Have you guys thought about partnering with metromile? Then you'd know where my car is and its current fuel level.
Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
201–210 of 281 posts
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#202Hi, I'm one of the founders. Happy to answer any questions!
I was skeptical about the business when it was on-demand gas delivery (when David told me about it), but I really like this pivot. The friction of filling gas will vary greatly from person to person (and many will have already figured out how to minimize that friction in their weekly routines), but services and check up are painful for nearly everyone -- especially since they're infrequent and relatively unfamiliar tasks. Kudos.
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
Does your device have the same security properties as the typical fuel door?
Locking gas doors are pretty pointless these days, unless you're worried about someone giving you the sugar-in-the-gas-tank treatment. All cars made for the last several years have anti-siphoning measures built into the line to the gas tank.
1. Paint Yoshi sign on Truck so it looks like you're supposed to be there messing with the car's gas.
2. Use something like GasTapper (literally first google hit) on apparently uncrackable gas tanks.
3. Profit?
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Carbon being released into the atmosphere is believed to be one of the main contributors to rapid climate change. Gasoline is a liquid of hydrogen and carbon. When it is burned, the carbon and hydrogens are broken apart and the carbon joins with oxygen and is then typically allowed to escape in to the atmosphere. This service is hauling around, presumably large amounts of, gasoline, likely using a hydro-carbon burnin…
Not enough to worry about, in the context of the total number of cars on the road.
This service will not expand to all cars?
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#205I think the HN crowd underestimates how valuable target users consider their time. I probably average 2 trips to the gas station a month and I have a below average commute. Each trip takes me 10 mins out of my way + 10 mins of fueling depending on if there's a line or not. And it's always before work (I'm in a rush) or after work (want to get home to family). Paying a startup $15/mo to reclaim even 40 mins a month of…
I think you underestimate how valuable the vast majority of the world considers their money. All this use of "My". Sorry to be blunt but you are irrelevant. Spend some time outside of the bubble, St. Louis for example. People here ain't gonna pay $15 to reclaim 40 minutes a month. This strikes me like the gig economy spend a $1 to get $0.90 strategy. There are huge costs for physical presence businesses that can only…
> People here ain't gonna pay $15 to reclaim 40 minutes a month
are there no hand car washes in st. louis? a full service carwash saves about 40 minutes of labor that you can use to catch up on work or other activities, and costs about 15 bucks.
and how about a cheap lunch at the diner for 1 or 2? wouldn't that be about $15? and saves you about 40 minutes of prep, cook, and clean?
$15 in a taxi cab or uber would save you about 40 minutes of walking.
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
Locking gas doors are pretty pointless these days, unless you're worried about someone giving you the sugar-in-the-gas-tank treatment. All cars made for the last several years have anti-siphoning measures built into the line to the gas tank.
1. Paint Yoshi sign on Truck so it looks like you're supposed to be there messing with the car's gas. 2. Use something like GasTapper (literally first google hit) on apparently uncrackable gas tanks. 3. Profit?
0. Find a car that has a FuelVault installed?
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#207I think the HN crowd underestimates how valuable target users consider their time. I probably average 2 trips to the gas station a month and I have a below average commute. Each trip takes me 10 mins out of my way + 10 mins of fueling depending on if there's a line or not. And it's always before work (I'm in a rush) or after work (want to get home to family). Paying a startup $15/mo to reclaim even 40 mins a month of…
> the HN crowd underestimates how valuable target users consider their time. I don't, which is why I'm launching a butt-scratching on-demand service. You'll never have to stop what you're doing to scratch your butt again. In seriousness, time is the most precious resource we have. Still, I wonder if it's possible to overestimate its value.
>In seriousness, time is the most precious resource we have. Still, I wonder if it's possible to overestimate its value.
My own 2 cents on this is not that the value of the time becomes over estimated but that people fail to extract the value of the time they "saved" by paying to have a service provided. I pay somebody to mow my lawn every week, if I spend that time hacking on a side project or being with my family then I can honestly say my time is indeed valuable and was well spent; but if I spend that time just screwing around on HN or Reddit, then I would say I wasn't honest about the value of my time and accept the fact that I paid for a service just because I'm lazy.
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're rushing to get home before your young children go to bed, you simply cannot put a price on those extra 40 minutes.
If you are rushing to get home before your young children go to bed, haven't you likely already put a price on those minutes?
> cannot put a price
is French for the demand is inelastic
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#209I'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 stop for gas, go in for a cup of Starbucks and be back to my car that now has a full tank in less than 5 minutes. Would I pay $15 a month for this even though my normal routine doesn't suck? Maybe. But what about the actual gas cost? That's more important than the $15 subscription fee if the spread is large enough and I'm guessing it is since they have to pay for the drivers, carry some kind of insurance I pres…
You're not supposed to leave a running gas pump unattended. The auto shutoff doesn't always work.
Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd be a little angry if I worked at that company. What are they doing for the folks who don't drive in every day?
Whenever I've mentioned all the health costs associated with offspring (which I don't have!), the HR dude has always referred me to the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. I'm not sure it really applies, but I get the feeling we're not supposed to complain about that sort of thing...
I think it's consistent with a reasonably just world that not all people will exercise all possible workplace benefits.