Jillian Anderson discovered that in her late-night Uber drives in Atlanta, she would usually encounter girls who’d felt protected together with her, and requested her driving companies outdoors of the app.
This sparked a million-dollar thought.
“After hearing those requests over and over again, I finally started listening to a podcast called How I Built This. And when I found out that it only took two people to found Lyft and Uber, everything clicked from there. And I’ve been locked in ever since.”
Alongside good friend and co-founder DeVynne Starks, HERide was birthed in March 2020, with the mission of prioritizing the protection and empowerment of girls. “Built with the needs of women in mind, we aim to improve the lives of women everywhere through safe transportation, job creation, and financial security,” the web site reads.
Anderson and Starks mentioned their drivers are personally vetted and bear complete background checks. The founders additionally mentioned their drivers are paid greater than the trade customary and incentivized to supply riders a premium expertise each time.
The premise is right. But like most revolutionary concepts, it got here with some pushback.
“We’ve had some people say its discriminatory because our platform prioritizes women drivers,” Anderson defined. “We’ve even had some men lie on their driver applications despite it being made clear that this is a company only for those that identify as a woman.”
Starks mentioned the challenges are an indication for extra greatness to come back.
“We’re both very firm believers in shaking the table. Someone has to be the first to do it. And although we may not be the first women-owned and focused rideshare app, I think we are the first to have a very specific call to action behind what it is that we are hoping to educate people on.”
In the final two years, the app has been downloaded greater than 26,000 occasions a powerful feat for the reason that founders mentioned they haven’t spent a lot on advertising and marketing.
“It’s mostly been word-of-mouth and earned media,” Starks mentioned, who additionally serves as HERide’s head of communications.
Although the app serves solely the Atlanta-area proper now, there are plans to broaden internationally.
“We are in the midst of fundraising and only plan to raise $1.5M,” Anderson mentioned. An intentional technique she set as a result of each Uber and Lyft’s founders raised that very same quantity and managed to develop globally.
“HERide is just the beginning,” Anderson mentioned. “We are here to empower women one ride at a time.”