Committing to an idea is important. But so is being savvy enough to know when you need to correct course. Exhibit A: FlightCar, airport car-sharing business.
Since launching in spring 2013, the San Francisco-based startup says it has logged 1.3 million car-listing days.
Yet FlightCar decided to pirouette this winter after closing its $20 million Series B investment round last autumn. CEO Rujul Zaparde kicked off an overhaul of the company's product and strategy.
There have been changes high and low, from its business model to how customers interact with the company digitally to its team structure (for instance, the company has hired a vp of product and engineering out of Amazon, Robert Gash).
The most visually apparent of the changes were made with the help of the consultancy Argodesign.
On the digital marketing side, Argo championed adding hefty helpings of imagery, to emphasize the personality of the experience -- average cars and customers in average situations, in short. It also pushed for the use of "bright, bold colors," to underline the company's contemporary chic.
The changes are just in time. FlightCar, which has raised $40.1 million and is at a dozen US airports, faces competition on several fronts.
Something of a rival Turo, which isn't limited to airport car-sharing but claims a presence at 270 airports, has raised $101 million to date and has recently expanded to Canada. GetAround is still trucking along, too. In Europe, Drivy is revving its engines.
Standard ground transportation services, such as Blacklane, Mozio, Silvercar, and Travelercar are also offering on-demand solutions that are related.
Unlike those companies, FlightCar is neither pure peer-to-peer nor pure traditional ground transport company. It lies in the middle, with its own facilities -- so owners and visitors don't have to interact. It does much of the work, instead of asking customers to do things like clean their cars, make arrangements, or exchange keys.
Being adaptable may help FlightCar maintain traction in its drive to gain market share.