Due to overwhelming demand from potential investors and the fact the maximum funding on our first campaign was reached so quickly, Bellhop is delighted to announce this second and final campaign! This second campaign will end October 20 to give everyone a fair chance to participate. Please note however we will not do any further public rounds so this will be your final opportunity. We want to thank the hundreds of supporters who so quickly oversubscribed the first campaign. Your feedback, comments and encouragement have been inspiring and we're delighted you are joining us on this incredible journey!

Deal highlights

• The first all-in-one ride-hailing app, allowing users to pick & choose the best value
• Disrupting the traditional ride-hailing app marketplace — bringing transparency, competition and choice to the user
• Integrates with major service providers globally including Uber and Lyft, with more on the way
• Marketing to 30 million passengers at JFK through partnership with Port Authority of NY & NJ. Expanding to Newark and La Guardia airports next
• Targeting $11+ billion on-demand ride-hailing market
• In public beta testing with official launch Q4 2017

Overview

Bellhop is the first all-in-one app connecting consumers to the best ride-hailing services, empowering them to make smarter decisions. We work with companies such as Uber and Lyft, and leverage their APIs to give consumers access to book rides directly through Bellhop. We make money by taking a commission from these ride-hailing companies on processed transactions. Consumers pay the same price within Bellhop as they would pay if they were to use each ride-hailing app separately.

15% of Americans have already used a ride-hailing app and this market is one of the fastest growing sectors. New ride hailing apps are launching all the time. The business model is already established and competition is growing, making it the perfect market to provide comparison shopping and transparency through our platform.

The problem:

There are too many ride-hailing apps for the user to easily manage and compare, and with new apps constantly appearing it's become impossible for consumers to find the best value.

Dozens of ride-hailing apps have launched in 2017 alone. The average smartphone user opens only 9 apps per day, making managing several ride hailing apps unrealistic.

The consumer often doesn't know what exists and is left with too many choices and too little transparency. 

Furthermore, It’s practically impossible to compare across multiple apps to find the best price or wait time for your ride. The end result: frustration, lack of competition and no consumer choice. That’s where Bellhop comes in.

Bellhop is the all-in-one app that allows you to compare multiple ride-hailing services in one place and order a ride. 

We make your life easier by bringing multiple apps under one roof.

Bellhop brings its users:

• Transparency – consumers can shop across multiple ride-hailing apps including car pooling and taxis all within one app
• Product access – easier access to both existing and new apps the consumer may never get to see
• Savings – significant time and money savings on every ride
• Data and Space – Fewer apps saves memory and space on smart phones
• Easier Life – Most importantly, Bellhop makes digital lives easier

What our customers say:

How it works:

Bellhop has been designed to be as easy to use as possible, and works the same familiar way the individual apps work. 

Simply:

• Open the Bellhop app,

• Enter your destination,

• Pick from the options multiple apps provide, based on your preference (pricing, wait time, car type, etc.)

• Tap to order a car! All within Bellhop. It’s that easy.

You get the convenience of quickly hailing a car, plus the power to compare options across all providers.

This means there’s no need to open Uber, and then Lyft to see which is better.

Best of all, you pay the same price for greater choice. Bellhop takes a commission from the service provider, so you don’t pay an extra cent.

One of the primary value propositions of Bellhop is the peace of mind no matter where you go. If you are traveling and land in a foreign country or different state you may not be aware of localized ride hailing options. Austin, TX, for example, has no Lyft or Uber within the city limits. Yet with Bellhop, you will open just one app and have all the local options.

Business model

Bellhop is an aggregator of on-demand ride-hailing apps. We make money by taking a commission on transactions processed from our suppliers (e.g. Lyft). We can quickly add new suppliers through their APIs, making our footprint equal to the footprint of all suppliers combined and making the platform easily scalable. 

Bringing value to partners

Bellhop's technology has been built to enable it to provide B2B solutions for companies such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home, and other service apps to power their products. We've already been contacted by some major companies about both white label and feeds of our APIs into their products.

Ride hailing landscape

Bellhop is the first to market in this space and we plan to use the first mover advantage to remain the clear market leader.

Bellhop is uniquely positioned as the first all-in-one ride-hailing app. 

Google Maps integrates with some ride-hailing services, but they merely link to apps, i.e. the consumer still needs to download, register and book using the underlying ride-hailing app.

Other apps that allow to compare services charge consumers a commission for the privilege of comparison shopping, which turns users away.

Next: New York launch

In New York, there are currently 712,000 daily rides, growing to over 1 million in 2018. We are launching and targeting our marketing efforts to New York City as one of the most active ride hailing markets globally.

Our initial goal is to capture 7% of that market and achieve 2.5 million app downloads and 50,000 transactions within 12 months. To put this into perspective, Uber and Lyft alone currently generate over 130,000 daily downloads of their app.

