Three Principles of the Sharing Economy

Three Principles of the Sharing Economy:
Concept developed at Bla.Bla.Car Company

1. Use unused capacity

2. Ownership-less world

3. Growing Trust

Contributing to society and Economy

At Bla.Bla.Car, we believe in three noteworthy principles that drive the sharing economy:

UNUSED VALUE IS WASTED:
After struggling to find a ride, Frederic Mazella developed an idea to create a carpooling service. All the seats on the trains going in his direction were full, but not the ones in the cars (aka unused assets).
The experience motivated him to reorganize wasted capacity in the form of carpooling.

ACCESS TRUMPS OWNERSHIP: LESS CONCERN ABOUT THE OWNERSHIP: OPEN TO SHARE
Today’s generation of consumers are less interested in traditional ownership, favoring renting or borrowing assets that suit their flexible lifestyle. Access also means that we can easily overcome deterrents (like not having a driver’s license or being able to afford expensive train tickets), making us more mobile than ever before.

TRUST: GROWING TRUST AND UNDERSTANDING WITH THE STRANGERS:-
Globalization paved the way to an interconnected world for enterprises and nations. With time, the interconnectivity weaved online social communities with virtual reputations that allow us to more easily collaborate with strangers.

CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY AND ECONOMY DIRECTLY:-
You used to share things with your family and your friends. And now, you share things with strangers. In this world, everyone is sharing. We are now empowered to share goods, knowledge, money, skills, network, content, etc., through various platforms. We’ve regained our ability to contribute more directly to society and the economy, but on a global scale. All of these developments give form to the sharing economy that we are living in today.

BLA..BLA..CAR :- Transportation Revolution:- Disrupting the transport industry:- Turned ride-sharing into a multi-billion-Rupees business

BLABLACAR :- Transportation Revolution:- Disrupting the transport industry:- Turned ride-sharing into a multi-billion-Rupees business

******************************************************************************* BLABLACAR is the French online ride-sharing company that pairs people travelling between cities with drivers who have empty seats in their car.
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FOUNDED 2006; 11 years ago
FOUNDERS Frédéric Mazzella
KEY PEOPLE :- Frédéric Mazzella, Francis Nappez, Nicolas Brusson
Headquarters Paris, France
******************************************************************************* BLABLACAR is a smart and popular European app that is now making city-to-city travel in India affordable and comfortable, even last minute.
BlaBlaCar allows you to share city-to-city car journeys with great people
Car owners avoid heavy driving costs by sharing them with co-travellers
Co-travellers make an agreed contribution to driving costs and enjoy last-minute travel in the comfort of a car.
The BlaBlaCar community is safe and secure, and you choose your co-travellers so you know they will be people just like you. There are a number of trust features like mandatory Facebook Connect, and every member profile is authenticated by BlaBlaCar to ensure full names are displayed and only real profile photos are used. A dedicated member support team also monitors activity 24/7 ensuring that the spirit of respectful community membership is always present on the platform.

******************************************************************************* COMPANY DETAILS:-

******************************************************************************* 40 million members
22 countries
12 million travellers per quarter
An estimated INR 2000 crore saved by our car owners every year
An estimated 1,000,000 tons of CO2 saved
Average car occupancy 2.8 people (vs 1.6 average)
Over 30 million app downloads (iPhone and Android)
4 Million Facebook fans (all Facebook pages together)
BlaBlaCar has more than 600 employees and more than 35 million members across 22 countries.
Opening an office in 2009 and hiring its first employee.

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STATISTICS

******************************************************************************* Carpooling, as a concept, comes under the large umbrella of the shared economy, which a recent PwC report estimated at $15 billion globally. This figure is projected to hit $335 billion by 2025.
Collective distance exceeds five billion kilometres.
Service generates total savings of £216 million for drivers every year.
The Indian numbers are astounding: 3 million seats shared across 700 cities, 145 million trip kilometres so far, 5,500 tonnes of CO2 savings.
Company has monetised in only seven of the 22 markets it is present in. (Not Monetised in INDIA , may be by next year it will start)
India:- While over 5 lakh tickets get booked on Indian Railways daily, an estimated 10 lakh people don't get tickets.
India is the 14th country and the only Asian nation to become a member of the International BlaBlaCar community.
In France, the company charges a commission of 11% of the journey price
In January 2015, has already seen one million seats being offered through its platform in the INDIA. expecs to see 5-10 fold growth in the next few years.
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FACTS :-

