Transport booking startup Jayride gears up for US expansion

Transport booking platform Jayride is expanding into the US off the back of a $1.5 million capital raise earlier this year.

The Sydney startup already has offices in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Philippines and is on the hunt for its American headquarters.

Unlike on-demand platforms, Jayride allows users to pre-book transportation options between airports, hotels and residential addresses.

Co-founder and chief executive Rod Bishop told StartupSmart the company is launching in US with the plan to snap up a large customer base and scale accordingly.

“The US is the biggest and most exciting market,” he says.

“It has more domestic travellers who need transport than any other English-speaking market in the world. There are 350 high-volume airports that have ground transport connections… but how on earth do you know where to book or how to book?”

The company faces stiff competition from services such as Uber. However, Bishop says the platform already services around 100 US airports and overall turns over six figures in bookings per month.

“We are focused on having the best quality suppliers, the most support, the most destinations, the most content available to purchase online at the best prices and to aggressively grow that supply side of the equation,” he says.

“Then we find that the demand side of the equation responds.”

As for his advice for other founders looking to scale a two-sided marketplace, Bishop says the key is to keep sight of your company’s core values.

“Really focus on your core values and deliver on that value above and beyond all other things,” he says.

“Don’t get distracted. Our value us we have the best quality transport information… so we just continue to amplify that. It would be very easy to get distracted with that with brand building and other products, but we just focus on our core premise.”

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