I travel frequently for work – both within the USA as well as internationally. Particularly in the US, I often need to rent a car at my destination. My usual drill is to book a boring car from Hertz or Avis, since large companies tend to utilize the services of well-known car rental companies that are available everywhere.
Turo tries to address the “boring car” piece by being the Airbnb for cars. Their motto is “way better than a car rental” and I have to admit that is true. You can essentially rent cars from regular folks. Even like the car below.
I do not know if they have an app since I’ve never used it. Go to their website, just like Airbnb, enter where, when, and for how long and the cars available based on those filters start to show up. Using the filters can you can further pick and choose what you like based on your preferences. Their might be milage limits that you have to be careful about as the charge will go up. Some owners will drive to your location while others may expect you to meet at a certain location. Overall, it’s a great idea both for those who want to try out different cars, but also for car owners who may want to make money while they do not need their cars.
Does it have the ability to disrupt a multi-billion dollar industry?
Turo can absolutely disrupt the multi-billion dollar car rental industry, if they can survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Right now, no one is traveling. However, Turo has an advantage compared with the traditional car rental companies – they do not own the cars, whereas Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, and all the others do. Turo’s leaner business model should allow them to survive this difficult period. Once Covid-19 is over and life gets back to normal, I’m sure Turo will start gearing up for an IPO.
Does it have the potential to be a unicorn with at least a billion dollar exit?
Absolutely. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised more than $400M. I haven’t checked whether it’s available outside of the US or how common it is, since many other countries typically have a well developed public transportation system that reduces the need to own a car, but I believe the US market alone would guarantee a billion-dollar exit for Turo. Most likely in the form of an IPO.
How is the current sales/market traction?
The company has more than 14 million members and more than 450,000 listed vehicles, according to a Turo spokeswoman. Its revenue is growing more than 60 percent year-over-year.
How is the ordinary employee compensation?
From what I’ve heard the compensation is somewhat average and in fact, below Bay Area standards. Of course, if you are remotely working and living at a place that has a low cost of living then it might not be that bad.
Startup Surfer’s Scorecard for Turo:
What do you think about Turo? Ever rented a car that way? Would love to hear your thoughts.