zūm CEO Ritu Narayan on Equity and Accessibility in Mobility

The Challenge of Modern Student Transportation

Ensuring children arrive at school safely and consistently has long been a significant undertaking, mirroring the history of public education itself. However, few innovators have addressed the need to modernize and optimize the nation’s extensive, decades-old student transit infrastructure.

Currently, it remains commonplace to observe personnel at U.S. school transportation centers utilizing walkie-talkies and manual paperwork to manage student passengers and allocate resources to fuel-intensive yellow school buses.

From Personal Struggle to Entrepreneurial Vision

Ritu Narayan, formerly a product executive at eBay, encountered firsthand the difficulties of securing dependable school transportation for her own children. These challenges were so frequent that they nearly prompted her to reconsider her career path.

Inspired by her mother’s decision to prioritize raising Narayan and her siblings, she established Zūm in 2016 alongside her brothers, Abhishek and Vivek Garg. Their mission was to streamline routes, enhance transparency, and promote environmentally friendly school commutes.

Zūm’s Impact and Expansion

Since its inception, Zūm has served multiple school districts throughout California, including San Francisco, as well as cities like Seattle, Chicago, and Dallas. In Oakland, the implementation of Zūm’s optimized routing system resulted in a 29% reduction in the number of traditional buses required, with the remaining demand fulfilled by smaller vehicles.

Zūm is actively pursuing a goal of operating a fully electric fleet of 10,000 school buses by 2025. Furthermore, the company is collaborating with AutoGrid to transform this fleet into a virtual power plant, capable of channeling up to 1 GW of energy back into the electrical grid.

A Deeper Dive into Zūm’s Strategy

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the startup’s ambitions and the lessons Narayan has learned throughout its development, a discussion was held covering the pandemic’s effects on Zūm, its projected trajectory for the coming year, and the strategies used to secure investment in a business model prioritizing accessibility and equity.

(Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.)

Navigating the Pandemic’s Disruption

How did COVID-19 affect your business? What percentage of your business is back now?

We often asserted that student transportation was recession-resistant, assuming children would consistently attend school. However, the pandemic marked the first instance in a century where widespread school closures occurred globally.

This presented a unique challenge, requiring us to immediately adapt and support our districts and students. We recognized the crucial role schools play beyond education, providing essential services like meals and emotional support.

Consequently, we assisted school districts with reverse logistics, delivering meals and laptops to students’ homes utilizing our software’s capabilities. As of last year, rides began to recover around 30%, and this year, starting in April, we’ve fully regained 100% of our pre-pandemic business volume.

During this period, we strategically focused on serving larger districts and securing comprehensive contracts, investing in the technology necessary to support this expansion.

Equity and Accessibility as Core Principles

Your service also helps provide transport to at-risk kids. How significant is equity and accessibility in the way you model your business?

Transportation is a fundamental equalizer, providing access to opportunities. The availability of a ride can determine whether a student can participate in essential programs. Public school districts partner with us because students have diverse needs and interests, requiring attendance at various schools within the district.

School districts are often expansive; for example, the San Francisco Unified District encompasses 150 campuses across a 40-mile area. Our service enables students to access specialized programs and services, and provides door-to-door transport with smaller vehicles when appropriate.

Financial Outlook and Future Growth

You’ve raised about $71 million to date, and you’ve been funded by big names like Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, BMW, Volvo. Are you profitable yet?

We anticipate achieving profitability within the next two years.

Are you planning on expanding into any other business lines or pivoting at all?

Our primary focus this year is to extend our full-service transportation solutions to additional school districts nationwide. Electrification is a key objective, as electric vehicles alone are not inherently profitable. A platform like ours, which reduces inefficiencies, is essential for cost-effectiveness.

The Biden administration’s infrastructure plan includes approximately $25 billion for school fleet electrification, and a service platform like ours is crucial for making this initiative financially viable for school districts.

The Influence of Experience and Perspective

How do you think your past business decisions, as well as being a parent, have influenced your current strategy?

My early career in management consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers involved streamlining processes for major corporations. Later, I developed large-scale products for companies like Oracle and eBay, fostering a product-focused mindset.

I consistently seek the most effective solutions, considering both micro-level details and macro-level implications – how users will interact with the product, market adoption, and scalability.

This approach has been instrumental to our success. We began with a minimum viable product, iteratively building and refining our platform based on continuous feedback.

As a parent, my children are daily Zūm users, providing invaluable feedback that shapes our service improvements.

Addressing a Gap in Silicon Valley

Prioritizing children seems to be rare in Silicon Valley. Do you think the startup world has left out parents and children from their problem-solving missions?

As a computer engineer, I initially encountered a significant gender imbalance in my field. However, my experience at eBay, where women comprised 42% of the workforce, opened my eyes to the importance of inclusive design.

An expert speaker highlighted that, given women represent 50% of the global population, products should be designed with their needs in mind. This realization prompted me to question assumptions and seek solutions to overlooked problems.

We’ve heard from parents who have been able to return to work or advance their careers thanks to Zūm, demonstrating the profound impact of accessible childcare solutions.

Advice for Women and Parents Returning to Work

Your mother had to give up her career to take care of you, and you also took some time off your career to attend Stanford Business School where you incubated this startup. Do you have any advice for women or parents who take time off and get back into work? 

The traditional boundaries between work and personal life are dissolving in today’s digital world. Women should feel empowered to take breaks without fearing career setbacks. Numerous online communities and resources facilitate continuous learning and networking during these periods.

In fact, taking time off can be a catalyst for growth, allowing for reflection and the identification of new opportunities. The modern employment landscape embraces non-linear career paths, recognizing that progress isn’t always a straight line.

Overcoming Investment Bias

When you were first looking for funding, especially with VCs, did you find it tough to convince people that there would be a return on investment? 

Studies have shown that women entrepreneurs often face different lines of questioning from venture capitalists, focusing on potential risks rather than growth opportunities. Men are typically asked about the potential for expansion and success.

Initially, we encountered skepticism, with some suggesting that Uber could easily replicate our service. However, they underestimated the complexity of building a dedicated solution from the ground up.

Early support from a female executive at Google, who became a seed investor, and subsequent introductions to Sequoia Capital proved pivotal. Once we secured initial funding, attracting further investment became significantly easier.

Unexpected Challenges and Rewards

What surprised you along the way?

The sheer complexity of building a company was unexpected. It extends far beyond product development, encompassing go-to-market strategy, team building, and scaling operations.

However, the most rewarding aspect is witnessing the positive impact our product has on customers’ lives. Knowing that we’ve transformed someone’s daily routine is incredibly motivating.

Looking Ahead: Zūm’s Vision for the Future

Where do you expect Zūm to be a year from now?

Within the next year, we aim to expand our service to more school districts across the country and make substantial progress toward our sustainability goals, particularly in the area of fleet electrification.