Riders Share

MBA Program: UCLA, Anderson School of Management

Industry: Motorcycles / Sharing Economy

Founding Student Names: Guillermo Cornejo

Brief Description of Solution: Riders Share is the Airbnb of motorcycles, or Turo for motorcycles. We connect unused motorcycles with people that want to ride them. We supply low-cost insurance by using machine learning to vet riders and minimize accidents. We have over 2,500 active listings nationwide. Just like the car industry transformed itself into the mobility industry, we plan to transform motorcycles into an experience industry.

 

Funding Dollars: $670,000

What led you to launch this venture? I tried to rent a motorcycle, and it was over $200 – more than the monthly payment on a brand new bike. Motorcycle ownership does not make economic sense because people average less than 2,000 miles per year on them (more expensive than a BMW M3 on a per mile basis!). Motorcycles are cool, the sharing economy is the future…do I need more reasons?

 

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with your venture? Achieving a million-dollar ARR while simultaneously graduating from UCLA Anderson!

How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? Anderson connected us to investors, mentorship and professors with relevant experiences, such as Dr. Keith Chen (regression discontinuity all the way!). Their relationships helped us get into Techstars, and we are expecting to raise at the end of the year before blowing up in 2020.

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? If Elon Musk can learn how to build rockets and electric cars at the same time, I sure can build a startup while getting an MBA, no? It’s easy by comparison.

Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? Entrepreneurship Venture Initiation is a very practical class where we learn about all the possible mistakes you can make, from the time you quit your job to start to the sale of a startup. It was extremely useful knowledge and the professors spiced it up with real-life personal anecdotes that would drop your jaw to the floor.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? We want to be the platform where you access motorcycle experiences: rentals, tours, rides, groups of friends and even sales. And maybe after that, flying motorcycles, because if Elon can…