Archive for Transportation – Page 2

Zum: Safe Transportation for Children

Posted by Char-leigh Bates

· Monday, November 4th, 2019

· 5 Comments

Have you ever had to scramble to find an elementary student a safe and reliable ride from school, practice, or rehearsal? Do you ever stress about conflicting schedules? What do you do in these situations? Cancel obligations, like most people?

Rita Narayan, founder of Zum, saw a big need for safe, reliable transportation. Rita quit her thriving career to raise her four children, but she later asked the question: how can I advance my career while ensuring my kids have safe, reliable care. With that, Rita and her two brothers sought to create a platform to to solve this problem that many parents experience.

Now, Zum is the fastest growning ride and care company for children.

On their website, they outline their history, mission, and how the rides are ensured to be safe service for the children. Zum drivers and caretakers have screenings, vetting processes (fingerprinting, driving rests, sex offender records, address history and SSN validation), and a car inspections ensuring safety is always first.

After reading through many reviews on Zum, everything is very positive that I saw. Zum is on track to soon reach 1 Million rides. They envision going nation wide in the future while being the #1 transportation and care service for children.

5 Comments

Categories : parent, Transportation

Tags : care, children, safety, transportation

Elon Musk: Technological Empire

Posted by William Hancock

· Saturday, September 28th, 2019

· 3 Comments

Untitled 4

By now, most Americans know who Elon Musk is. It is extremely difficult to miss the luxurious design of one of his Tesla vehicles drive by you or to not be intrigued about his realistic idea for commercializing space travel. Elon Musk, with a net worth of $12.9 billion, is one of the most successful businessmen that lives today and his story of success is one that very few people are aware of.

His parents always had aspirations of their son from the time that he was very young. They noticed he was a tinkerer so they bought him his first computer when he was nine. It came with an astounding five kilobytes of storage and with this computer, Musk made a simple video game called “Blastar.” It was a simpler version of the game “Space Invaders” but was nonetheless an impressive code, especially when you remember it was created by a nine year old. When he was twelve, Musk sold the game for $500 ($1,200 today).

After dropping out of graduate school, Musk and his brother had an idea for an online-type of yellow page directory similar to that of Google and Yelp today. He saw that the internet was going to be the future and wanted to develop the technology and make a living from it. This idea for the directory was groundbreaking in the 90s and was quickly purchased by the company Compaq for $307 million from the two innovative minds. Using his newfound profit, Elon saw the potential that the internet held and decided to create an online banking business. Being in a cutthroat market for online banking, he and another company, Confinity, merged and became what is known today as PayPal. This company was soon sold to eBay for $1.2 billion to handle the online transactions for the online mega-store.

In 2002, Musk founded one of his famous companies, SpaceX, with the mission to make humanity a multi-planetary species. While he was in the development stage, he started his most famous company, Tesla, in 2004. Although Musk is aided largely in his efforts through federal subsidies and investments, Musk funds a large amount of his massive companies himself. Since their conception in 2002 and 2004, Musk has continually invested his own money into his own businesses. By doing so, he is the one making the decisions that lead to the success of the company. If the company loses money, he loses his fortune. This keeps him motivated.

How Tesla and SpaceX have already merged - Business Insider

Although each of these companies has had numerous drawbacks–SpaceX couldn’t get their rockets into orbit until they practically ran out of money blowing them up and Tesla continues to lose money–Elon’s exceptional leadership has and continues to lead these companies to the top of their markets. With estimated combined company values of over $24.3 billion, there is no doubt that with these great companies comes great leadership, something that Elon Musk continues to illustrate through his dedication and hard work.

Sources:

www.theverge.com/2015/6/9/8752333/elon-musk-blastar-pc-game

www.gobankingrates.com/making-money/business/how-much-is-tesla-worth

www.waitbutwhy.com/2015/05/elon-musk-the-worlds-raddest-man.html

www.moneymorning.com/2018/02/12/how-much-is-spacex-worth/

Roadster Image: https://is.gd/6GjSnC

3 Comments

Categories : Cars, Engineering, Sci Fi Inspiration, Transportation, Travel

Luminar – See the World Differently

Posted by SamDiehl

· Saturday, December 15th, 2018

· 3 Comments

Imagine being 16 and studying at the Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine. Now imagine starting a business that has the potential to change how the transportation industry works forever. Both these events happened to Austin Russell in the same year. Austin Russell, now 22, is the founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies, a company that blew the doors off the automotive and autonomy industries. Luminar has developed a laser sensor technology that, compared to current-day LiDAR sensors, has 10x the range and 50x the resolution. These improvements are brought on by the increased rate at which the lasers of the Luminar sensor seek and receive data about their environment.

To this point, Luminar has raised more than $36 million and employs over 250 people. Russell says that he wants this product to have a real impact on the world, not just be some app someone downloads onto their phone. Russell says that this impact he is aiming for is to innovate on how people move, and to help eliminate one of the leading causes of death in the world.

