Uber is the rising company that connects drivers with customers in a modern remix on taxi services. It's pretty awesome, and the company is growing. Of course other companies are going to try out the idea with their own twist, and one of these companies is BlackJet.
BlackJet tries to connect flyers with private jets within 10 seconds in its app, to help fill up empty seats before a long flight. Sounds like an all right plan, right? So much so, the company was able to bring in investors like Ashton Kutcher, Jay Z and Will Smith, and seemed to be taking off, so to speak. Now, according a report from Valleywag, "They are fucked." They're out of cash and currently unable to raise funds, and a lot of the blame is being pointed at its former chariman Shervin Pishevar, who's a fame-seeking dude who's more concerned about getting photo-ops with the rich and famous than actually innovating the industry or the company. Check out his Instagram and Twitter for yourselves. Also, the above photograph is a photo of he and Kanye West after a dinner with Elon Musk.
But, probably more basic than that, is that BlackJet asks for a $2,500 annual membership fee, and the only review the company had called it "horrible," and that they "had less hassle getting into the White House (and I'm not kidding about that)." Literally. Take a look.
Pishevar promised Hollywood investors who invested $2.4 million that he would be able to raise between $15 to 20 million, but it never happened. Also, new competition from Surfair, a company which bills itself as a Netflix with an "all you can fly" model, is picking up some steam.
Sometime celebrity can't save the day.
[via ValleyWag]
