New App Means We Can Get Crunk!

There’s a new app out now called StearClear. The idea behind this app is to solve the problem of people who go out and get too drunk to drive home. Obviously, it’s banking on people being responsible, and having some money. Anyone can find a DD, but to find a DD to drive you AND your car home? That’s a sober booty call that just happens to be at the bar. That just doesn’t fly in real life. So enter StearClear, the brainchild of Craig Sher, Ken Schwartz and Harjinder Sidhu, all of whom have technology backgrounds, the app is nothing ground-breaking but could prove worth something, if it can prove profitable.

According to Sarah Perez on Tech Crunch,

“The startup, which is backed by $500,000 in founder-led and VC funding, has been up-and-running for just a month in parts of New Jersey. What StearClear offers, simply put, is a way to get you and your car home. Safely.

According to co-founder Craig Sher, the idea for providing a designated driver service is hardly new. “I found 50 or 60 companies across the country,” he said. “But most of the companies that do designated driver services are mom-and-pop shops…and it’s a very difficult business to make money on. Most people who embark on a designated driver service do it from a community service point of view – they’re very focused on volunteer drivers.”

In a nutshell, StearClear takes care of all the boring stuff. As Perez goes on to explain, “Instead of launching this as their own service from scratch, StearClear takes on a lot of the cost that goes along with creating a business, while leaving the day-to-day to others. The franchises don’t have to process credit cards, handle paying employees or doing their tax reporting; they don’t have to hire HR staff to ensure compliance with U.S. employment law, or worry with insurance and liability protections. StearClear also handles vetting the drivers, handling background checks, criminal and sexual predator checks, driving record checks, and even drug tests.” That leaves just software for the drivers, the drunks (haha, that’s funny but true), and the franchise owners. Basically, the “too inebriated” have an app, the “drive-team” has an app to manage where to go, etc., and the franchise owners can see what’s going on in real time. This means that the franchise owners have to be involved. Uh oh.

All you have to do to be an owner is have $30,000 and you’ll get a block of 70,000 people (about 6-12 zip codes). So the franchisee is responsible for staffing, customer service, and day-to-day operations. I just started playing out the scenarios in my head, and I’d like to be overstaffed and have to let people go than to start this business and be understaffed. Then people get the idea that StearClear sucks, the wait times are too long, etc. and then you’re up Schitz Creek without a paddle. Sher firmly believes though that because they now have a platform, this is a business that can turn a profit in as little as six months. StearClear has launched in New Jersey, so perhaps the time is upon us for a Designated Driver app. Time will tell…

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