FlightCar (YC W13) Raises $5.5M Round to Expand and Hire

These guys are Airbnb-like in another way too: as with Airbnb, I initially thought this was a bad idea. What changed my mind was when I emailed all the YC alumni to recruit users for the closed beta, and large numbers of them immediately and enthusiastically signed up.<p>There is clearly something to the "sharing economy" that everyone is talking about. There will be glitches along the way, but I'm pretty sure this idea is here to stay. Considering the value of the assets involved, it could be the big economic story of this decade.

I'm still hesitant to buy in to the idea because I'm just a fundamentally skeptical person when it comes to letting other people use very personal things like cars as opposed to apartments. Cars have a "feel" to them that many people notice is different after they get used extensively by others. But maybe that's just me.<p>BUT - I have to admit - there's a kernel here that think makes this different from RelayRides, etc. And that's that unlike the other companies where they "suggest" that the user return the car washed, FlightCar is actually doing the post-rental clean-up themselves, and that makes a difference. I don't like the idea of coming back to a used, possible dirty car sitting in my garage (i.e. w/ RelayRides), but if I'm coming back to a parking lot where I know the car has been professionally washed and inspected, my peace of mind is greater.<p>I'm still not interested in using the service, but again that's just me (I'm an anal car nerd), and that certainly doesn't mean others won't use it extensively.<p>Good luck guys! Love seeing awesome car-related businesses take off.

$10 in gas cards per day seems like low compensation for putting my vehicle at risk. I realize they have insurance but anyone who's had a car get damaged and repaired knows it's never the same as before the damage, especially if it's suspension/steering related.<p>I wish them the best, though, if any industry is stagnant and in need of being overhauled it's the terrible car rental industry.

I'm a big fan of Zipcar, but getting to/from the airport from/to your Zipcar has always been a big frustration. I've tried FlightCar and have been surprised how easy and seamless the experience is, given how young the company is. I hope they expand quickly.

The challenging thing to me with FlightCar is it seems like one of those things where you need critical mass for it to work. You have to have a close matching of people leaving and wanting to rent to people returning and wanting to rent. AirBnB was a little easier because some people already had rentals, and others had empty rooms.<p>IE someone has to be arriving in Pittsburgh roughly around the time I'm leaving, and they have to also be leaving before I get home. I think that's the biggest challenge (beyond getting people to know about it and trust it). I'm sure it will take off at SFO at least.<p>How are the existing car sharing services doing? I haven't actually used one myself yet.

The idea is great, I'm sure the'll get the pricing sorted out after the launch. From my point of view $10/Day + free parking ($18) seems low. Maybe if you're leaving a smart car or something, but what if you have a nicer car like a Lexus or Mercedes?

Am I the only one that was bummed out to learn that FlightCar isn't making hover cars?

This, from all the other YC W13 companies, was the one that made my head tilt as I thought "huh... that's a ridiculously cool idea." It has a really fun element to it as far as business ideas go.<p>Congrats to the founders!

There is something to this idea but I am still skeptical. In ATL I park my car for 5$ a day using my wife's corporate discount. I am assuming that most of the regular fliers out of ATL use some sort of discount. So, this might not be the target market for FlightCar on the supply side. But, these are the very people whose cars might be available more often for renting.<p>On demand side, this idea rocks. I remember renting a compact car for a day for around 150$ (including taxes, fees etc etc).

It's awesome to see companies that came out of the startup scene in Cincinnati doing so well.

"Cars must have been made by 1999" So my 2010 Honda Civic is too new? They only want pre-2000 cars?

FlightCar (along with Uber, Lyft, etc) has been issued a C&#38;D by SFO airport: <a href="http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/sfo-tells-ridesharing-companies-scram-until-permits-sorted-out" rel="nofollow">http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/sfo-t...</a><p>Surprised that the article didn't mention this.