3 Comments

Categories : Artificial Intelligence, Autonomy, Transportation

Finding the Power in Your Problems

Posted by edwardadoyle

· Monday, September 17th, 2018

· 1 Comment

Ed Hollands: DrivenMedia

Picture a rainy-day commute through the city; traffic piling up, staring out your window at all the other cars and trucks. You can’t even enjoy your favorite view of the city because there are too many tall trucks and vans in the way. This is where 23-year-old Ed Holland found himself and then suddenly it hit him. What if you could turn a profit off the view that is blocked; more specifically what if he could find a way to sell unique advertising on all those blank trucks and vans? He took this thought and ran with it, creating a startup called Driven Media.

There was an unrecognized opportunity by many businesses that Ed had uncovered. His company will wrap trucks with advertisements. The innovation around Ed’s business comes in the form of tracking the impressions the vehicle advertisements have. DrivenMedia contracts with companies whose drivers are on the road at least 5 days a week and uses their GPS trackers to ensure the ads are being seen. Each day a typical trailer or truck is seen by an average of 55,000 people. When you break down the cost per 1000 impressions, it is quite a valuable deal for the companies that contract with DrivenMedia. Ed’s company sells 12-month packages and it has proved to be a very profitable niche.

Reading about Ed’s story it affirmed to me the simplicity and excitement that lies in the everyday life in respect to the possibility of innovation. Even when you are not necessarily looking to innovate thoughts can just materialize in your head and change your life completely. It has reminded me to not only recognize problems in life and complain, but to then continue those thoughts into forming possible solutions. No pain, no sale. Never underestimate the power hidden in your problems.

Click above to be directed to DrivenMedia website

1 Comment

Categories : Business, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Online Companies, Transportation

From One Thing To The Next

Posted by woullardcc1

· Monday, December 11th, 2017

· 9 Comments

Elon Musk is one of the most influential entrepreneurs of not only now, but of all time. He has been working on countless ways to make the world we win in a better place. Elon Musk doesn’t always just fix problems, but he also makes people realize how the world really should be. The first way he did that was through PayPal. PayPal was his innovative way to help people purchase products safely, securely, and quickly. This product has changed the way people are able to purchase what they want with confidence because of their ability to make sure the money only gets paid if the person paying, gets what they actually wanted.

Another innovative idea he developed was Tesla. Tesla is a car company focused on making cars that are run off batteries and from electric motors. This has changed the world of how cars work. The batteries used to make the cars have also changed the though of how powerful batteries can be and how useful they are. Mr. Musk wants to continue to work on making housing panels that allow ones house to be powered by solar energy, and make more clean, reusable energy for everyday use.

Another one of Elan’s innovations is his SpaceX company. This company is working with NASA to help get astronauts back into space. America is currently a country that cannot send astronauts into space, but Musk is working to change that. He has created new rockets that will allow up to seven astronauts to go into space. His design is based off the Apollo mission designs from when humans first went to the moon.

In the end, Elon Musk has truly changed the world by his ability to be an entrepreneur. He has made life better for humans, and will also continue to change the world by his future innovations.

9 Comments

Categories : Business, Cars, Sci Fi Inspiration, Solar Power, Sustainable, Technology, Transportation, Travel

Scott’s Cheap Flights

Posted by kettingerjw17@gcc.edu

· Thursday, November 16th, 2017

· 3 Comments

Scott Keyes’ business came from him merely doing something he enjoyed. Eventually he realized that his passion was marketable and profitable. This passion was finding cheap flights. He seemed to have a proclivity for finding extremely good deals on flights, and this caught the attention of his friends who, envying his ability, inspired him to start a newsletter do disseminate knowledge concerning this hobby of his. Eventually he realized that far more than just his friends had taken interest in his little project which was not so little anymore.

In only two short years, Scott had more than 250,000 subscribers and was the head of a five-employees and a million dollar start-up. Keyes was able to profit doing essentially the exact thing he had before he started making money just with paying subscribers. This enabled him to spend only $500 on marketing – an incredible number for a venture bringing in such high levels of capital. This is truly a testament to the power of doing something you love and allowing ideas to stem from your own strengths and interests- especially in entrepreneurship.

Scott Keyes in Milan. His $130 round trip plane ticket was the catalyst for his business.

Scott Keyes in Milan

3 Comments

Categories : Transportation

Scott’s Cheap Flights – Save Hundreds on International Travel

Posted by forddn17

· Monday, September 25th, 2017

· 6 Comments

Scott Keyes loves travel. In 2016, he traveled to thirteen countries, and yet only had to pay for taxes. Taking advantage of credit card points and frequent flier miles, he accrued enough points to take the trip virtually free. He combined his skill with credit cards with his knack for finding cheap flights and made possible a flight many can only dream of.

