Today we’d like to introduce you to Amir Ghorbani and Peter Evenson.
Swoop was born in a friend group similar to many startups. Much of the team grew up in the South Bay, in El Segundo, California, and the two founders, Pete and Amir, went to the same high school and have known each other since they were 13.
Amir comes from a transportation background — he can remember helping his parents at their company — at five, he was licking envelopes to send to potential partners.
Pete and Amir had a core group of friends and every weekend, a bunch of them would get together and find a reason to celebrate. As far as transportation, it always took at least two of the friends to step up and order multiple Ubers or Lyfts to get everyone to their destination. This dilemma created a frustrating roadblock in the flow of fun. Fast-forward a few months: some of the friends got together and analyzed both the ridesharing and group transportation industries. They noticed a gap in how groups of six or more must rely on ordering multiple rideshare vehicles or reserve a limousine. The limousine business is somewhat dated and, even in a $24B industry, there’s no clear-cut leader.
Swoop believes your experience getting to and from the event is just as important as the event itself. While the Swoop model has shifted from an “Uber for Buses” to an “Airbnb for Group Transportation,” their focus on incredible customer experience remains the priority.
Swoop has drafted a few more players to the team and they’re training every day in hopes of making it to the big leagues. While plenty of work needs to be done, Swoop strongly believes the company is well on its way to creating the top platform for group transportation. The Swoop team includes the two co-founders, Pete and Amir, Tyler Montz, Head of Ops, Engineers Irving Barajas and Mike Shobe and George Renfro, Head of Design. All are hard at work formulating the new Swoop Marketplace platform, slated to launch in early 2018.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When we first started Swoop, it was by no means perfect. In August of 2016, Swoop was basically an Uber for buses — providing users with on-demand access to customized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans. The initial Swoop app was bare-bones: users were able to see if Swoops were in their area and book through the app or through our concierge service (also known as Tyler). In the beginning, everyone on the Swoop team took turns driving. Fulfilling on-demand and advanced requests was hectic. From app malfunctions to user confusion, there were more than a few bumps in the road. However, once users rode in their first Swoop, it was easy for them to see the inherent value. Getting people into Swoop vans became our main agenda. Fortunately for us, people were coming back and using the app. Despite its UX and questionable Google API recognition, the app brought you a vehicle.
Humans are social organisms — animals who, for the most part, like to be together, and sometimes even talk to each other. People told people about Swoop. With user interest on the rise, the team lasered in on the Swoop experience, growth opportunities, and chaos control.
What we noticed was people loved Swoop, but the model was tough to scale. Swoop has always put user experience on a pedestal and began tracking ways to elevate “good time emotions” even more. The dance-all-night groups go with Swoop like bread and butter, but we knew there were many more fixin’s we needed to make our product successful.
Please tell us about Swoop.
Swoop is a mobility platform designed to connect trusted transportation providers to any group, for any type of event, while delivering an entire suite of tailored services. People love the idea of being with their friends, family or their co-workers, but they wanted more — to search by vehicle type (e.g. party bus, shuttle bus, charter van), vehicle amenities (Wi-Fi, bar, sound system, karaoke), have transparent pricing and seamless booking tools, and they were willing to book in advance. So, we shifted our model to more of an Expedia or Airbnb for group transportation. Swoop is creating a centralized platform offering customer transparency across products and pricing, as well as crafting an experience within group transportation. Millions of people travel in groups to concerts, festivals, bars and nightlife, company events, off-sites and retreats, sporting events, weddings, city tours, and wineries. Very often, the process of reserving group travel is arduous. Swoop’s mission is to make it easy – and fun.
We’re proud that we’re developing a community and forming partnerships that get people closer and deeper into the experiences they love. Swoop is a direct reflection of its audience: forward-looking, inspiring, inclusive, opting for something adventurous in a world of sameness. We’ve been able to work with some incredible companies like Twitter, SpaceX, Airbnb, Nike, Golden Voice, CAA, and Malibu Wines/Safaris. Swoop’s beneficence is what truly sets us apart. We’re building a community (75% of our business comes from customers who have used Swoop) that loves our company and our brand. Our company puts the customer first and our focus as we scale is to always keep it that way.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Peter: I grew up playing basketball in Compton, Watts, and Crenshaw, and was the only white kid on my basketball team for 10 years. This is a memory that will last forever, and an experience that has led me to keeping in touch with fellow coaches and players today.
Amir: Playing Professional Counter-strike.
Pricing:
- Swoops start at $8/person!
- All inclusive Malibu Wines and Safaris Packages starting at $59/person!
Contact Info:
- Address: 5151 w rosecrans ave, hawthorne ca 90250
- Website: www.swoopapp.com
- Phone: 310-263-0550
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/swoop
- Facebook: facebook.com/theswoopapp
- Twitter: twitter.com/theswoopapp
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/swoop-los-angeles-2
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
