My Journey to Work Today…

So today was a bit different of a morning than most…

Uber, my favorite startup in Toronto (I have a love/hate relationship with them), recently introduced their car pooling service for the duration of the PAN AM Games. They are running a great promotion for a free UberPOOL ride from 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm TODAY only. I decided to jump on the deal and take a ride this morning to the office — and again Uber’s ability to re-imagine the experience ceases to amaze.

I was greeted by my co-rider and driver as I jumped into the car — a refreshing change from the usual mundane stares I get while walking to the office. Though the ride was only a few minutes, this was definitely different than my usual Uber rides. We were all engaged in a great conversation around our respective professions, the PAN AM Games, and how mobile/digital have been changing our daily habits. In 7 minutes, I was able to:

1) Get picked up at my residence
2) Make a connection with my co-rider - works in the Insurance industry
3) Learn about recent M & A in the insurance industry, and it was impacting my co-rider’s company directly
4) Brainstorm ideas with my co-rider around digital/mobile for Insurance
5) Drop my co-rider off at their office
6) Question and listen to my driver’s advocacy of Uber
7) Hear about what was wrong with the competition (he was a taxi driver)
8) Pay and get dropped off in front of my office

“When we re-imagine new experiences…apps are only a small part of the grander vision.”

This experience was only made possible with the smartphone/uber app. However, the only direct part of this experience that involved the smartphone/uber app was the request for the driver and payment. When we re-imagine new experiences for our respective industries, apps are only a small part of the grander vision. We must not forget about everything that happens outside of the app — the technology being exploited, the different players involved, the environments we play in, the feelings we want to invoke…and the journey we want to take the user on.

Have a great Tuesday!

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Hafiz Vellani is the Founder of Main Entre, a Digital Acceleration Lab and Digital Advisory Service. Previously he slugged it out at the top digital innovations firms: BNOTIONS, Pivotal Labs, and Xtreme Labs.