Bellhop has an experienced team of full time staff as well as advisors who have run global marketing teams and have in-depth product launch experience.  We will start by using social media channels to drive downloads, ground support and adoption, getting users aware and engaged in our product. In parallel, we will use traditional and non-traditional PR to get mass exposure as quickly as possible, utilizing personal and professional networks of our team and advisors. Finally, stages 2 and 3 of our marketing outreach will involve more traditional paid ads, email, and strategic partnerships.

Port Authority of NY & NJ airport pilot

We’re currently in the process of kicking off a pilot with the Port Authority of NY & NJ - they own and operate the three major airports in the region (La Guardia, JFK, and Newark), and are expecting to launch this pilot in November 2017.

Right now, the average wait time at JFK’s Terminal 4 taxi lines is 15–20 minutes, and during rush hour can go over 45 minutes. 

They're working with Bellhop to completely revamp the entire experience for travelers coming through the airport. In short, travelers will have two options: they can either wait in the regular taxi line, or download Bellhop to hail a taxi or Uber/Lyft/super shuttle etc with a wait time less than 3 minutes on average. 

We're starting with all terminals at JFK which has 30 million inbound passengers per year! They also want to work with us for every terminal at La Guardia and Newark. We hope to then expand this to many other airports in the country, and then other countries around the world.

What's next? Long term plans

Building on our scalable model and technology platform, we aim to launch in multiple verticals to make Bellhop the go-to app consolidating dozens of on-demand services.

Once customers are familiar with Bellhop and are using the app for ride-hailing, they will become receptive to other additional on-demand services provided with the same unique user experience.

We see a unique opportunity in industries like restaurant reservations, food delivery, entertainment and other on-demand verticals where, just like ride-hailing, users are currently unable to compare these products and there is no transparency.

Whether it is for dry cleaning, food delivery or ordering a ride-sharing service, this one app will do it all for you.

That's where the name Bellhop comes from. It's based on the concept of a hotel concierge that gives you incredible service and makes your life and travel so much easier.

Honors and awards:

Bellhop has been accelerated and incubated, won awards, and has been invited to present at major conferences.

Why Invest?

Additional funding will allow us to add national, global and regional new players at an accelerated rate.

Bellhop is well positioned to lead in this growing and lucrative market. The total addressable market in the US for consolidating on-demand services could reach $70 billion.

Team

Payam Safa studied Computer Science & Engineering graduating Cum Laude Honors from UCLA. He began his career programming drones and satellites for the US government with security clearance. Next, as a consultant for Accenture, he built enterprise systems for Fortune 500 companies. After an MBA at INSEAD, where he was the Co-President of the Real Estate Club, he moved to Indonesia to co-found a hotel chain. Continuing his entrepreneurial journey, he founded Chanelink, the first channel manager in Indonesia. He is using his unique experience as technologist building a hotel chain to make Bellhop a market leader and a first all-in-one on-demand services app.

Nick Ferris has launched dozens of online products across B2B and B2C including the first financial search engine and social networking site. He was named Marketer of the Year in 2015 and most recently as COO of Simpler Trading overseeing the restructuring of America’s largest financial training company.

Kevin Ross is a data-driven growth hacker and digital strategist with 8+ years experience developing brands, products, and experiences. During this time, he’s worked on hundreds of projects as a growth hacker, occupying roles at every level starting as a freelancer to generating over $1 million in digital ad revenue as Head of Digital Strategy for two major college-based publications.

Our advisors are world class. Beth ran product teams at Grubhub and Expedia. Jason led marketing at Google Play music and has been CMO at a couple venture backed businesses. Dimitrios was a Senior Manager at McKinsey and helped lead their ventures group. Norm is a travel technology adviser and consultant to a variety of travel companies.

A letter from the founder

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to learn about Bellhop’s mission. We have an incredible team who have helped us build this product and with your help we can further accelerate our growth as we launch our major marketing campaigns in Q4 this year.

Let’s just talk about ride hailing for a second. This is the market we’ve chosen to prove our platform and initially grow our business. But we have grand plans to move into food delivery, restaurant reservations, entertainment and many other areas where our model is easily applicable. 

By disrupting the current app market, we plan to become a powerful force in on-demand services. Just imagine what we can do for food delivery and other sectors - giving you the same power of choice, and sizable cost savings. 

Within food delivery alone, the top players are Seamless/Grubhub, Postmates, Door Dash, Caviar, Uber Eats, and delivery.com. With Bellhop, you wouldn't have to figure out which restaurant is within which app, or which app can deliver food to you as fast as possible. Our mission is to quickly enter these other verticals as we grow. The more services we add, the easier your digital life becomes.

We see Bellhop replacing literally dozens of apps driving choice, competition and making your digital life so much easier. And that is just the beginning.

Bellhop beta is already live. You can download it from the iOS App Store today. The Android version comes out later this year. We hope you enjoy it and please come on this incredible journey with us!
– Payam Safa