This week, we caught up with Michael Carr and Barry White, Founders of GoRoadie, an online platform which enables learner drivers to connect with driving instructors.
The duo, who originally trialled their service in Dundee in 2017, have since launched GoRoadie in five different cities including Aberdeen, and recently signed up their 1000th user.
Michael and Barry are go-getting entrepreneurs, who strive to continuously improve the user experience on their platform while adding in new features. With ambitious plans in the pipeline, we spoke to them about their journey to date.
How did you benefit from Elevator’s accelerator programme?
Elevator’s accelerator allowed us to gain a much clearer understanding of how to run a business; Barry and I came from a product development background with little business experience. We received constructive and strategic feedback on our current model which we found very beneficial and in turn, we were given clear guidance about what to focus on in order to be successful.
Another key benefit was the abundance of connections we made during the 12-week programme. We were provided with the opportunity to gain contacts at Scottish Enterprise and we now work closely with several business agitators, who helped put wheels in motion throughout the programme.
Talk us through your launch in Aberdeen?
Implementing the techniques we obtained during the accelerator programme, we spoke to local instructors, gathered useful feedback and had nine Aberdeen-based driving instructors sign up to GoRoadie in one month. Very quickly we were able to direct students in Aberdeen to our platform.
We gained six new instructors through word of mouth from our initial launch, now giving us a total of fifteen driving instructors based in Aberdeen. We have managed to double the number of students signing up in Aberdeen since the first month, and we hope to see this growth continue.
What are your future plans?
We are committed to boosting our growth in Aberdeen through increasing our monthly bookings with both students and instructors. We also launched in Glasgow at the end of last week which is a massive achievement.
We continuously strive to improve our platform for users, and recently implemented a new search system which allows instructors to set a working postcode and radius to suit them. This is an essential feature in large cities such as London, as instructors will operate in specific smaller areas.
What one piece of advice would you give you future entrepreneurs?
Dive in! Set small goals initially and do not get distracted. A great idea is always interesting but executing that idea and seeing progress is far more exciting. We always recommend speaking to potential customers – seek feedback as quickly as possible.
To find out more about GoRoadie’s plans, click here: Aberdeen Driving Lessons.
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