Road Trip Update and Next Steps for Shareconomy the Film

Welcome back!

Last fall we wrapped up our Indiegogo campaign and started planning Shareconomy's next steps. Through crowdfunding we raised an incredible $15K which allowed us to travel across the United States and complete several key interviews. This trip broadened our sphere of influence and got us to places in America where the sharing economy is making an impact.

These additional interviews and those we completed before will be the foundation for Shareconomy the film. It was especially important that we capture the varying stances on the collaborative economy. We interviewed everyone from platform founders and users, to state assemblymen, to sociology experts, to people we met on the streets. By investigating every side of the sharing economy we can better determine it's progression and future impact.

We also integrated ourselves in the sharing economy community as much as possible. We stayed with Airbnb hosts, were fed by strangers, and tried our best to use collaborative platforms when we could. This was not only a great way to travel, and lots of fun, it also put us in the shoes of those using the sharing economy every day.

So after 10,000 miles and six cities we are back in Seattle and ready for the next steps in completing the film. Currently we are rolling into post-production. We are very excited to be working with Killer Infographics who will create the motion graphics for Shareconomy. 

We thank everyone for all the great support we've received and can't wait to finish the project. In the meantime check out some of the photos we took on our trip.

Thank you!

Home for the next 10k Miles

Leaving Seattle

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

 Jillian participating on a Sharing Economy panel at the PCI Legislative and Political Conference

Meal Sharing Founder, Jay Savsani

Meal Sharing Host Huan

Street Interviews in Chicago

Meal Sharing Host Hanne

Madison, WI

Interviewing Stephanie Rearick, Founder and Co-Director of the Dane County TimeBank

Detriot, MI

Joe Louis Monument

Interview with Philip Cooley, Co-Founder of Ponyride.

New York City, NY

Brookyln Bridge, NY

Getting footage from the "Top of the Rock"

Interviewing Richard Gottifried, NY State Assembly Member

Washington D.C.

Ride Along with TaskRabbit Marc

Niagra Falls

Greg makes a friend

Buffalo, NY

10,000 miles and we are home!

Shareconomy Live Photos and Stream

Shareconomy had it's second live event last Monday at the Impact Hub Seattle. The event featured the extended trailer, interviews and a live panel of sharing economy influencers. Check out the slideshow of photos and video of the event below.

Thank you so much to Chalkcar for livestreaming our event!

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

A huge thank you to Impact Hub Seattle for hosting and our awesome panelists for joining us! Watch the stream and let us know what you think!

Formula For Success In The Sharing Economy

Investors are starting to take notice of the ever growing sharing economy. With a consumer peer market worth $26 billion that continues to develop the sharing economy has some serious potential. This week Raj Kapoor of TechCrunch gave us a comprehensive review of what a sharing economy start up needs to succeed. 

It seems like there are new start ups daily, especially within the shared economy. Kapoor points out that, like in other businesses, those who do best are usually scratching an itch that consumers haven't been able to reach.  

“Sharing economy models work great when there is a high degree of consumer pain. As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In a lot of markets, consumers are happy with the status quo, and it will be hard to get user adoption. ”

Kapoor believes that is why ridesharing and fitness have done exceptionally well:

“For ridesharing and fitness, the consumer pain is more obvious. Until Uber and Lyft, it was impossible to hail a taxi in most cities, a huge pain to force drivers to accept your credit card, and an all-around unpleasant experience in the car.

When you look at the fitness industry, it’s generating $75 billion each year on gym fees, yet 60 percent of people who belong to gyms don’t even go and our nation’s growing obesity and inactivity problem are evidence the solution isn’t working. Lyft and fitmob hack these pain points by creating an experience that is fun, accessible with the push of a button, and affordable giving consumers clear benefits that are lacking in traditional services.”

Kapoor also cautions start ups to be aware of the watchful regulatory eye, currently challenging the sharing economy daily. Lyft, Uber and Airbnb are a few of the many sharing platforms that are constantly under fire for violating the law. Kapoor wisely recommends that you should work hand in hand with the government to create a win-win for all parties. 

