They say there is a time for everything, and the time seems to be now for two young, smart-looking women to start their own company helping potentially drunk drivers return home safely.
Sirasom Borisutsuwan, Apinara Srikarnchana and their friends co-founded U Drink I Drive, offering drivers on demand to late-night party people. The once struggling company is now thriving, ensuring that some 3,000 clients a month don't get behind the wheel of a car after having one too many drinks.
While a similar business model has been available in other countries like Singapore, South Korea and Australia, the concept is new to Thailand.
"The idea was initiated from a thesis of mine and my teammate during my master's in business and managerial economics at Chulalongkorn University. We wanted to find a business model that can help reduce traffic fatalities, especially to be a solution to drunk driving," said Sirasom, co-founder and CEO.
At that time in 2014, Thailand had the third-highest number of road traffic fatalities according to the "global status report on road safety" report, produced by the World Health Organization. The country moved to second in the latest report in 2015, according to the WHO.
About 40% of traffic accidents occurred because of drunk driving, Sirasom said.
Based on her thesis research, Sirasom found that 68% of the 300 participants drove drunk because they did not want to leave their cars behind. Participants told her they would be willing to use a driver service that would navigate their own vehicles home.
After graduation, Sirasom believed her business plan was something that could "save people's lives", she said. She and her friends established the self-funding company in 2014 through strong passion and moral support from her family and an initial investment of 1 million baht.
At that time she was 23 years old and had little experience running a company.
Initially, customers confused her business concept with Uber and similar offerings. They had trouble understanding why they should allow other people to drive their beloved vehicles, she said.
To promote their company, the co-founders camped outside pubs and restaurants in Thong Lor and Ekamai and concert halls handing out brochures and vouchers to potential customers. They formed alliances with organisations and companies that promote road safety. They also displayed posters in toilets at high-end nightlife venues.
In the office, they worked for their own contact centre, receiving bookings, hearing complaints and learning from their mistakes. During the first 18 months, business was rocky. A curfew implemented after the May 22, 2014, coup kept potential customers home and nearly crippled the business.
"We have drivers that we need to take care of. We had fixed expenses, but no revenues. I did not pay my own salary for three months. Our company had only 9,000 baht left," she said.
Some partners gave up. The company started with eight partners, which quickly reduced to four. Those who remained had a serious decision to make.
"I started to doubt if the business model that I strongly believed in could really work. Some of our friends and people around us kept telling us that it did not work well [in Thailand]. It was a good idea, but there was no market," she said.
But Sirasom refused to give up. The feedback and support from customers pushed her forward, she said. Several customers expressed gratitude to U Drink I Drive because their loved ones returned home safely.
"The faith of our customers and our staff lifted our spirits. We had to go on," she said.
The remaining partners invested another 3 million baht to keep the business running.
"We didn't mind burning through it all. We had a positive attitude about our business. We just wanted to try our best," recalled Apinara, co-founder and chief of corporate affairs.
Eventually, perseverance prevailed. They received strong endorsements from customers, especially celebrities, who were impressed with the driver service. They built up a strong presence on social media, which -- with the help of their celebrity clients -- helped their business grow.
Sirasom and Apinara regard their service as a social enterprise, a business that can help change society for the better.
Starting with one driver, the company today employs 80 drivers, 35 of whom are full time and stationed at their Asok office and area restaurants during the week. Other drivers work part-time on Friday and Saturday. They also have female drivers to service their female clients.
Their total monthly bookings have jumped from 500 trips a month in the first year to about 3,000 trips a month today.
"Our customers increase 30% monthly. Eight out of 10 are repeat customers," Apinara said.
The company also expanded its partnerships with various establishments, including restaurants, alcohol companies, car distributors, government agencies and foundations.
Each driver is required to wear a video camera over one ear to record everything he or she does. Each video is deleted after 24 hours to guarantee customer privacy. The driver has to turn on the GPS mode on their mobile phone to give the real-time position of their vehicles. In case of doubt, staff at the call centre will call the driver to check if he or she needs help.
"Technology helps us a lot. It makes our customers feel safe," Apinara said.
The driver has a right to discontinue service for their safety. Extreme cases include a drunk customer who took out his gun to play with inside the car and a pair of lovers who fought each other in the back seat.
U Drink I Drive also partners with Asia Insurance to provide first-class car insurance for every trip. Fortunately, no serious accidents have occurred during the past three years, except for some minor scratching, said Apinara.
U Drink I Drive also provides training for its drivers through the Limousine Express Group. Each driver must wear a uniform and neon blue jacket. They must have at least five years of driving experience and must not have a criminal record.
In addition, the drivers must also attend in-house training to know the basic functions of executive cars including BMW and Mercedes Benz, and even supercars. The training helps drivers feel comfortable behind the wheel of an expensive vehicle they would otherwise never have the opportunity to drive.
"We never thought that we would have customers who ask us to drive supercars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porshes," she said.
U Drink I Drive plans to expand its chauffeur service from night hours to 24 hours a day. The aim is to be a centre for drivers on demand, said Sirasom.
Everything has its own time and this year seems to be the right time for businesses like U Drink I Drive. Its revenue increased to 20 million baht last year and is expected to double to 40 million baht this year. The CEO also plans to expand the business model to other countries in the region.
"When we started the business three years ago, no one knew who we were and what we did. We gradually built up our business with trust. Today we can stand on our own feet. Our sweat paid off. Above all, we are proud to be one of solutions for those who drink and do not drive," she said.
A car owner can book a driver through the U Drink I Drive app. Photo © U Drink I Drive Co.,Ltd
Each driver must wear a blue uniform and have a video camera over their ear. Photo © U Drink I Drive Co.,Ltd
