I think it’s safe to say Uber is one of the most significant startups of the decade. Their vision is to make arranged transport so cheap and convenient that you literally don’t need to own a car: it’s so audacious, when Travis told me I straight up laughed. After our last startup together, I started Expensify, and he started Uber, and I wished him the best of luck in an incredulous sort of way. Well the time for luck is over. This is happening folks, and woe be to all who stand in Uber’s way.
Since then I’ve been dazzled on the sidelines like everyone else, as uberX became a near-daily part of my life. But today we’re doing more than just sit idly by while the world of transportation is reinvented around us. We’re doing our part to build the future, and I couldn’t be more excited.
I’m very proud to present to you: SmartRides, the first product of a long partnership with Uber (who is also an Expensify customer worldwide) to help automate not just your expense report, but your business trip itself.
Expensify already tracks your travel itinerary — just forward reservations to receipts@expensify.com and we’ll give you live flight updates, put confirmation numbers and key addresses at your fingertips, and even automatically create your whole expense report for you.
But with SmartRides, we’ll put that information to work and begin automating the physical side of your journey, too. When we see a flight is coming up, we’ll have a car pick you up and take you straight to the airport. When your plane arrives, a car will be waiting outside baggage claim to take you straight to your hotel. When your return flight lands, we’ll pick you up and take you home.
We’ll do all this without you ever needing to look up any addresses, describe where you want to go in a city you don’t know, or make any complex decisions after a long and tiring flight. Just say ‘Yes’ when prompted, and we’ll take care of the rest. There’s nothing to enable, and no extra fee — this is just a new feature built into Expensify that will appear when you need it most.
This is all part of our long term vision for the company that I’m still struggling to describe, but sometimes call “ambient computing” — an always-on service that combines information from the physical and digital world to create a comprehensive understanding of what you’re doing, to anticipate your needs and take care of all the mundane details on your behalf. (Totally optional, of course, and with the utmost respect for your sensitive personal data.)
Anyway, it’s exciting stuff, and I can’t wait to hear your feedback as you experience it for yourself. Feel free to drop me a line at dbarrett@expensify.com if you have any questions (though please be very patient, as it can take me a long time to respond). Thanks for using Expensify, and let’s build the future together!
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