lockdown will show up only a week later.

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  4. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who'd like a self-driving car. I know I wouldn't mind one.

    Hope you're safe!

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  5. Thank you for the tour, and these interesting facts about Bengaluru. Congratulations on completing the challenge!
    Take care and stay healthy

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  6. Thanks Mr. Pradeep. Each one of the posts was interesting, enjoyable to read and left us richer in knowledge. A very commendable collection for all especially for those interested in Bengaluru

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  7. Hi Pradeep - congratulations on finishing on the Z for Zoom car ... sounds an amazing start-up which is being successful. I've enjoyed your posts and learnt a lot.

    Stay safe - and I feel for everyone in your homeland ... so difficult ... I've an American friend in Mumbai, and a blogging friend in Kolkata ... and really appreciate their posts - congratulations in reaching Z ... Hilary

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    1. I found many typos hence deleted!!

      The only zoom I have known is the platform we all have been using since 2020! Congratulations on completing the challenge. Will drop by and read the posts I missed. See you around. Stay safe

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  9. Zoom car... the name rings a bell somewhere ... Congratulations on completing the challenge


    https://pagesfromjayashree.blogspot.com/2021/04/y-for-yule-ball.html

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  10. They saw a need in the market...

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  11. I love the name Zoom car, Pradeep! I need to catch up on your A to Z posts, though. They look interesting! Do keep safe, won’t you? The stories we are reading here are awful, but I know India is a huge country, so .i hope it’s not too bad where you are!

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    1. Hi Vallypee - Thank you. Things are generally okay here.

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  12. Congratulations on completing the challenge. I vaguely remembering reading about zoomcar. Have to look up again though.

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  13. Congratulations for completing the AtoZ challenge. I had never heard of a ZoomCar. One of the reasons I love this challenge so much. We get to learn something new every day. I’m a little behind with my comments but I sure hope we can encourage each other throughout the year by popping in for a visit now and then. And can’t wait for another round next year.
    Have a great day!
    Cheers,
    Crackerberries

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    1. Hi Crackerberries - Thank you. Yes, I also got to know a lot through this April series.

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  14. Interesting, yet again. Well done on the challenge!

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  15. Great effort completing another AtoZ Challenge Pradeep - a big accomplishment to tick it off every year. Really interesting topic to finish on and something I had no idea about - I love how I learn new stuff as I cruise around the blogosphere.

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    1. Hi Leanne - Thank you. Glad you liked the posts.

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