My friend Bob's been building Teleport in stealth mode from NYC until today. Congrats, Bob and Michael & team!
Earlier this year, Bob sent me a Teleport (for an Uber driver, but from Bob's Teleport) from one part of NY to another for an early afternoon coffee & it worked beautifully. On that note, it's easy to see potential, low-hanging fruit use cases: a generous & kind gesture, whether a date with someone you'd like to impress, an important work meeting, or just a catch up with a friend in town (in my case w Bob).
Q: From my understanding, Uber only recently allowed 3rd party developer access to its API, a few months back. How did the partnership with Uber come about, and what's the biggest learning from working closely with the Uber API team?
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@suzywillow is Bob on PH so he can be added as Maker? Until he is added, I think I can only comment as a reply to your initial post.
The concept seems sound (but I still have yet to try it, which I'd like to). I actually have been frustrated on many occasions trying to call an Uber or Lyft for the person I'm departing from (for various reasons).
@suzywillow Really like the idea, had so many arguments with friends whether we should come to them or they to us. Curious to hear your thoughts on first dates? Invite your date to your place?
Hey everyone! I’m the cofounder and designer at Teleport. Our team built Teleport because we were exploring ways we could improve relationships with the important people in our lives. We realized that one of the best ways to do that was to spend quality, face to face time with each other, and Teleport is our attempt to make that as easy as possible!
I’ll be around to answer any questions you might have. Give us a visit at https://www.teleportapp.co and thanks for checking us out!
@mkwng congrats on releasing something neat to help people change their location. I just wish this wasn't on such a direct trademark collision course with @TeleportInc...
Very cool, @mkwng. Are you worried Uber's going to build this as a feature? They recently launched UberEVENTS which has some similarities. cc @andrewchen
@rrhoover It’s a huge concern of ours! No, I’m kidding of course, but in all seriousness, Uber has been a great partner and we’ve been in constant communication with their API team. We’re constantly impressed at their responsiveness and willingness to try out new things.
I like to remind myself that we’re not building a transportation service, we’re just trying to make people… better friends. Uber’s API is enabling and allowing us to create a fun interaction, and I want to explore more ways that we can bring people to our service with the social value we provide. We’re mutually benefitting each other with parallel but different missions, and I like to think that Uber sees it the same way!
Here's the first use case I thought of: the elderly! Would be really nice to order an Uber for an older relative for a doctor's appointment, to join the family at a restaurant for dinner, etc. This is such a kind product. Congratulations @bobawu, @mkwng & co!
@annieisms Thanks for the support! It's funny that you mention that since we are cooking up something that works with the elderly specifically. Stay tuned!
@nivo0o0 Please share any novel uses you might come up with! Love hearing interesting ways people are using Teleport.
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Cool bolt on to the Uber platform. We'll see if they manage that effectively (i.e. don't suffer from the 'platform creep' that Twitter succumbs to).
Next step - recurring rides. Commuting as a service. My car costs me $300 + $100 insurance + gas + maintenance. If I could commit to a spend of $500 per month and guarantee getting to and from work, could be huge.
Hey @bobawu congrats on the launch! Me and a friend had a similar idea 2 months ago except ours was an integration between Snapchat + Uber. We thought offering a free ride to a friend, colleague, client, or family member, through Snapchat would be a fun/modern experience. If done through Snapchat, chances are you are already having a conversation about or negotiating a meet up. When ordering a ride for someone I think it's great to still keep in touch while you are waiting for your friend to get there. Anticipation + updates are important i think. It's easy to see how this can be a really cool fun experience using Snapchat.
Considering that Uber would benefit a lot by building this as a feature within their app, what are the other main differentiating features or areas you are looking at that will set you apart?
@madebyildi Thanks for the support! We are thinking of ways we can easily integrate with Snapchat, Line, WeChat, Tinder, and any other communication/social platform, especially because as you mentioned you are already having a conversation about meeting up. We have a great relationship with Uber's team, so want to make sure that both sides benefit in the long term.
My co-founder @mkwng mentioned this previously: I like to remind myself that we’re not building a transportation service, we’re just trying to make people… better friends. Uber’s API is enabling and allowing us to create a fun interaction, and I want to explore more ways that we can bring people to our service with the social value we provide. We’re mutually benefitting each other with parallel but different missions, and I like to think that Uber sees it the same way!
+1 Awesome execution @bobawu and @yujean! Teleport built a web interface so the people you teleport don't need to download the app! I was teleported and it was a great experience. Do you guys plan on adding an UberPOOL option to save some $$$?
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