To see what else is needed for your sharing economy start up needs to be successful, check out the full TechCrunch article and let us know what you think.

The Peer Economy Under Fire

This last week was a rough one to market the peer economy. Berlin recently announced that Uber was effectively prohibited from their city while several others, such as Barcelona and London, continue to voice adamant opposition to rideshare services. As per usual, Airbnb is faced with challenges across the globe. 

Justin Sullivan - Getty Images

In addition, the peer economy is constantly being critiqued in the media. Time.com recently posted an article titled "6 Horrible Things the Sharing Economy is Being Accused Of". Sabotaging each other, wrecking the housing market, and illegal currency trading were a few of the troubling accusations listed. The article highlights that the shared economy can be "brutally cut-throat in the way that seemingly everything and everyone is monetized", which unfortunately, has resulted in a slew of negative press. 

The New York Times recently did a profile piece on a few sharing economy employees, specifically highlighting a mother of 3. The Times followed Jennifer Guidry on a 19 hour work day, doing everything from giving rides, to cooking private meals. Guidry talks about how the sharing economy gives her the flexibility she needs to spend time with her kids but comes with the instability of any ad hoc job. 

“I like my freedom — fixing someone’s cabinet, driving, pulling up weeds, cooking,” she told me as we sat in her dining room on Monday morning, recapping her weekend of work. “I would not like to do any of those things as a full-time job.”

Guidry sheds light on what it is really like to work in the gig economy, and what the payoff is. While she enjoys her work, the article poses concerns about the lack of stability and benefits that come with a traditional full time job. While some platforms have started to offer some services to employees, such as discount health insurance and accounting services, economists worry that it may not be enough.  

While some may see the sharing economy's recent increase in negative media as a sign of impending doom, this could be a very unique opportunity for the sharing community. Watching an economic movement develop in real time has never really been an option before. Enthusiasts can use this advantage to approach issues as they occur and come up with solutions before they become a characteristic of the collaborative economy. The question is whether or not we are willing to utilize this opportunity as a community or if the competitiveness of business will prevail. 

What do you think?

The Government [Finally] Takes Advantage of the Collaborative Economy

In light of the recent pivotal controversy involving government interaction in the shared economy, a new ecosystem has arrived, specifically focused on sharing government resources. MuniRent is a platform that makes it very easy for local governments to lease heavy duty equipment to other governments. Based out of Ann Arbor Michigan, MunitRent is one of few peer-to-peer platforms among businesses.

MuniRent.co

The site gives municipalities access to hundreds of pieces of equipment available with photos, machine specifications, and locations.  "There are early adopters who are excited about the sharing economy coming to the government level," says CEO Alan Mond. "Our vision is to be the hub for collaborative government."

The potential for both parties is cost. MuniRent claims that renters can give equipment up to 70% cheaper than on the open market, and the renting municipality can use the cash to offset equipment upkeep. 

FastCoExist's Ben Schiller spoke with CEO Alan Mond who reckons that governments are more likely to share than businesses, because, aside from political differences, they don't compete. "If you have two construction companies, one of them may not want to rent a crane to the other one. Governments are all trying to do sewer maintenance on reduced budgets. They're not competing. They just happen to be in different jurisdictions," he says.

It's incredible to see the government get involved in the collaborative economy to save the taxpayer dollar. We'd be interested to see if they'll continue this onto other services as well, and if their involvement will cause them to alter current views on sharing economy policy.

Check out the full article on MuniRent in FastCoExist and let us know what you think. Where else could the government benefit from sharing economy platforms?

The Sharing Economy: What's in a Name?

One of the first things opposition of the shared economy will point out is that members are not actually sharing anything. There have been debates based solely on the name of this economic model. The only thing I can equate this to is how the rest of the world must feel about American Football. Misleading title and not technically true (at least for the majority of playtime). Supporters of the sharing economy can't argue too hard because most of the larger platforms aren't exactly sharing or collaborating. Airbnb hosts receive payment for the usage of their homes, and TaskRabbit's receive payment for their services. To share would mean that there was no payment required for goods or services, and therefore, opposition is correct. However, this has no affect on how supporters feel about the shared economy in the same way that Americans will continue to defy the world with the word soccer. 

