Info.: He is a Computer Science graduate from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Sikkim. Joined Wells Fargo in 2008 and working as a Technology Specialist in the Consumer Lending and Enterprise Risk Management domain. Started working on Zify after quitting Wells Fargo in 2014.
Q1. What is Zify ?
Zify is a mobile & web application that makes people’s daily commute simple & fun! By socially connecting car-owners and passengers to facilitate dynamic car-pooling, we provide an alternate mode of daily commute option which is affordable & comfortable.
Q2. How you got the idea ?
There are more than 1 billion cars on this planet and India has 20% of them. The no of cars on our Indian roads is going to increase to 500 million in the next 4-5 years, resulting in a gridlock situation which will not only hamper our quality of life, but it will also impact our ability to deliver life essentials such as food & healthcare. More taxis means more cars and the public transport system is just not adequate. Often we see more than 75% of people driving alone in their cars, whereas people travelling uncomfortably in over-crowded public transport. It is high time to identify an alternate mode of daily transport which depends on the sharing economy.
Q3. Is there any existing service in the market like yours ? if so then how your one is different ?
The concept of carpooling is not new. There are announcement boards, casual carpooling spots and of course there are other competitors in the market. Some operate this as a CSR activity, some just like an information provider. But none address the overhead activities involved in the end-to-end execution of carpooling. Zify is one such solutions which is dynamic, meaning people can search or offer a ride anytime & anywhere through the app, and it removes most of the overhead activities making the whole flow very smart and easy.
Q4. Do you think people will trust each other ? (because trust is the only thing zify works on.)
Very true. The whole shared economy is depended on trust and belief. And I strongly believe that if we provide the right information and create a secure ecosystem of like-minded people, we can tackle the trust deficit factor involved. Moreover, the whole ride-sharing thing is happening at the peak traffic times, when millions of working class people with certain socio-economic lifestyle are travelling to their offices. Take the example of Airbnb, people aren’t really afraid of sharing their expensive house if provided with all the necessary information and the right policies & procedures in place, we are just asking people to share their car rides. Not that I’ve met you but knowing that you work with a Company X and having info about you, I would not hesitate in offering you a ride. :)
Q5. Have you setup any way to prevent misuse of your service ?
We have invested a lot in technology and processes to ensure a safe & awesome community of like-minded people who believe in the shared economy. We have taken various measures like social profiling and background verification to ensure authentication. Our infra is backed by industry level security measures and we regularly work with various government & law authorities to strengthen our user on-boarding process.
Q6. What more services you gonna add in your existing service ?
Currently we would concentrate on the basics and ensure a seamless carpooling service. However, our team is working on some really cool and innovative features but Its too early to say anything right now.
Q7. How many brilliant minds are behind this awesome idea ?
Pramod Kumar, Co-founder & CTO – BTech / MTech in CSE from IIT Kharagpur.
Q8. How your service helps Society ?
Not only it helps reducing the no of cars on our roads and dramatically reducing the CO2 emissions, but more than anything it connects people. Our daily commute today has become a financial, emotional and an emotional burden. Not only we as individuals suffer but it also affects the economy on a larger scale. In 2011, the Indian economy suffered a collective loss of more than $100 Billion due to traffic congestions and productivity losses. Also, we want people to be highly energetic & productive when they reach their respective offices or happy when they get back home. And we are doing that by connect people with people organically. Research shows that driving with someone reduces the chances of an accident by more than 67% percentage!
Q9. What is your ultimate Goal ?
Our ultimate goal is to create a shared ecosystem where car-owners get a platform to recover their car-ownership cost and the passengers get an alternative daily travel option which is comfortable and affordable. The rest, like environmental & economic benefits would follow automatically.
Q10. How much time it took you to setup and execute this awesome idea ?
Everything takes time. It took us months to understand people’s needs because this is not a technology problem which we are solving but a people’s problem. We conducted multiple experiments and validations in order to understand a users travelling patterns and their behaviour while travelling.
