It's easy to dismiss burgeoning startups that promise to "disrupt" industries or areas of
our lives that probably don't need disrupting. Their outlandish and jargon-packed pitches echo obnoxiously in the canyons of the Internet. It's like Tinder, but for vintage neckties! Think of it like Yelp, but for people. It's basically Shazam, for fish! I mean, c'mon. Good luck with that, dude.
That's why at first, the prospect of an app that basically makes it easier to hitchhike seems absurd. This is something no one is asking for, right? But here's the rub: the app is already a huge hit... in Europe. It's called BlaBlaCar, and it matches up passengers who need long-distance rides with drivers who are already headed that way.
The French ride-sharing app, which launched in 2006, is currently available in 22 countries, and boasts some 25 million members. In startup pitch formula terms, it's like CouchSurfing, but for cars. It hasn't made the leap to the States yet, but if and when it does, it could be a game changer. https://www.thrillist.com/tech/nation/blablacar-ride-sharing-apps-hitchhiking-road-trips/tech
