It’s not overstating things to say that Skedaddle is the company that ride-sharing services use to get around.
“Just a couple of weeks ago, we arranged for three buses for one company to take employees to a company retreat on the Jersey Shore,” says Brad Werntz, Skedaddle’s president.
Skedaddle is an app for people itching to get out of the city. Say you and some friends want to travel from New York City to Catskills State Park for a day of hiking the trails. Book through the company’s app—available at the App Store—and you’ll all ride there together on a luxury bus.
The company’s goal? To make traveling outside an urban area just as easy as booking a car to take you to another neighborhood.
“Just as easily as calling an Uber,” says Werntz, “you can ride to your favorite place outside of the urban area where you live.”
Depending on the number of passengers going your way, your ride could be anything from a 15-passenger van to a 55-passenger motor coach.
The company, which sold its first tickets last year, originally envisioned their typical passenger to be en route to the beach or the mountains. But to their surprise, many people are in search of an easy way to get to a concert or sports event.
“Supposed you’re headed to see Bruce Springsteen play at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey,” says Werntz. “Taking Skedaddle from New York City is a whole lot easier than taking the PATH train.”
Or in Boston, Red Sox fans might want to take a Skedaddle to a game at Fenway Park. Werntz says it’s easier than driving through the city, lets you avoid the hassle of parking, and means that nobody has to be the designated driver.
Last year, Skedaddle hired its first full-time employee. Last month, it was an 11-person operation with offices in Boston’s WeWork South Station and New York’s WeWork Chelsea.
And now, the staff has grown to 18. Werntz says that means expanding to more offices.
“We’re gobbling up space at WeWork,” he says.
Werntz, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering and aerospace from Princeton University, says he has always had an entrepreneurial drive.
“I wanted to be in a startup before I even knew what a startup was,” he says.
Right out of college, he got a job with a small startup focusing on sustainable energy for commercial spaces. That’s where he met one of his future co-founders at Skedaddle, Adam Nestler.
“I was working out of the founder’s kitchen,” says Werntz. “At least I got free breakfast.”
Werntz and Nestler were still with that startup when it was purchased by a much larger company based in San Francisco. For a while, it was smooth sailing. Then the company tried to grow too big too fast.
“In the following year, they completely fumbled a round of funding, and it all fell apart very quickly,” says Werntz. “We had front-row seats to see everything that you should not do when you’re scaling a software startup.”
Before the company folded, Werntz and Nestler had already been talking about starting their own company. They brought on two other co-founders: Werntz’s friend Lou Harwood and Nestler’s brother Craig Nestler. The company didn’t have a name yet, but that’s when Skedaddle was born.
They were careful not to make the same mistakes as their previous employer. They built the company slowly, making sure investors could see that their business model was viable.
“We were always trying to be a step ahead from where investors expect us to be,” says Werntz. “For example, we didn’t do an angel round of funding until we had an app and customers.”
And revenues are continuing to grow. Werntz says the company is currently doing more than $100,000 in business every month. And bookings for future months are four times that amount.
“The past year has been explosive for us,” says Werntz. “It’s an exciting place to be.”
Photos: Pretty Instant