******************************************************************************* BlaBlaCar a long-distance ride-sharing community.
Conceived in December 2003 by Frédéric Mazzella and founded in 2006.
world’s largest long-distance carpooling community.
Global brand relentlessly spreading the word about the virtues of carpooling.
In Europe, BlaBlaCar is cheaper than trains.
80% of city-to-city travel in Europe is done by car.
IT HAS GROWN TO THE POINT AT WHICH THE PRESIDENT OF SNCF, THE FRENCH NATIONAL RAILWAY, IDENTIFIED IT AS A COMPETITOR LAST YEAR.
The turning point came in 2007 when a series of strikes crippled the French transport system. A well-timed press release to say BlaBlaCar was still open for business attracted huge media attention.
BlaBlaCar carries out checks on the mobile phone numbers, emails and bank accounts of its users and encourages members of the community to rate each other, in turn building trust for frequent members.
At the end of 2012, BlaBlaCar had initially published the “Trustman Study” which was based on surveys and analysis of the behavior of its users.
The users declare their information in a basic way. They give their name, add a photo, and depending on the service, they sometimes add a short bio and preferences (whether or not they are smokers, talkative, if they accept dogs/PET, what music they listen to, etc.)
In India, BlaBlaCar has a slight advantage over the Shatabdi Express; travelling by the train from Bengaluru to Chennai costs Rs 700-800, whereas BlaBlaCar costs Rs 650-700.
BlaBlaCar has tied up with IRCTC, so that those who are waitlisted for a ticket have the option of using BlaBlaCar. It instils confidence in the user as a government body is promoting it.
In 2014 and 2015, BlaBlaCar grew massively. All the news coming out of the company were about new international markets and additional funding rounds. In just a couple of years, the startup acquired smaller competitors and launched a dozen new markets. And it raised around $300 million.
Great Advatage is Last Minute Avilability unlike trains you are in the waiting list for longer period.
India is the first country where BlaBlaCar mandated government IDs from users.
India could become a bigger market than Europe since car-ownership is rising quickly and the country does not have a well-developed public transport system connecting cities.
On the marketing side, the company will be spending a significant amount in tying up with online travel agents to boost its business. It currently partners with IRCTC and Ixigo.
The company charges a fee from co-travellers in few countries like France, the UK, Spain, Italy and Benelux.
Driver/Host person do not have to change their insurance or pay tax on the money they receive from passengers as they are technically not making a profit.
each user's profile includes a "BlaBla" measurement, which indicates how much they are willing to chat during a trip.
For the first time, people were saying things about the service such as "useful, interesting, low-cost, efficient".
"It’s a win-win on the passenger and driver side.
Cancellation rates tumbled from 35 per cent to three per cent. Now that it had become more reliable.

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ACQUISITION :-

******************************************************************************* On April 15 BlaBlaCar announced it was acquiring its biggest competitor Carpooling.com, and the Hungary-based AutoHope, to become Europe's largest ridesharing service.

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BASIS OF EXISTENCE :-

******************************************************************************* Currently, buses and trains are the primary means of city-to-city transport, and both are inefficient.

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COMPETITORS :-

******************************************************************************* In India, similar services exist in the form of RidingO, SmartMumbaikar and ZingHopper.
Ola and TaxiForSure are also expanding their operations to rides between cities.

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HOW IT WORKS :-

******************************************************************************* The startup's economic model is designed for long distances and geared toward motorists looking to fill empty seats during journeys they would have been making anyway. Members must register and create a personal online profile, which includes ratings and reviews by other members, social network verification, and rate of response. "Profiles of members show how much experience they have of the service, meaning those with more – known as "ambassadors" – attract more ride shares and, importantly, each user's profile includes a "BlaBla" measurement, which indicates how much they are willing to chat during a trip".
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INITIAL HESITATION :-

******************************************************************************* "A lot of people said, ‘It’s hitch-hiking. Hitch-hiking is a very small market. founder look at it as a transportation network for distances north of 100 kilometres. When founderlooked at the French market, he looked at how many trips do you have of more than 150 kilometres in France. And that number is 700 million. And a small part of a very big number can actually be a big number. So that was the bet he took."
When it was set up in 2006, founders Nicolas Brusson and Frederic Mazzella found it difficult to persuade customers or investors of the idea.
"People thought we were crazy. At the beginning they would say, 'it's interesting but you're doing hitchhiking online and no-one's going to do that.

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CUSTOMERS:-

******************************************************************************* Most users of this model are young business professionals, small retailers, tech savvy college students, and corporate professionals in the 35-58 age group.
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MARKET SHARE :-

******************************************************************************* City-to-city ride sharing is a huge market, and it does not need any investment as no cars need to be purchased. Ibibo Ryde, Pikup, Pool Circle and Carpool Adda follow this model.