Andrew Geant, CEO and Co-Founder of WyzAnt, a tutor search website, recently wrote an article for Entrepreneur regarding the naming of the shared economy. Geant's article, The Sharing Economy is Misnamed But Deserves Celebration Anyway, takes a look at what we could be calling the sharing economy instead.

"Certainly there are common threads among these businesses and reasons why several of them have grown exponentially to multibillion dollar valuations. But sharing and collaboration are not part of the secret sauce.  What makes these businesses special and successful are the concepts of participation and utilization."

"'Participation' and 'utilization'' are better terms for this new sector of the economy because these adjectives describe concepts that sharing and collaboration have never fully captured."

In the article Geant goes onto to explain where and when "Participation" and "Utilization" fit:

"Participation: noun; the action of taking part in something.Businesses like Uber, Airbnb and Etsy increase accessibility to goods and services that were historically limited by regulation, price, awareness and other factors.  This is true for both supply and demand (riders and drivers, hosts and travelers, and buyers and sellers). These businesses cause participation to increase among all parties."

"Utilization: noun; putting to use; turning to profitable account.Utilization is another way of saying that these businesses take advantage of excess supply and latent demand. This is where the term “sharing” is often substituted incorrectly ( When I rent a spare bedroom on Airbnb, it is a business transaction, not sharing. I'm motivated by profit to utilize a resource I control)."

Geant reviews a handful of sharing platforms and where they would fall into his new categories. Check out the rest of his article for more information.

What do you think? Does the sharing economy need a technically correct title? And if so what do you think of Participation and Utilization? 

Lyft Continues it's Battle to Expand to NYC

Lyft has expanded to 60 US cities and had hoped make it 61 with the addition of New York City last Friday. However, NYC has declared Lyft an "unauthorized service" and threatened legal consequences if the ride-share app launched. Lyft held off as long as they could before announcing they would work with the Taxi and Limousine Commission:

"Today we agreed in New York State Supreme Court to put off the launch of Lyft's peer-to-peer model in New York City and we will not proceed with this model unless it complies with New York City Taxi and Limousine regulations. We will meet with the TLC beginning Monday to work on a new version of Lyft that is fully-licensed by the TLC, and we will launch immediately upon the TLC's approval."

Lyft assured the public that there was no TRO (temporary restraining order) or injunction, but that everyone agreed to meet Monday if Lyft held off on their launch. Wall Street Journal reports that the decision was less nonchalant than Lyft lets on. They state that familiar face, New York Attorney General Eric. T, Schneiderman (from the Airbnb's subpoena in NYC earlier this year) and plaintiff Benjamin Lawsky, filed court papers on Lyft's original launch date in order to stop the company from operating in the state. 

"Lyft's arguments are a disingenuous attempt to disguise old-fashioned lawbreaking that jeopardizes public safety," Messrs. Schneiderman and Lawsky said in a news release. Schneiderman is no new face to opposition of the shared economy and knows that NYC will set a standard for other cities worldwide. 

Lyft's competition Uber, managed to get licensed in NYC after initially launching without the TLC's approval. Some have speculated that this was because Uber had recently hired Ashwini Chhabra, the then TLC deputy commissioner for policy and planning. Many within the taxi industry find this to be very suspicious:

"About 4-5 weeks ago, [we] ... accused Ashwini of working for Uber presently and in the past," Evgeny Freidman, who owns one of the largest taxi fleets in New York, wrote to TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi shortly after Chhabra's hire, according to the New York Observer. "I would insist as a major stake holder in this industry ‎that the TLC open a [Department of Investigation] investigation into this matter."

