The ubiquity of smart mobile devices paired with an increasingly digitized marketplace and a user expectation for simple and intuitive mobile apps has created a slate of new opportunities for entrepreneurs.
UBER, an industry leader in innovative, mobile-enabled solutions, capitalized on this trend by introducing #UberPITCH, a novel and creative concept which enables entrepreneurs to connect easily with venture capitalists — a Pitch on Wheels.
Lisa Russell, a 30-year veteran in the apartment/rental industry, had been toying with the idea of developing a mobile app to streamline manual processes and monetize the transactional process involved in the apartment/rental marketplace. Drawing from her solid understanding of the complexities involved in operating and managing rentals/apartments, her vision is to create a mobile app that provides a better experience and easy-to-use interface while seamlessly serving vendors’, owners’ and tenants’ dynamic needs.
So why now? Recent advancements in smartphone technologies, cloud computing, IoT and Big Data analytics enables a paradigm shift in the way next-gen mobile applications are developed and delivered. Russell wants to harness the power of these latest technologies to create a feature-rich app for the apartment/rental marketplace.
Russell validated her mobile application development feasibility and sustainability with the Copper Mobile team. And, the only way to successfully build a home-run app with the features she required was to obtain outside funding.
Enter Dallas #UberPITCH: On March 3, 2016, the Dallas Entrepreneur Center and UBER teamed up to offer free ride to potential investors and self-starters like Lisa. The UberPitch rides were available from 11 am to 2 pm CST. Dallas riders were able to select the “Pitch” option on the Uber app on that day. An Uber SUV would pull up to your location with a venture capitalist, and each rider got 15 minutes for their pitch. The investors asked questions, gave immediate feedback and decided whether or not to pursue the idea.
Here is Russell’s UberPITCH experience, in her own words:
“I was very excited to learn that UberPITCH was coming to Dallas. VC coming to your doorstep rather than other way around seemed like a novel approach. I used the #UberPITCH app and requested to do a VC pitch. Around 11.30am CST on March 3, 2016 I got picked up at Starbucks near Lemon Ave. I got 15 minutes to pitch and had a conversation with Christopher Mayo who helps to evaluate investment opportunities for Aristos Ventures, a Dallas-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology companies. We had a great conversation.”
Thanks to #UberPITCH and the Dallas Entrepreneur Center, Russell was given the opportunity to come back in couple of weeks with a more detailed business and execution plan.
Our world class team will be partnering with Russell to strategize the end-to-end concept, develop the app, and help her with the go-to-market strategy.
We’ll keep you posted on Russell’s exciting journey. Meanwhile, if you need a strategic partner to build your enterprise mobile application, contact us.
