George Arison: The Man Who Predicted Uber Before It Ever Happened Has Another Brave New Concept
ByUber might be involved in a lot of controversies these days but it has no doubt revolutionized how we view transportation. However, it is not common knowledge that Uber's idea was not original. In fact, he saw this kind of revolution and innovation a few years earlier than Uber.
George Arison created an app in 2008 called Taxi Magic, which shares the same ride-sharing principle of Uber. This means that even before Uber came, the idea of sharing a ride already exists but, in Arison's word, Uber over-executed all other competitions.
After the Taxi Magic idea, George Arison now has a new concept that he hopes will revolutionize another untapped industry - the used car market. He said that no one has really tried to tap into this market but statistics show how lucrative it is. He said that in 2014 alone, the used-car industry generated a total of $390 million of revenues.
With that insight in mind, George Arison created Shift, a company that aims to reimagine the used-car market. He said that he wants Shift to be more like the Airbnb of the used-car industry. That means they will buy and sell the car without them owning any of it. Through his company, buyers and sellers will be able to do business without being burdened by huge fees and cuts.
Through Shift, sellers who want to sell their cars contact the company which, in turn, sends someone who will test it and give the owner a quote. Then he takes it away to tune it up and list it up for sale. On the other hand, if you are a buyer, Shift will send someone with the car you purchased and have you test-drive it. If you liked it, you pay it with the price listed on the website - no hassle, no haggling.
George Arison describes Shift as disruptive because it reimagines the traditional way of buying and selling used cars. He said that reimagining things that have always been done is the start of innovation.