Firm brings fuel to where cars are
come by and pump fuel into their vehicle. Filld calculates the average gas price in the area and lets customers know how much it will be to fill up their tank beforehand, and it charges a service fee as well. Overnight service typically costs $2.99, but if customers choose a tighter time window, it can cost up to $8.
Filld is most popular among people who are “time-starved,” Buhr said: working parents with kids, people who need to be at work at a certain time in the morning.
“The average vehicle type for what we service is not what people think,” Buhr said. “A lot of people assume our business is more high-end — it’s BMWs, it’s Audis — but it’s not.”
The company currently provides only gasoline, but it has tested an electric-charging service and says it would offer it if there were to be enough demand.
The short-term plan is to be “incredibly good at fuel delivery,” Buhr said, but in the longer term,
“The vehicle average type for what we service is not what people think.” Michael Buhr, CEO, Filld
the company might also expand to car maintenance services, like window cleaning or changing tires.
Filld also serves fleets, and as technology moves toward autonomous vehicles, which don’t have a person to fill up the tank, Filld would provide that service.
The company serves fleet customers in five metropolitan areas: the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Washington, D.C., and Vancouver, British Columbia.
It serves consumers in Washington and parts of the Bay Area, and it will add that service in Vancouver soon. San Francisco has only limited fleet service, Buhr said.
Mobile fueling services have caught the attention of fire officials, who are concerned about the potential hazards of fueling in apartment-building garages and other spaces. Buhr said the company complies with local regulations. If a municipality doesn’t allow fueling, they don’t pursue it, he said.
“What’s more important to us is how regulators feel about what we’re doing,” Buhr said. “We would not go into a metro if a fire marshal or a mayor’s office didn’t want us there. In every single metro we roll out to, we have a conversation with the fire marshals and city offices that we need to.”
Filld hasn’t expanded into consumer fueling in San Francisco, Buhr said. The San Francisco Fire Department has said that it is waiting for state standards before it issues permits for mobile fueling, while the state says it does not yet have a standard and local authorities can issue permits if they choose.
Filld has fewer than 50 trucks and fewer than 100 employees, the majority of whom are drivers. It plans to double or triple its fueling fleet next year, Buhr said.
Deal of the Week: Meetingbird
What it does: Meetingbird is a scheduling tool that integrates with websites.
What happened: It was acquired by Front, which allows teams to manage shared email in-boxes.
Why it matters: Front will combine calendars and scheduling to its tools. The fact that the larger startup has acquired a smaller one suggests that Front is gaining momentum.
Headquarters: San Francisco Funding: Undisclosed Employees: 1-10
Also trending: Upguard
What it does: Upguard is a cybersecurity company that helps businesses uncover security risks both internally and externally.
What happened: The company detected a breach in the way wireless service provider PocketiNet used Amazon’s Web services, TechCrunch reported.
Why it matters: Upguard keeps its eyes out for “even unknown risks,” co-CEO Alan Sharp-Paul said. Data breaches and leaks are becoming more common and more dangerous, and Upguard actively seeks them out so companies can mitigate risk.
Headquarters: Mountain View Funding: $27 million Employees: 43