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LADIES ONLY :-

******************************************************************************* Women on BlaBlaCar can now travel with female members only! company has created Ladies Only, to allow members to plan a rideshare where the car owner and all co-travellers are women. It’s a great way for women to feel even safer, and we’ve found that it’s especially appreciated the first time our female members rideshare with the BlaBlaCar community.
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IN INDIA: -

******************************************************************************* India fits the bill perfectly, as it is the world's seventh-largest country by area and the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people.
According to BlaBlaCar, India has huge potential for ridesharing not only because if its sheer size but also thanks to its young population, the long distances between its multiple major cities, high Facebook penetration and relatively pricey transport.
Today, more than 2 million people travel together with BlaBlaCar every month, the company says.
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INVESTMENT: -

******************************************************************************* In marketplace businesses, 100 percent foreign investment is permitted.
As of April 2015, the company had raised USD$100 million from blue-chip venture-capital firms including ISAI, Index and Accel, plus earlier rounds of €1.2 million from ISAI and €600,000 from founders, friends, and family. On September 16 2015, BlaBlaCar announced it had raised another US $200 million "primarily from US investors" in a round that valued the company at USD$1.6 billion. The service is accessible via the web, mobile and also via apps for iOS and Android.
In January 2012, $10m (£6m) was raised in a venture round led by Accel Partners.
The company had raised money twice before: €600,000 from the founders themselves along with friends and family in 2009 and €1.2 million the following year from a fund run by the French VC Jean-David Chamboredon.
In summer 2014 it raised $100 million (£60m) from blue-chip venture-capital firms including ISAI, Index and Accel to fuel its growth.
Backed by Accel Partners, Insight Ventures, Index Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Baring Vostok and ISAI, it operates in 22 countries across Europe, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil and India. The site and free mobile apps provide a range of features to create a secure, trust-based community and easy connections between drivers and passengers.
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HISTORY: -

******************************************************************************* Frédéric Mazzella was in a fix! He’d committed to go home for Christmas in 2003 but, busy at his job with Kabira Technologies, a transaction-processing platform, he had left his travel plans to the last minute. With the French trains fully booked and only a couple of days to go until the holiday season, he began to fret. He didn’t have a car, so the options for getting from Paris to his family home 420 kilometres south-west of the capital were limited. Eventually, his sister Lucie agreed to make a 150-kilometre detour to pick him up. Heading down the A10, he looked around and realised that most of the cars had no passengers. "I thought, OK, we’ll just put all those cars with empty seats in a search engine so that we can search the available seats in cars just like we search available seats on trains.
For the next few nights, he couldn’t get the idea out of his head. "I remember waking up and saying, ‘It’s not possible, it must exist.’ But then I was like, ‘If this existed, I would know it because I travel so much’," he says. Mazzella knew that if there were such a thing as an online ride-sharing service, it would be massive.
As soon as he returned to Paris he did his research. There were a few random trips listed on sites such as Craigslist, but nothing of the scale and scope that he’d imagined. So he contacted a friend and together they got coding.
Eleven years later, Mazzella, 38, is sitting in a Parisian bistro (well, the bistro-themed café in his company’s impressive new headquarters near Gare Saint-Lazare) talking about the breakout success of his startup BlaBlaCar. *******************************************************************************

AWARDS: -

******************************************************************************* BlaBlaCar has been awarded over 50 prizes and honours since its creation, including most recently a special prize from the Le Figaro for 'Best place to work: fun and performance'" according to INSEAD Business School.

“SHARING ECONOMY” IN INDIA

“SHARING ECONOMY” IN INDIA

******************************************************************************* STASTSTICS:-
******************************************************************************* Globally, the sharing economy is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 139% to reach US$115 billion by 2016 from US$3.5 billion in 2012.
According to ASSOCHAM’s predictions in 2014, the used-goods market would cross the 1,50,000-crore mark in the year 2015 and is seeing a YoY increase of 12percent.
According to a recent report in The Mint, shared rides account for 25 to 30% of overall trips made by Uber and Ola in major cities.
The sharing economy is estimated to grow from $14 billion in 2014 to $335 billion by 2025.
This estimate is based on the rapid growth of Uber and Airbnb as indicative.
Data shows that private vehicles go unused for 95 per cent of their lifetime.
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FACT:-

******************************************************************************* Sharing among human beings has existed since the earliest civilisation.
The sharing economy, or collaborative consumption, is growing rapidly in India.

