Are You Going My Way?

For many people, the cost of travelling alone in a taxi is prohibitive and probably puts the brakes on many a night out. 

Even groups of friends, who might otherwise split the costs, often find themselves heading for home in different directions and unable to enjoy the economies of a shared journey. Meanwhile, the road home is likely to be filled with taxis carrying just a single passenger on board and all going their way too.

A Problem Shared

When Paul Goodwin’s corporate clothing business closed under pressure from cheap imports, he drove a taxi for three years to make ends meet. But once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur, and whilst plying his trade, Paul, our featured guest on this week's Kickstart Your Business dreamed up the TaxiToShare app, which allows customers to taxi-pool if they’re headed in the same direction.

On The One Road

Gerard and George liked Paul's simple yet effective solution to a problem shared by many people, particularly students, on a limited budget. As Gerard noted, many of the world's emerging businesses are based on the notion of shared rather than competing resources, and Paul has identified a great opportunity to build another through his TaxiToShare app.

Paul also has separate apps in development for the Ladies Only and LGBT markets, but Gerard suggested that he focus first on establishing his mainstream offering, before considering specialist groups. He may discover in fact that there's no need for such tightly-targeted offerings, which might anyway be accommodated within his TaxiToShare app.

Your Turn To Share

Listen back to Paul on Kickstart Your Business and suggest how Paul can get the whole world sharing taxis. We'd love to hear from you.

Kickstart Your Business broadcasts at 6.20pm every Thursday on Newstalk's The Right Hook, and is available for playback immediately following the show.

A note from Gerard: When I'm not helping to Kickstart Your Business, I work with business-owners of all shapes and sizes to help them build a brand that stands up to the competition and stands out in the marketplace. You can find out more about my work at Islandbridge.

Once a year, I work closely with twelve ambitious business-owners through our six-week Raising A Brand Programme. Our next programme kicks off on February 9th for six Tuesday afternoon sessions; you can find out more at Raising A Brand.