Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

Hey! I’m Blaine from Solve (https://www.solve.com) and we're in YC's current batch. We save international travelers hours of time by greeting them at their arrival gate, expediting the immigration/customs process, and making sure they're safely in their vehicle heading to their destination. We’re available in nearly 500 airports around the world, and we help with departures and connections too.

Our service sounds like it'd be expensive, but it is actually quite reasonable for someone who's already traveling internationally. For instance, our service for two people arriving in London costs $225 and in Hong Kong it costs $210. It's about $75/person from there. Many of our clients are business travelers and families, but we can help anyone who values their time and/or wants some extra assistance getting through the airport.

I stumbled upon this idea when a friend and I were flying from Seoul to Bangkok. I wondered if there was a way for us to get through customs more quickly, so I searched Google and found a (rather shady-looking!) website for a company that said it could help. I took the risk of giving this company our passport and credit card details, and amazingly, it all worked out. When we arrived, an agent met us at the gate, we were whisked through the airport process in minutes, and the agent helped us get a taxi to our hotel.

I wanted to book the service for other trips, but there was no easy way to do it. So, my co-founders (Shawn and Justin) and I built Solve. We’d love your feedback and are happy to answer any questions.

If it's possible to pay more to avoid the hassle that the other 99% have to deal with, then there is even less incentive for elites to rein in the unnecessary hassle.

I'm sure the 1% will love it, but due to the political calculus, your success will make the world a worse place.

One of the first things I do when I arrive in a new country is pick up a local SIM card so I can use my phone without roaming charges. Sometimes this is nice and simple where you just walk to a booth in the airport and pick one up, other times it's a real hassle, having to hunt around for a local shop and fill in personal information on sign-up. Have you considered providing local SIM cards as part of your service?

Do it guys! There is definitely a demand for this!!!

VIP lounges, fast track and other premium services are all different from airport to airport, procedure for ordering them is unpredictable and sometimes cumbersome (like, faxing a request on the company blank and paying through the wire transfer ONLY, no credit cards accepted - that isn't an exception, but more like the accepted practice). If you will figure it out to the Uber level, when i can take an iPhone app, type in my booking reference for the flight, pay through the attached paypal account or CC, predictable and reasonable price, and someone will meet me at the entrance to the airport or off the plane and get through everything - that will be a killer!