Definition:-

******************************************************************************* 1. The rise of peer-to-peer platforms commonly referred to as the “Sharing Economy” is broadly based on the concept of renting, borrowing, lending and co-owning of goods, space, time and talent. This collaborative form of consumption leverages efficient utilization of resources. The proliferation of mobile devices, applications, and payment systems has also acted as a major catalyst in fueling the growth of this trend.
2. From sharing content and media online, Internet has now enabled people to share physical things like homes, vehicles, appliances, furniture, etc with each other.
3. The sharing economy is a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human and physical resources. It includes the shared creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different people and organizations.
4. The uniting factor for these companies and initiatives is their ability to bring people together, often through an online platform, to share or exchange underutilized assets without large transaction costs.
5. Consumers, on-demand technology platforms and suppliers are critical elements of the sharing economy ecosystem, and their effective interaction leads to increased efficiency aimed at achieving better utilization of resources for all the concerned stakeholders
6. An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet.
7. Access to goods and skills is more important than their ownership. The sharing economy basically relies on its ability to use resources optimally to give best throughput and is seemingly a more efficient, productive and a better system with built-in creation of global communities with neighbourly values.
8. A sharing economy is nothing new - it's simply a modern way of living well together.
9. The sharing economy is “the peer-to-peer based activity of obtaining, giving, or sharing access to good and services”. Alternative names for this phenomenon include gig economy, platform economy, access economy, and collaborative consumption.
Earlier, people owned brand-new cars but are now gradually looking at alternative options of sharing or renting a car only when required.

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Sharing economy activities fall into four broad categories:

1.Recirculation of goods
2.Increased utilization of durable assets
3.Exchange of services
4. Sharing of productive assets

Drivers of Sharing Economy

Jeremiah Owyang, Founder of Crowd Companies, points out the three drivers that are making sharing a transformational movement. These three drivers have created a conducive environment for sharing economy to blossom at its best.
Societal drivers
People are becoming more considerate about the environment and sustainable development and this has led to a greater interest in sharing rather than owning. Millennials are gradually becoming less and less materialistic. There is no taboo associated when a person opts for these new-age options.
Economic drivers
Inflation of prices and recession of economy is also letting people look at alternative options like buying pre-owned goods and/or rented goods. The rate of inflation is at its peak and there is a constant slump in the market, these trends are set to propel the sharing economy further.
Technological drivers
Improved technologies like smartphones, Internet penetration, lean logistics, simple payment systems etc., have also eased peer-to-peer sharing. Most of the hindrance that was present in enabling sharing economy has been successfully tackled with the help of technology. Now is the time when the sharing economy movement can soar high with community effort.
There are three primary forces driving the sharing economy. They are:
Economical — Collaborative consumption makes use of idle inventory, monetising excess capacity and thereby reducing the cost of ownership. It gives customers the financial flexibility they seek by renting/sharing resources rather than owning them.
Environmental — Rapid mobility of people from rural to urban areas has resulted in an increase in the population density of cities. Carpooling, ride sharing concepts are gaining momentum not only due to customers’ desire to escape the ill-effects of congested roads but also as a means to contribute to the reduction of pollutants.
Technological — Mobile devices, applications, social networks, and payment systems have helped in identifying real-time demand for goods and services and has paved a path for frictionless transactions between businesses and customers.

A sharing or collaborative economy is a movement which is rapidly growing and will play a pivotal role in shaping our economy.

Benefits of sharing economy

Customers enjoy numerous benefits from rental, on-demand, subscription and try and buy models at a lower cost and in a convenient manner.
******************************************************************************* Saves money

Saving money is always on our mind. The motive behind saving can be planning a dream vacation, education of your child, retirement fund, or for your new startup. Irrespective of what the motive is, sharing economy will help save you those bucks.
Environment Sustainability: -
Global warming, e-waste, deforestation, pollution, depletion of ozone layer, green house effect and whatnot! We all have heard of these effects and how we human beings are constantly harming our environment. Sharing economy might not be the ultimate answer to all the environmental issues but it sure helps curb them to an extent.

Flexibility in life

You do not have to own it to experience it. The more stuff you own, harder it is to adapt to change. Your life would be filled with behemoth white elephants unless you take it onto yourself to declutter it.
Opportunity of Trial Before Purchase:-
Not sure if a particular model of an appliance is the right one for your home? It would be so much better if you could try it at your place for long enough to take the right decision and not make an impulse purchase.
Social belonging: -
Sharing economy is a rising movement. Throughout the world, communities and companies are adopting and enabling this movement. Join this movement and be a part of this rapidly growing community.

