Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

Post by nostromo » Mon, Jul 11, 2016, 6:51 PM UTC

technofiend wrote: post #27

danhak wrote: post #3

I've never owned a car in a city as dense as SF or New York so maybe it's different in places like that, but this strikes me as yet another example of the "Uber-For-X" SV startup that doesn't solve any real problem. Stopping by the gas station once a week on my way home is simply not a big enough annoyance for me to subscribe to yet another service. I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model…

I guess I'm one of those weird outliers who has a use case but still won't use the service. My wife works nights and rarely remembers to fuel our vehicle. I commute via Uber or bus so I never have it either. $15/mo is still too much for the service. Sooner or later my wife will run out of gas and then she'll do a better job of remembering to fuel the truck.

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 11, 2016, 6:53 PM UTC

soheil wrote: post #32

danhak wrote: post #3

I've never owned a car in a city as dense as SF or New York so maybe it's different in places like that, but this strikes me as yet another example of the "Uber-For-X" SV startup that doesn't solve any real problem. Stopping by the gas station once a week on my way home is simply not a big enough annoyance for me to subscribe to yet another service. I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model…

I can see this being a great service. Yeah maybe bike packed, dense SF is not going to be their ideal market, but places like LA where there are more cars than sands on a beach can definitely benefit from a service like this. An average commuter in LA has to fill up their tank every one or two weeks. Not having to think about gas ever is a game changer. I also never really enjoyed going to greasy gas stations.

Post by nick007 » Mon, Jul 11, 2016, 6:54 PM UTC

technofiend wrote: post #27

danhak wrote: post #3

I've never owned a car in a city as dense as SF or New York so maybe it's different in places like that, but this strikes me as yet another example of the "Uber-For-X" SV startup that doesn't solve any real problem. Stopping by the gas station once a week on my way home is simply not a big enough annoyance for me to subscribe to yet another service. I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model…

I guess I'm one of those weird outliers who has a use case but still won't use the service. My wife works nights and rarely remembers to fuel our vehicle. I commute via Uber or bus so I never have it either. $15/mo is still too much for the service. Sooner or later my wife will run out of gas and then she'll do a better job of remembering to fuel the truck.

Post by hx87 » Mon, Jul 11, 2016, 6:59 PM UTC

soheil wrote: post #32

danhak wrote: post #3

I've never owned a car in a city as dense as SF or New York so maybe it's different in places like that, but this strikes me as yet another example of the "Uber-For-X" SV startup that doesn't solve any real problem. Stopping by the gas station once a week on my way home is simply not a big enough annoyance for me to subscribe to yet another service. I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model…

I can see this being a great service. Yeah maybe bike packed, dense SF is not going to be their ideal market, but places like LA where there are more cars than sands on a beach can definitely benefit from a service like this. An average commuter in LA has to fill up their tank every one or two weeks. Not having to think about gas ever is a game changer. I also never really enjoyed going to greasy gas stations.

Post by overcast » Mon, Jul 11, 2016, 7:03 PM UTC

nick007 wrote: post #26

mring33621 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think this is a pretty good idea, especially if you can also handle the annoying, piddly maintenance stuff, like tire pressure, fluids and perhaps oil changes for me.

Yep, it's not mentioned in the article but we actually air-up your tires and service them (if needed) as well through a recent partnership we made with Firestone. Depending on the market, we're also offering oil changes and other maintenance things too. Working on expanding these wider.