December Newsletter

Nick Jasset

Published in

Sheprd

4 min readJun 11, 2018

New Year, New Opportunities

Re-think what’s possible with Sheprd.

As we close out 2017 I want to take a moment to reflect on Sheprd’s first year of operation. In February, when the days were cold and short, we quit our day jobs to focus on Sheprd — with the idea that we could build something where there was nothing, give families back millions of hourslost to traffic, and create positive experiences for parents and their kids.

Doubt was pervasive. Yet we were ushered forward by an understanding that the way children were transported was unsafe and woefully inefficient and a belief that we could use technology do something about it.

Fast forward to the close of the year and we’ve built and rebuilt three production applications, hired almost two dozen people to support our efforts, raised meaningful capital from strategic VC, and completedthousands of real trips for real families — improving performance and standards with each and every one. Most encouraging is that we’ve been able to create hundreds of ‘carpools’ and shared rides that never would have happened without the trust of families and powerful technology.

What we’ve learned and how we’ve been able to apply that knowledge can only be understood in what is to come in 2018, which promises to be abreakout year.

Above all, I continue to be humbled and immensely grateful for the support of our customers. Sheprd asks for the opportunity to transport families’ most precious cargo and the fact that so many have entrusted us with the task is a great honor. In 2018 we will continue to earn that trust by setting the standard for efficient transportation with an uncompromising approach to safety.

Best,

Nick Jasset
Founder & CEO

2017 was a busy year

Looking forward to 2018

7D certified “School Bus” vehicles: Be on the lookout for 2–3 additional vehicles in January, and an additional 5–6 vehicles by April 2018.
Driver App: The new driver app will provide Sheprd drivers with more information and real-time updates, helping to ensure that they are always on time and properly informed.
Parent App: We’re excited to release a new and improved parent app inthe beginning of 2018, including an improved user interface, increased ability to edit an account, and more.
Parent Web App: Parents will soon be able to book rides directly through a web-based application, allowing parents without iPhones to schedule and manage their rides online.
New Look: Everything you’ve come to love from Sheprd, with an iconic new look.

In case you missed it

In case you missed it: Sheprd pitched Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots, P.K.Subban of the Nashville Predators, Calais Campbell of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Jay Ajayi (now) of the Philadelphia Eagles on the show MVP — Most Valuable Partner. Click below to watch the full video.

Sheprd is proud to support She Hacks Boston in enabling female students to pursue their passions in the tech industry. For 36 hours, more than 1,000 developers, designers, builders, and change-makers from high schools and colleges around the world will join together to build applications, websites, and hardware projects.

When: January 26th — 28th, 2018
Where: Boston University’s Charles River Campus
Why: The mission of SheHacks Boston is to empower female and femme non-binary individuals in technology to achieve by providing them with opportunities to explore the tech industry in an inspiring, encouraging, and energizing environment.
Interested? Register here

Sheprd stands by the SheHacks Boston Leadership Team’s efforts to ending the gender gap in technology.