Tow Professional

VOL4 ISS2 2015

Tow Professional is a comprehensive publication for the towing and recovery market. It is mailed directly to more than 29,000 decision makers including owners, presidents, CEO's and principals of towing companies throughout the United States.

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U rgent.ly is a leader in what's fast becoming known as the "on-demand economy," where products and services speed to the customer rather than the other way around. For consumers it simply means when they need something, they expect an app on their phone will give it to them - now. For service providers it means more demand, potentially a great deal more. "This is not just about offering to fill unused inventory of towing and roadside services via the terrific use of the latest technology," said Chris Spanos, cofounder and CEO of Urgent.ly, a startup that launched in early 2014 and has since partnered with MapQuest and oth- ers to provide on-demand roadside assis- tance to thousands of customers nation- wide. "It's also about offering companies higher rates and bigger payouts." Credit location-based technology that can detect and project the exact location of a smartphone; blame it on Uber, the car service that allows anyone with a phone to tap a few buttons and watch as a driver speeds to pick them up. Either way, the cat is out of the bag on the "I need it now!" reality. "We saw this percolating a couple years ago and looked for areas con- sumers were being underserved," said Spanos, CEO of Urgent.ly. Urgent.ly co-founder, Chairman and CTO Surendra Goels agreed, saying, "It was clear to us, based on personal experi- ence and our research, that roadside assistance was something 'broken' from the consumer's perspective and also pro- vided towing companies little return." The Urgent.ly approach from the beginning was to offer high margins for drivers and super-fast service to cus- tomers, while also giving them the ability to watch on their phone as help arrived. Urgent.ly uses customer iPhone and Android applications, as well as the Web. "No more calling a roadside club's 800 On-Demand Service Promise Major Changes in Towing Industry, with Urgent.ly Leading the Way By H.Alvin Smith 4 Tow Professional | Volume 4 • Issue 2 | www.towprofessional.com

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