Green and affordable: That's CleverShuttle's motto. The ride-hailing service places great emphasis on efficiency and environmental friendliness. Founder and CEO Bruno Ginnuth revealed the business model to us, which you can read in our 7 Questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your company!
We founded CleverShuttle in 2014. Jan Hofmann, my former classmate and co-founder, worked as a consultant for Deutsche Bahn and had to commute to the train station on Sundays and Thursdays. The journey to the main station by public transport was long and inconvenient.
So when he arrived late in the evening, he often took a taxi home. He wasn't the only one, and he noticed that the people he had previously shared a train with were often traveling in the same direction in a different taxi. The idea then came to mind that these people could travel together for less money.
CleverShuttle was the first environmentally friendly and officially approved ride-hailing service on German roads. We now have nearly 400 employees and operate in Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, and Leipzig.
We are my colleagues Jan Hofmann (COO) and Slava Tschurilin (CTO), both of whom I have known since elementary school, and me, Bruno Ginnuth (CEO).
CO2-neutral transport with cost savings
2. But that's been around for a long time!
Whether it's a dolmuş in Turkey, a marshrutka in Ukraine, or a chapa in Mozambique, the idea of traveling by carpool has existed for many centuries.
What has been missing so far, however, is an algorithm that groups passengers with similar routes so that they have to make as few detours as possible.
Instead of using one car per customer, our algorithm combines requested routes so that one car can transport multiple passengers to their destinations. This is known as ridepooling. This effectively reduces private motorized transport and relieves congestion in our cities. By exclusively using battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles, we also reduce emissions. The rides are virtually CO2-neutral and, on average, 60% cheaper than taking a regular taxi.
CleverShuttle combines a personalized, environmentally friendly chauffeur service with efficient ridepooling to create a green and affordable transportation service. Booking and payment are handled via the free CleverShuttle app, available for Android and iOS.
Once a month the boss still drives himself
3. What has been your biggest challenge so far?
For the first few months, we founders all drove ourselves. After a crazy day at the office, often working late into the night, in part to meet the ever-increasing demand. The feedback from guests, the overwhelming impressions, and the many great people we met along the way—it's all an incredibly good feeling. Today, we have almost 400 employees, 300 of whom are drivers. Nevertheless, I try to drive a shift myself at least once a month to ensure that this personal dialogue continues.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
Since our founding, we've experienced rapid growth. We opened our doors in Leipzig in March 2016, and just three months later, our vehicles were operating in Munich and Berlin. Hamburg and Stuttgart followed.
“An extremely dynamic startup scene”
5. What does Munich mean to you?
In 2017, INRIX once again named Munich "Germany's traffic hell." Drivers in Munich spent 51 hours in traffic last year.
We want to do our part to make traffic in the state capital more efficient and greener.
For us, Munich has an extremely dynamic startup scene that boasts truly exciting innovations and is definitely on the list of hot startup spots in Europe.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
By the end of 2018, we will have opened in Dresden and Frankfurt am Main. With Leipzig, we will also be able to report our first profitable location this year. So, we're optimistic that we'll be spared the epic fail night.
7. Club or pub: Helene or Harlequin?
Preferably for a cozy beer in the pub around the corner.
