After launching the moped ride-sharing company, Scootaway, CEO, founder and USC alumnus Frank Scozzafava is continuing to grow and expand his startup in the capital city.
Anyone who downloads the Scootaway app on the Google Play or Apple App Store can rent a scooter at any of the pick-up/drop-off locations across the city for 30 minutes at the price of $2.99. Scozzafava said other than a few glitches and mishaps with the app, the company has received outspoken praise from students.
“We had a ton of positive feedback on the idea and the business itself,” Scozzafava said. “We have had some negative feedback about the app, but that was to be expected; we’re still working out the kinks. Everyday we’re growing and creating more and more pick-up and drop-off locations.”
Scozzafava, a New York native, came up with the idea while working for another ride-sharing company and also based on his experiences at the university and driving to and from work on a moped.
Currently, Scozzafava said they have 12 to 14 employees working for the company. He mentioned that most of those employees are USC graduates, current students or students at nearby Benedict College.
One South Carolina student working for Scozzafava is fourth-year integrated information technology student Jamal Suber. Suber's major requires 400 hours at a professional internship, and he began working for Scootaway soon after they launched in May. Suber said the experience working for the company has been enriching.
“As a startup company no day is the same,” Suber said. “I’ve gotten a lot of different experiences whether that be testing the app and the mopeds, working with the engineers in New York to learn more back-end things that relate to my major and now I am dealing more with customer support in an engineer role, as well as assistant general manager.”
Scozzafava said that although the company is gaining more and more momentum daily and becoming a popular ride alternative for college students, he is focused on safety. The CEO said people driving the scooters under the influence or not wearing their helmets are serious safety hazards that he hopes to enforce rules on.
“We’re starting a new campaign called ‘Scooters ARE NOT Toys!’” Scozzafava said. "You have to read and mark off an agreement on the app before you rent any scooter saying you’ll wear your helmet, you’ll drive responsibly and you won’t drink and drive. If you don’t follow the things in that agreement you won’t be covered by our insurance policy. Plus, if you’re going 30 and you’re not wearing a helmet you could seriously hurt yourself or die. If you drink and drive on one of the scooters, you could hurt yourself or someone else or get into serious trouble. It’s not worth it.”
Scootaway offers 30-minute moped safety training classes every Sunday at the Carolina Field House from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Scozzafava stressed how important these safety-training courses are for anyone planning to use the app or buy a moped of their own.
“In the state of South Carolina anyone can go into a store and buy a moped. You can have a revoked license, multiple DUIs — it doesn’t matter. If you plan on using the app or getting a scooter of your own, you need to have training before you drive it. Come out to the classes. The course is kind of fun — you get to go through obstacle courses and learn how to use the app, you get a free T-shirt, you get $10 worth of free rides. We also usually offer some promotion, like instead of $10 worth of free rides we might offer $20 worth. We want users to come to the classes and be safe,” Scozzafava said.
Scootaway has plans to grow to be a part of other major cities and college campuses nationwide, Scozzafava said he hopes to expand next to either Miami, Charleston or Myrtle Beach.