In Startup50 2017: DriveU aggregates background verified, uniformed drivers for vehicle owners – be it for consumers or businesses. The company finds itself amongst the winners for two key reasons; enabling greater earnings for drivers and for serving over 50,000 B2C customers and 40+ enterprise customers. 

Founders: Ramprasad Shastry, Ashok Shastry

Increasing earning potential: Founded in 2015, DriveU aggregates background verified and uniformed drivers for consumers and businesses alike. One of the hallmarks of its business model is the earning power it gives its drivers; at DriveU, drivers can earn up to 2X of their previous earnings. A driver at DriveU earns anywhere between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000 per month and as the founders point out, this is primarily from standard earnings with as little as 10 per cent coming from incentives. These drivers earn as much working a near-10 hour day at DriveU as opposed to much longer hours elsewhere. In addition to that benefit, the company sets aside Rs. 5 per trip for the driver as an ‘insurance cover’.

Organising its operations: A large part of DriveU’s success can be attributed to its use of technology and process to structure a tight back-end. The company ensures as much automation of its process through technology to ensure a scalable operation with optimum use of resources. It also follows a transparent, pay-as-you-go model and this offers better clarity to the customer than the varied pricing of its competition from the unorganised sector. Through its consistent quality of service, DriveU has managed to rake in a profit per trip, after taking into account driver payout and incentives.

Growing steady: In FY16-17, the company touched an annual revenue of Rs. 5.4 crore.  At present, the company has over 50,000 B2C customers, over 40 B2B customers and is constantly growing its customer base.

DriveU raised close to Rs. 7 crore in seed funding from Unitus Seed Fund, followed by investments from other angel investors. It has currently raised nearly Rs. 17 crore and is looking to close out a Series-A in the near future.

In Numbers 

Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000

Monthly earnings of Driver at DriveU

50,000+

No. of customers it currently serves

40+

No. of enterprise customers