Millennials will shape sharing economy

Many publications and researchers have pointed out how millennials will shape the sharing economy. Millennials display a change in attitude and have displayed a delay in buying behaviour. Considering the fact that more than 65percent of India’s population is under the age of 35, it is safe to say that India is a welcoming place for the sharing economy boom.
Increased sales and business opportunities due to a wider reach in the market.

Consumers: Benefits :-

On-demand services at lower prices, convenience and variety of options.
Technology providers and suppliers:
Better utilization of infrastructure
Easier access to wider customer base
Increased business opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs.
Increased demand for goods and services
Enable suppliers to tap new customer groups who can access their platforms via the internet

Why will it work in India?

The trends that we see internationally also stand true for India.
High Purchasing power:- HUGE Middle Class
When compared to India’s western counterparts, the purchasing power is substantially less.
Youth :-

Millennials will shape sharing economy

Many publications and researchers have pointed out how millennials will shape the sharing economy. Millennials display a change in attitude and have displayed a delay in buying behaviour. Considering the fact that more than 65percent of India’s population is under the age of 35, it is safe to say that India is a welcoming place for the sharing economy boom.
High-population density: - Crowded Cities as a Economic benefit
India has a very high population density of 368 per sq.km,while in the US it is 33 per sq.km. This means that we have 10 times the population density of the US! On the flip side, this means that there are more goods and services available much nearer than in any other country. This helps in enabling hyperlocal services which eases the availability and logistics issues.
Ever Increasing urban population
The trend of sharing is more popular and acceptable among the urban population. It is predicted that by 2025 India will have about 42percent of its population in urban cities

Sharing Economy Examples:-

******************************************************************************* Various industries in India have been disrupted by the sharing economy model. The highest adoption so far has been in logistics, hospitality and food and beverages segment.
Logistics — Uber, Ola and Vroom
Hospitality — Airbnb, OYO rooms
Food and Beverages — Swiggy, Zomato
Uber, the world’s largest taxi company has reported that over the last year, uberPOOL riders in Bengaluru have contributed to 93 million kilometers of shared rides, resulting in savings of approximately 4 lakh litres of fuel and emissions reduction of 10 lakh kilograms of CO2.
BMW has started offering cars on demand and renting their 1 Series electric cars under their DriveNow program.
Flyrobe :- Mr Surana launched online fashion rental service called Flyrobe along with two other co-founders last year. Flyrobe allows customers to hire women’s clothing from brands such as Zara and French Connection, for a fraction of the cost of buying them. Flyrobe purchases the clothes and keeps its own inventory, and rents this out.
The most visible manifestation of this fast growing sector of the economy is the app based shared taxi rides offered by the likes of Ola and Uber in cities across the country.
Smartmumbaikar.com is another company that is offering something different. For a monthly fee, it connects private car owners in Mumbai who drive to work every day with people who want to share a ride with him or her at a pre-determined fee. The whole thing works seamlessly via Whatsapp groups.
Fabrento, Rentickle and Furlenco are companies that allow people to rent furniture and appliances.
The sharing economy has spurred “micro-entrepreneurs” and facilitated the creation of new markets and economic activity where none previously existed.
Enterprising citizens can now generate income by renting assets as varied as furniture, camping equipment and parking spots.
Better resource utilization, social mobility through new jobs, flexibility to operate at one’s convenience and skill development are some of the important benefits

FUTURE GROWTH:-

With internet penetration in India at just 19.2%, there is significant opportunity for the companies in the sharing economy to grow.
Opportunities it presents are substantial, given the demographics, market demand and shift in consumer preferences.
The San Francisco-based Airbnb, valued at more than US$25 billion, allows users to rent out their homes and rooms through its platform. The company has highlighted the importance of India to its global expansion strategy. “India is a top priority for the company,” says Nathan Blecharczyk, a co-founder of Airbnb
“The concept of the sharing economy is still at a nascent stage in India,” & sharing economy will open up a number of interesting possibilities across different economic activities, and change the future of work, production and collaboration.

References

******************************************************************************* https://medium.com/@VroomIndia/sharing-economy-in-india-106a8849d5df http://blogs.nasscom.in/the-rise-of-the-indian-sharing-economy/ https://www.thenational.ae/business/india-s-sharing-economy-paves-way-for-budding-entrepreneurs-1.154386 http://www.liveinstyle.com/black-white/the-rise-of-the-sharing-economy http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/health/sharing-economy-is-this-the-end-of-hyper-consumption/ https://angel.co/india/sharing-economy-4/jobs https://www.quora.com/How-is-India-doing-in-terms-of-Sharing-Economy http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/problems-with-sharing-economy-in-india/article9553964.ece