During his senior year at Texas A&M University, Matthew Iommi discovered a significant gap in options for group transportation. Unlike popular ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, students heading out for a night together lacked on-demand ride solutions that matched such platforms in terms of convenience, accessibility, and affordability.
“Once your group reaches six or seven people, you end up splitting into multiple cars, which is not only inefficient but also detrimental to sustainability. Plus, it diminishes the experience because not everyone can ride together,” Iommi, now 25, explained to TechCrunch. “The alternative was booking a charter vehicle days or even weeks ahead of time.”
The latter option often means paying for more hours than needed, with no simple way for friends to share the cost.
In 2020, he and co-founder Justin Rath took a leap and purchased a party bus to test the waters for an on-demand group rideshare service catering to 7 to 14 passengers. They called their venture Fetii, a French term signifying an extension of one’s family.
“We like to think of our rideshare mission as helping to unite people,” Iommi remarked.
Fast forward five years, and Fetii is now reportedly operational in 68 cities across six states, including Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix, and Scottsdale, transporting over 200,000 passengers monthly. Although Fetii allows for advance ride reservations, Iommi notes that a significant majority—between 75% and 80%—are on-demand requests.
Based in Austin, the startup recently completed a $7.35 million seed funding round led by Mark Cuban, with contributions from Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, and others. The funds will help Fetii expand its footprint into markets like Florida, California, and Massachusetts.
Empowering Young People, by Young People
Fetii is not alone in targeting group transportation; previous attempts like Chariot—a commuter shuttle service bought by Ford in 2016 before its closure in 2019—illustrate the challenges in this space. Iommi believes Chariot struggled because its service only catered to peak commute hours, making it less effective.
In 2022, Uber introduced Uber Charter in collaboration with US Coachways, allowing users to book buses through their app, but this venture also faded away.
These experiences served as valuable lessons for Iommi and Rath. As they bootstrapped their college startup, they needed a cost-effective approach to rolling out services in cities, unlike many ridesharing firms that often spend massive amounts of capital following large funding rounds.
Instead of focusing on corporate events or weddings, which are typical avenues for charter companies, Fetii decided to initially cater to college students.
“I believe that one of the key insights that previous ventures missed is creating a service that resonates with young adults who often gather in groups,” Iommi added.
Most of Fetii’s users are aged 21 to 30, and the service is utilized for a variety of occasions, from casual nights out and bachelorette parties to weddings and sports events. The platform also serves groups attending corporate gatherings, conferences, and festivals.
“Our users often engage with us multiple times a week, whether for social outings or formal events,” Iommi shared.
Designing the payment system posed another unique challenge for Fetii.
“When the van arrives, payments are handled similarly to services like Lime and Bird by scanning a QR code. This allows everyone in the group to pay individually, rather than requiring one person to cover the total cost and hope for reimbursement,” Iommi explained, adding that the average fare is around $5 per person.
By zeroing in on college students initially, Fetii has created a scalable business approach.
“We prefer to launch our services at universities first, collaborating with various organizations, sports teams, frats, and sororities to educate them on how to utilize our platform,” he said.
The company offers the first ride for free, which Iommi believes helps build a strong foundation within the college community. This strategy not only attracts drivers but also helps establish a balance between supply and demand.
Fetii utilizes a program called “Fetii VSP” (Vehicle Service Provider), enabling entities that own their fleet and drivers to list their vans on Fetii’s platform.
Once Fetii has established a presence at colleges, it strategically extends its reach. Branded Fetii vans begin to circulate, and word-of-mouth marketing takes off. As Iommi emphasized, each passenger can turn into a customer, fostering a cycle of effective and economical growth.
Interestingly, it was the enthusiastic feedback from Mark Cuban’s daughter that caught the billionaire’s attention, leading him to invest in Fetii’s seed round.
“My daughter frequently used Fetii with her friends and couldn’t stop talking about it,” Cuban shared with TechCrunch. “She encouraged me to invest. The more I learned about it, the more convinced I became.”
When asked if Cuban’s involvement was an attempt to compensate for his earlier rejection of an opportunity to invest in Uber back in 2009, he stated: “Uber was first, so the market was different then. Fetii has the potential to become global and achieve great success.”
Iommi mentioned that when launching the business, aiming for an acquisition by Uber or Lyft was considered a viable exit strategy. However, as time progressed, this perspective shifted, even though Fetii remains open to collaboration with major ride-hailing firms.
Cuban, however, is not overly enthusiastic about the idea of Fetii pursuing M&A avenues. “I always prefer businesses to be extraordinarily profitable and generate cash flow,” he remarked.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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