Car Subscription Service Borrow to Debut New User Platform in 2Q

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles-based car subscription service Borrow is building out a new platform to enhance the user experience by the end of the second quarter, Founder Jon Guzik told attendees at Auto Finance Innovation 2018 yesterday.

Since pivoting its business model to shorter three- to nine-month lease terms and changing its name, the company started parsing the data in its platform, discovering “what the hiccups were” and what consumers wanted, Guzik told attendees. As such, Borrow will revamp its platform to implement new services and a more “frictionless” system for onboarding consumers. Some of the services included in the new platform may be roadside assistance and better ways for consumers to manage their payments, he added.

The company, founded in 2015, started out as PrazoNow and allowed customers to lease a Ford C-Max hybrid for two years without going to a dealership. However, the startup soon learned that two years was still considered “too long,” and customers also wanted more variety. That’s when PrazoNow was born and its business model pivoted to offer all-electric cars for renewable three-, six-, or nine-month terms.

Since then, the company has rebranded as Borrow in November to better emphasize the current business model. The company secured seed funding in June, led by Mucker Capital, and handed out its first subscription in early July 2017.

Borrow aims to utilize location-based data to better meet its users’ needs, Guzik said.

“[For example,] how do we offer them discounts on a variety of services, because we think that is the future of mobility,” he said. “Our customers aren’t your usual used-car buyer or new-car lessor … The users we are going after want someone different. … Once we build the systems, we can leverage the data. … For us it’s collecting as much data as possible and then seeing what we can do.”