HN Explorer

Free ride from SFO if you test our app

11 points by grishick ↗ HN
We are looking for people who are visiting SF Bay Area in the next 2 months. If you could use a free ride from SFO to anywhere in the SF Bay Area, we would be happy to meet you at the airport and give you a ride. The catch is that while you are riding with us, you will be testing our app (iPhone or Android, your device or ours - whichever you choose). The only requirement is that you must not be a San Francisco resident, because we need to test this app with visitors, rather than with locals. Feel free to refer your friends to us as well. You can contact us at info@citybot.com.

16 comments

[ 747 ms ] story [ 871 ms ] thread
matdwyer
Cool idea, wish I could take advantage of this. You don't happen to need testing on a flight to San Francisco too? ;)
Ecio78
maybe international? ;)
grishick
International or local, anyone who is arriving to SFO and is not a Bay Area resident qualifies.
Ecio78
I was asking if they were going to offer a free international ride (flight) in order to test their service :)
grishick
Maybe when we hit first 10 million downloads :)
grishick
If you have wifi on the flight, you could test while on the flight.
sargun
What's the app?
Ecio78
I suppose this one: http://www.citybot.com/ it looks like an app that allows you to create a customized travel itinerary
grishick
Yes, the app is Citybot. It isn't in the app store yet, but we can deliver it via Testflight and as an APK file. The app lets you create custom itineraries in seconds.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
sixQuarks
Why don't you just go to Union Square and ask people if they'll test your app in exchange for a free coffee. There are TONS of tourists around there, and a lot of them are just sitting around after a long day on their feet.
grishick
Thanks for the advice. I think, we'll do that too. Personally, I don't like when people come up to me in the street and demand attention, but maybe that's just me.
sixQuarks
ahh, you gotta get over that. Don't project your personal views on others, there's plenty of people that would enjoy this - I know I would.

If you're going to be successful as a startup, you gotta hustle. I did door-to-door sales one summer and do you know which people turned out to be the nicest? The ones with "No solicitation" signs on their door. I kid you not. Just go and do it.

proexploit
I think there's plenty of people who would not like this as well and the current method they're experimenting with is unique in that only people who want to test the app will agree to get a ride. If someone does approach me in public and ask for my time, I'm not going to think too favorably of the experience.
sixQuarks
yeah, but giving rides from SFO is time consuming and costly. Gas could easily cost you $10, not to mention an hour of time. There's easier ways to do it, and as a startup, you need to be as resourceful as possible.
sergep
We'll give union square a try as well, but this free ride & test idea seems to work well so far. A good test of the app takes 45-60 minutes, which works well for an average ride of 30-45 mins. The time wasted on finding candidates is minimal - few postings and replying to email.