TechCrunch BS

[exon]

T.J. Clark, Limos.com President and CEO, says he and his team couldn’t understand why there wasn’t an easy way to search, compare and book car services online after their experience with Hotwire.com, and thus set out to build one themselves.

Limos.com offers leisure travelers easy comparison of local car service companies, consumer reviews and instant online booking that shows the total cost upfront, including the driver’s tip....

Limos.com Scores $10 Million For Online Limo And Car Services Marketplace

 

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[valuegiver]

How could that be TechCrunch BS? Shouldn't it be T.J. Clark's BS, no?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

How could that be TechCrunch BS? Shouldn't it be T.J. Clark's BS, no?

I'll admit I was a little taken-aback by the article. I founded the company in 1997 and sold it in August 2007 which apparently is when they decided to label the *new* founding.

However, TJ and his team is responsible for the new revenue model (the "booking engine") so in some respects, this is a founding. This (online booking vs leads) is where the company needed to go if it truly wanted to become the Expedia of ground transportation. Doing the lead thing (my creation) was not a long-term, sustainable model and this is why I sold the company back in Aug 2007.

I knew where the company need to go and the money/time investment needed to make go there ... I didn't want to be the one to take it there. TJ is doing it and is doing a great job. This is also the reason why I chose to maintain a tiny stake in the company as I figured their probability of success to be high.

I just didn't know they'd make me to look like a liar.

Oh well.

 

[theBiz]

So how does it work now, do they get a percentage of the sale once the limo has actually been booked vs. selling a lead and letting the limo company deal with it...?

And wow, 15 million, that seems almost too much money to spend, is this just a game of who has better brand recognition at this point? You would think at this point the customers would be their investors.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

So how does it work now, do they get a percentage of the sale once the limo has actually been booked vs. selling a lead and letting the limo company deal with it...?

You got it ... and as you can imagine, a customer service nightmare.

 

[theBiz]

IMO i think you made the right decision, you are living your life the way you want right now. You could be pushing that company right now, growing older everyday. Let them deal with the headaches. hahaha.

Doing the lead thing (my creation) was not a long-term, sustainable model and this is why I sold the company back in Aug 2007.

This really is an eye opener, considering how well things went for you, the site still wouldn't have lasted long term in its previous state. I guess things really never are a sure thing and you must always be changing.