Do you remember running to try and catch the school bus? Or if you’re a parent, especially a working parent, the morning chaos that comes with ensuring your child gets on the school bus on time and arranging carpools for afterschool activities? Well, all this angst and planning can be easily avoided by using HopSkipDrive, the ride service app for kids. Coined as the “caregiver on wheels”, HopskipDrive only employs drivers who have had a minimum of 5 years of caregiving experience, passed a 15-point certification process, fingerprinting, strict background checks, and continuous DMV and background record monitoring. In addition, the team meets every CareDriver in person. With safety as HopSkipDrive’s number one priority, a close second is its flexibility and ease of use, meaning that parents can book rides the night before, book reoccurring rides for certain days of the week (this is a great solution for kids who have after school activities or sports) or cancel rides last minute.
LA TechWatch chatted with Cofounder and CEOJoanna McFarland to learn more about the company’s burgeoning business and recent funding round, which brings the company’s total funding to $43.5M across three rounds.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised $22M from Cyrus Capital Partners, State Farm Ventures, and others including existing investors Upfront Ventures, FirstMark Capital and Greycroft.
Tell us about the product or service that HopSkipDrive offers.
Founded in 2014, HopSkipDrive is a ride service for kids. We help families and schools get kids where they need to go safely and dependably. HopSkipDrive has rapidly gained traction with schools by providing safety, visibility, and transparency for both school districts and parents, while helping districts manage increasingly challenging transportation demands in the midst of a nationwide school bus driver shortage. HopSkipDrive’s advanced Safe Ride Support technology, operational expertise and strategic hiring from the education sector drive the company’s success.
What inspired you to start HopSkipDrive company?
I started the business five years ago with two other working moms. We were desperate for a solution that could safely get our children where they needed to go without compromising our careers or sacrificing our kids’ needs due to busy schedules.
HopSkipDrive had to be safe enough for our own kids, so we designed it with that in mind from the very beginning. For me, the question was always, “What would I need to see to feel comfortable putting Jackson or Sam in a HopSkipDrive ride?”
How is HopSkipDrive different?
HopSkipDrive is different from other rideshare companies in so many ways. We think of our service as “Caregivers on Wheels.” We’re rigorous about safety and we’ve designed it into every aspect of the service. To drive on the HopSkipDrive platform, each CareDriver must have a minimum of 5 years of caregiving experience and pass a 15-point certification process, which includes fingerprinting, incredibly strict background checks and continuous DMV and background record monitoring. We meet every CareDriver in person.
Our proprietary technology uses machine learning to ensure full safety and visibility. In addition, our Safe Ride Support technology acts like an air traffic control team, monitoring every single HopSkipDrive ride in real-time and proactively addressing anything that comes up.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
School districts spend over $25B annually on transportation, and yet only about a third of US kids take a bus to school. It’s expensive and inefficient, and districts are being asked to do more with less as budgets shrink and individualized needs increase. Districts need to provide transportation for students with special needs who may not go to their home school, homeless youth and foster youth who have the right to stay at their school regardless of where they may be placed. On top of that, there’s a nationwide school bus driver shortage, so schools are really struggling to meet these increasing needs.
HopSkipDrive currently partners with over 200 schools, districts, and counties across 13 markets in eight states and Washington DC. To date, HopSkipDrive has enabled over 1 million trips to or from schools, with more than 7 million safe miles driven. We will use the funding to expand to new markets and partner with more schools, districts, and counties
Can you tell us about your service for seniors?
While the majority of our business is targeted toward children ages 6+, we do offer rides to adults of all ages. Many of our senior riders have reported loving the freedom of getting a ride with HopSkipDrive. The same caregiving experience that families want for their kids is similar to the caregiving that may be needed for seniors traveling to the doctor.
What’s your business model?
We are a marketplace that brings school districts and families together with highly vetted CareDrivers from the community to provide safe rides for kids. Schools and families can request scheduled rides on our platform and CareDrivers can choose to accept rides that meet their schedules and preferences.
What was the funding process like?
We really wanted to partner with investors who have deep expertise in transportation and particularly in school transportation. Cyrus Capital led early investments in Virgin America and in May Mobility. State Farm knows transportation and safety. Denis Gallagher, the former CEO of Student Transportation Inc, is also an investor.
We really wanted to partner with investors who have deep expertise in transportation and particularly in school transportation.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We really wanted to partner with investors who have deep expertise in transportation and particularly in school transportation. Cyrus Capital led early investments in Virgin America and in May Mobility. State Farm knows transportation and safety. Denis Gallagher, the former CEO of Student Transportation Inc, is also an investor.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
- Safety
- Innovation
- Proven market expansion model
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
- Continue expansion into new markets
- Partner with additional school districts and counties
- Build upon existing innovative safety features
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur in LA. LA’s tech scene is thriving and more and more capital is coming into LA. In 2019 LA startups raised more than $1 billion.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re very focused on continuing to bring our solution to more markets, more schools and more kids.
What is your favorite LA bar, when you need to kick back and relax?
Our office is downtown near the Arts District, and I really like Arts District Brewing Company because they have a wall of ski ball machines.
