Shoppers who need a pickup truck on demand have a new option called Gozova.

The company was developed by four University of Texas at Arlington students led by Goran Krndija, founder and CEO.

Krndija came up with the idea when he bought a large flat screen television for his man cave, but had no means to get it home from the store. That’s when he came up with the idea of putting regular truck drivers to work. 

[ Photo: Courtesy of Gozova ]

The Gozova app had a beta launch on iOS in October but plans a wider rollout Feb. 27 on both iOS and Android.

“So far we’ve heard terrific feedback and actually had several pickups run seamlessly,” said Cameron Moreau, Gozova’s chief technology officer. “Customers receive peace of mind. Each pickup is insured up to $20,000.”

Gozova also does background checks on its drivers.

It will focus its attention on the west half of Dallas-Fort Worth first but hopes to expand to the rest of area by the end of the year. Houston and Austin will be added by next year and then the startup wants to go nationwide by 2020. 

The four-man team pitched their company at the 1 Million Cups presentation Wednesday at the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC).

It originated at UTA’s Startup Lounge and received mentoring help from TECH Fort Worth. So far, Gozava is totally bootstrapped, but it would like to connect with investors.

STANDING OUT IN THE ON-DEMAND MARKET

Gozova will face tough competition from well-established truck rentals such as U-Haul and Penske as well as other on-demand app-centric companies such as PICKUP.

“We believe that there’s ample room in these market segments for us to come in,” said Kevin Chung, a software engineer who recently graduated from UTA. “We believe we have the potential to expand the market and bring in new customers.” 

“We believe we have the potential to expand the market and bring in new customers.”

KEVIN CHUNG

Moreau said it will compete on service and price.

Unlike PICKUP, which you can read more about here, Gozova will not have a minimum charge for trips. That makes a short two-mile trip much more affordable, Moreau said. Gozova also offers the ability for customers to schedule a delivery for a certain time.

If no truck is available, Gozova will follow-up to make sure a delivery is made and the customer is happy. There’s also an online estimator so customers can gauge how much the delivery will cost.

“We feel this puts us at a competitive advantage to PICKUP,” Chung said.

GOZOVA DRIVERS OFFERED FLEXIBILITY

A magnet is placed on the truck with the Gozova logo when it’s in service.

Drivers typically receive 70 percent of the fare with the remaining 30 percent going to Gozova.

[ Photo: Courtesy of Gozova ]

That can be adjusted for special promotions, with new drivers sometimes getting 100 percent of the fare.

“Drivers have the benefit of working whenever they want and we offer competitive rates so they can earn an extra income,” Moreau said.

The drivers have been locally sourced through Facebook, job listings, and other means.

Gozova has reached out to stores such as Costco, who could offer the delivery service to its customers.

It also wants to partner with on-demand marketplace apps such as Letgo so customers can use Gozova trucks to deliver larger purchases.

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