How Google Launchpad is helping a car rental app rev its engines

Photo credit: Subramanya Prasad

What’s it like having Google as a mentor? Ashwarya Pratap Singh can tell you. He’s one of the co-founders of on-demand car rental app JustRide, which was selected to be one of 16 startups for Google Launchpad.

Google’s six-month program, which began in January, concentrates on two objectives for mobile-centric startups – helping them launch and helping them scale.

The founders take a crash course in storytelling, learning how to pitch their startups.

As part of Launchpad, startups spend two months in Google HQ, going back to the basics to improve user interface and user experience (UI/UX). Then the founders take a crash course in storytelling, learning how to pitch their startups to venture capital firms for funding and how to act in a meeting. JustRide, along with other companies in the program, receive access and mentoring on Google technology like Google Maps to integrate into its software.

“All these procedures were helpful but much more basic in nature; bringing us strong fundamentals from which they can grow,” Ashwarya tells Tech in Asia. He adds that these fundamentals have broad applications, from cost-effectiveness to getting the most out of scaling.

Though the program isn’t even two months underway, some of Google’s advice has already changed the way Ashwarya thinks. Since JustRide got its start in Mumbai, the founders were used to operating within India. “When things get bad, we tend to focus solely on revenue and not UI/UX. Google told us that they go hand-in-hand and that you shouldn’t let your guard down for UI,” explains Ashwarya.

When Ashwarya and the rest of the JustRide team got back from their experience in Silicon Valley, they were given access to 30 mentors to whom they could speak to in sessions. “One of the mentors was from Airbnb, which was helpful because we’re developing an Airbnb for cars,” he says.

In addition to help from experts, Google Launchpad also grants each of the eight startups US$50,000 equity-free seed funding and US$250,000 worth of access to Google products.

To date, JustRide has raised over US$3 million from angel investors.

See: Google Launchpad program begins with 16 startups from India and Indonesia

Car-ception

JustRide’s team

The idea for JustRide came to Ashwarya when he was working as an investor at Nomura, a Japanese investment bank. He was working in the hedge fund division and drove a small car as part of the job, which took up 40 percent of his salary. At the same time, he says, his friends were sharing a small flat.

Shifting up