Mach1 Roadside Assistance is the first app of its kind to truly automate the roadside assistance industry. It’s patent-pending processes dispatch a service provider based on proximity and expertise, cutting down the infamously long wait times associated with commercial roadside assistance for customers. All other companies still use some sort of manual dispatch, either via a call center, designated employee or chat service, adding unnecessary time to get help to the customer.
Mach1 is the brainchild of Rick and Laura Narpaul. Originally Rick’s 4:00 am idea, the team has turned it into a reality after discovering there was nothing like it on the market. They’ve dedicated their time to building the business and it’s set to launch this summer, with an aggressive national expansion plan set to cover the US in the next three years.
Rick is a Guyana native, a third world country situated in South America, just north of Brazil along the Caribbean and Atlantic coast. Rick migrated to Minnesota as a young child with his parents and two siblings, only to lose his father six months after their relocation. He learned at a very young age the importance of hard work and perseverance. At 17 he joined the U.S. Air Force where he learned leadership, discipline and diversity in every aspect. Rick has more than fifteen years of professional experience and prides himself on his ability to be self-reliant, goal-oriented and driven to succeed.
Laura was born and raised in Minnesota. From humble beginnings, she learned to set her own bar high and overcome adversity at many levels. Her work ethic and drive are what has propelled her career from a B.A. in Global Studies, international business, employee management, marketing directorships, consultancy and more. A born entrepreneur, she loves finding strategic solutions to the challenges that come with business, especially in a startup setting.
Together Rick and Laura have the balance of experience and combined trust in each other’s abilities to make Mach1 a success. “It’s really the perfect marriage, no pun intended, because as husband and wife you know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can fill in the gaps in either direction. We both have the same goals at the end of the day and have a business partner we can trust. How many other entrepreneurs would love to say that?” said Laura Narpaul.
Their free-to-download app will be available for both iOS and android in late summer 2018. Customers will be able to request many different roadside assistance services such as out-of-fuel, flat tire, dead battery, lockout, tow truck, mobile mechanic, and trip inspections, in a non-subscription or membership model, where consumers just pay as services are needed.
The Mach1 app is solving a ton of industry problems from both the consumer and service provider ends. “What’s the number one concern as a husband if my wife needs roadside assistance? Safety. I want to know the person coming to help my wife and kids is not a criminal,” said Rick Narpaul. Mach1 is screening all service providers, who are required to go through background checks and provide accurate documentation that they are who they say they are. “We’re finding there are gaps in the industry where companies say their providers are vetted, but they’re really not and that’s just not safe,” said Laura.
They are also finding that companies in the industry only pay service providers a small flat rate when they charge a much larger amount to the customer. In Mach1’s case, they use a price window where there are minimum and maximum charges and the service provider actually dictates the final amount within that window. This is a model that really works for the providers because they can save money by sending a pickup truck to change a flat tire instead of an expensive tow truck and pass those savings on to the customer. “Our model really fits in with our motto of ‘People Helping People’,” said Rick. “We feel there are really good people in the world that want to help each other, and by giving the provider the power to decide the amount demonstrates that. It’s not naivety because we have the maximum amounts in place to keep people honest too.”
The app also harnesses GPS technology to avoid the situation where a service provider can’t find the customer. In the traditional model if the provider can’t find the customer, they have to call the dispatch office, which then calls the customer, who then calls the provider back, which may or may not have answered the question. “There are huge gaps to fill and why not harness technology to do just that?” said Laura, “We’re building a platform similar to Uber in that both parties can see each other on a map, and can communicate either by phone call or text message without giving out their personal phone number.”
The app is currently being developed and tested with a Beta due out this summer. Mach1 is recruiting a network of service providers now and is set to launch in August, 2018, first in their headquarter city of San Antonio, Texas, then expanding to two cities a month thereafter. The company is also accepting city expansion requests and will adjust their plan according to need. “We’re really excited to launch and provide solutions to both the consumers and providers, said Rick, it’s time to create a new standard in such a needed industry.”
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