His 2016 trip isn’t the only one he has taken, and it did not take long for his travel prowess to catch the attention of his friends and coworkers. As more and more of them requested that he keep them up to date with deals on flights, he slowly transitioned to a newsletter service and then to a full-fledged for-profit business. His website, Scott’s Cheap Flights, does not sell flights but rather sends daily emails with information on deals that cut down hundreds of dollars on international flights.

In a way, it seems like the business fell into Keyes’ lap. However, the success of such a business seems so easily accomplished only because there was both passion for travel savings and a need for people to take cheaper trips. This business flows from what Keyes was already doing, and doing well. His drive to find good deals and love of travel made him both suited for and willing to run his website. Also, the fact that the business started with people he knew means that demand for his service was high. If the individuals in one’s small personal sphere have interest in your business, then it is highly likely that there is interest in the national realm. Keyes found a niche where what he was good at and ready to do met what other people asked for or wanted.

What make Scott’s Cheap Flights so unique is that everything is done manually. Scott himself as well as a few other employees manually surf websites searching for great sales and errors that result in lower ticket prices. No algorithm exists that can find the deals as well as Keyes and his team does. Finding deals online is more of an art than a science, and has not been developing for very long, as the online market has not existed very long. Although increasingly more people are developing skills with credit cards and deals, Keyes was both talented and ready enough to make one of the initial moves on a fairly open market.

In this service, Keyes mixes his passion with a problem. According to his website, “Scott searches for flights all day every day because he has no life.” He could apply what he already did to an area that other people asked for, and now his business serves more than 530,000 people. Scott’s Cheap Flights displays innovation not in software or technology but rather using what one already knows how to do.

6 Comments

Categories : Millennial Entrepreneurs, Online Companies, Transportation, Travel, Websites

Wicked Good Cupcakes (with a wicked twist)

Posted by Stephanie Grindley

· Friday, December 9th, 2016

· 3 Comments

There is no question that I always have room for dessert. Cupcakes are known for being delicious individual desserts that are great for almost any occasion when you don’t want to get messy cutting up a cake. The problem with cupcakes is that they tend to fall or role around if you are transporting them somewhere…How could you transport and ship cupcakes without disappointing the customer?! Solution? Put the cupcake in a cup (or a jar)!!! This is exactly what a mother and daughter came up with for their growing bakery. Tracey and her daughter Dani now have a 20 million dollar business selling cupcakes in jars! Who would have thought?!

This duo has been seen on the show SharkTank and they even won over Mr. Wonderful himself.

Focusing specifically on the millennial in this duo, Dani says not many 25 year olds have the privilege of owning a multi-million dollar company. I would go further to say that most people don’t see that much revenue in a lifetime.

Dani has proven that providing simple solutions can be the most elegant and effective business strategy. It’s new. It’s different. It’s tasty. And most importantly it sells. Dani also has an edgy style which is probably what gives a personal touch to the company’s name. Wicked Good Cupcakes got its foothold by making wicked good cupcakes…but the niche of being able to put it in a classy jar and ship it anywhere just opened up a whole new level of customers they couldn’t reach before.

Dani and her mom are a team. Dani, as a millennial entrepreneur, was able to offer a newness to the family recipes that I’m sure her mom aided in concocting. Their website is welcoming and enticing…which makes me even more curious to see how tasty these cupcakes are. I might just have to give into my sweet-tooth and order some. (It does look a little pricey though…so maybe I’ll save the order for a special occasion.)

Shop for some Wicked Good Cupcakes

3 Comments

Categories : Food, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Shark Tank, Transportation

Tags : cupcakes, dessert, yum

IHOP Pancakes Delivered? Why not!

Posted by Ari Carter

· Friday, October 7th, 2016

· 3 Comments

Picture this…It is 10pm, dinner was five hours ago. You have about 4 hours of work standing between you and sweet, sweet sleep. You could really go for some pancakes. Maybe some fresh IHOP ones? If only they delivered. Well, now you just might be in luck! DASH, a new start-up created by 28 year old Phil Dumontet operates out of only 7 cities currently. It provides the fastest delivery from the best restaurants who don’t have their own delivery services. They promise to deliver in under 40 minutes. Some of the restaurants include:

Dashed offers service available exclusively on Foodler. Founded in 2009 with 1 biker & 1 restaurant, the company has grown to be the leading restaurant delivery service in the Northeast, serving over 800 top-rated restaurants that wouldn’t otherwise offer delivery across Boston, Providence, New Haven, Hoboken & Jersey City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Dashed is the first service of its kind to offer full delivery & marketing services for its restaurant partners, so restaurants can focus on what they should: taking care of in-house customers. The company has been showered with awards and acclaims over the years which are only growing.

3 Comments

Categories : Food, Great Ideas, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Transportation