However, several industry experts believe that Chhabra's hiring had nothing to do with Uber's licensing but rather that Uber agreed to play by the TLC's rules, which up until now, Lyft has refused to do. Uber has embraced regulations and operates only with city-licensed vehicles. TLC spokesman, Russell Murphy states:

"From our perspective, … Lyft is unique from Uber in a larger sense because they’re not following TLC regulations. Uber, at least from what the TLC says and what Uber says, is following all the regulations,"
 

So yet another legal battle to watch in the sharing economy. Let us know what you think, will NYC grant Lyft a license? Or use them to set an example for other "unauthorized services"? To read more check out the Business Insider article on Why NYC's Lyft Crackdown Probably Isn't Linked To Uber and Wall Street Journal's coverage of Friday's decision.

Taxi Protests Gridlock Downtown Washington DC

A caravan of angry taxi drivers gridlocked downtown Washington DC this Wednesday. The source of their anger? Ride-sharing services such as Lyft, Uber and Sidecar.

A taxi caravan of hundreds drove slowly and honked car horns as they held up traffic on Constitution Ave on Wednesday. Photo via Washington Post

Photo via Washington Post

Cab drivers all over the world have been protesting these new ride-sharing services claiming they have an unfair advantage over traditional taxi drivers. Cabbies must follow strict regulations and require special licensing to operate. Regulations on ride-sharing apps are still being decided and at best, a gray area. 

Wednesday's gridlock has been the newest form of protest from the taxi-industry and it wasn't just in DC. Drivers in London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin brought traffic to crawl earlier this month, honking their horns and waving signs denouncing the local transportation agency and taxi apps.

Wednesday's protest shows that cab drivers will not back down and raises concern as to just how far they will go. Considering that some of these protests have gotten violent, the question now is how (and how quickly) regulators will respond. Driver's voices have been heard in some areas including Virginia, who recently issued a cease and desist letter to Lyft. Where in other cities, such as Seattle, ride-sharing apps have been welcomed as competition to local taxi services. 

"Authorities said Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest opened in both directions around 1 p.m. The roadway had been closed from 15th to 9th streets Northwest because of the protest. The street closure caused other delays in the downtown area. Ironically, because of the protest, some people reported difficulty hailing cabs."

Check out the Washington Post article and let us know what you think. Are these protests getting out of hand or are they warranted? 

Shareconomy Kickstarter

We are pleased to announce that the Shareconomy Kickstarter went live this week. This project has been an exciting chapter of our lives are we are so close to completion. We invite you to check out the Shareconomy Kickstarter page and let us know what you think.

Shareconomy examines the sharing economy through the eyes of those who know it best. The film features interviews from academics and experts studying the movement, government officials tasked with regulating this new economy, and those individuals using sharing platforms to enrich and empower their lives. Many working within the sharing economy embody the micro-entrepreneurial spirit, a model for the 'new worker' in this 'new economy'. Through these characters, we will discover the complexities of the sharing economy and its current and potential impact on our society. Shareconomy explores both the pros and cons of this economic movement, questioning whether this 'new economy' will transform the way we work, live, and interact with each other forever. 

Through this film we have an opportunity to spark a global conversation on this economic movement while still in its primary development. Economists and academics have predicted that this new sector could have the biggest impact on society since the Industrial Revolution. Globally, sharing economy companies are worth nearly $500 billion and are disrupting major established industries and challenging governmental regulations. We hope this film can provide a macro-level view of the sharing economy movement and an honest discussion about the pros and cons.

The film is about halfway through production and we need your help to finish it. Those familiar with the sharing economy will understand why we utilized crowd-funding to help us complete funding. A film based on the economic impact of the sharing society wouldn't be right if we didn't partner with our audience. Our goal is to raise $115,000 by July 4th, 2014. We've come up with some unique rewards for every level donation, all with the sharing economy in mind (including crashing at the Director's house for a night). 

Please take a moment to check out our Kickstarter page and view the extended trailer. We are so grateful for any contribution you can make, including spreading the word to family, friends and colleagues. 

Thank you so much for all your support. Let's make this movie happen!