The former Dallas startup that has garnered attention and experienced explosive growth as Austin implements its new ridesharing policy has finally revealed its mystery CEO—and he’s right here in Dallas.
At the top of Austin-based get me is none other than the founder and Dallas attorney Michael Gaubert, who has filled the leading role since last year. Gaubert is also the founder and chairman of Get It Technology Holdings LLC, the holdings company for get me.
Gaubert, who works side-by-side with co-founder and chief experience officer Jonathan Laramy, plans to name a new CEO in the near future as the company leverages its market position as one of the only ridesharing services in the city that has chosen to abide by new regulations.
“We will name a permanent CEO at the appropriate time,” Gaubert said in a released statement. “For now, we remain focused on expanding our market share and improving the get me user experience. Houston and many other markets are in our sights.”
Founded in 2014, get me initially launched service in Dallas-Fort Worth in August 2015, boasting an app that offers delivery service for everything from purchased items to people. It was developed with help from Addison-based projekt202.
But late last year when the company started gaining traction, with more than 8,000 contracted drivers and its growing revenue, Gaubert chose to stay behind closed doors. The startup instead chose to release news via a blog and Twitter account anonymously, generating much speculation within startup communities in Dallas and Austin.
The company gained most of its attention when it agreed to abide by rules, which included fingerprint background checks, Austin had proposed for ridesharing services—rules that eventually led to Uber and Lyft ending services in the area this week.
Get me seized the opportunity and added more than 30,000 new customers and drivers within 72 hours, the company announced Friday.
“Get me is uniquely positioned to fill the void left behind when competitors do not adopt these types of safety standards,” Gaubert said in a released statement. “We view this as an opportunity to expand our community of drivers, increase safety for the consumer, and introduce more customers to the get me experience.”
Get me is available in Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Galveston, and Las Vegas, and plans a summer expansion to Corpus Christi, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Portland, Nashville, and Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. The company’s valuation by the end of April 2016 was approximately $50 million, the startup said.
