Meet Steven Blom | Co-founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Blom and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, how has the Covid-19 Crisis affected your business?
One of the founding principles of our company is to connect people to one another. During COIVID-19 we saw the challenging situation for the transportation industry where many drivers from the rideshare, healthcare and taxi industry did not feel safe driving around with patients and passengers. Drivers felt unsure about taking the wheel due to COVID-19 and this meant that rideshare, taxi, and healthcare fleets were running at reduced capacity and couldn’t provide the services that they once did. Likewise, passengers also experienced uncertainty when it came to getting an Uber, Lyft, or cab. We realized how transportation companies have to function every day to ensure that everyone is able to travel to their destinations (hospitals, schools, grocery stores, etc.) Through this very thought, and with a hope to prevent an economic disaster for the transportation industry around the world we conceived Driver Bubble™: a transparent protection and partition screen in your car that provides more safety for drivers and their passengers whilst not isolating each other. At Driver Bubble™ we design and build the protective screens for the global taxi, rideshare, mobility, car rental, and healthcare transportation industry.

What should our readers know about your business?
The core value of our business is to connect people to one another. Along with my business partner Otto Ruys, we entered the transportation industry 13 years ago driven by the desire to create a more connected and compassionate world. The core-business is called www.taxibutler.com and as explained recently we launched www.driverbubble.com. Our story goes back to 2008 when Otto and I were the first in the world to launch an app for ordering taxis. Eventually we were acquired by navigation company TomTom and after two years we bought it back. So basically we went from a tiny startup to become a global corporation with 50 employees and millions in funding and then suddenly back to just me and Otto in a room again without any other team members. We’ve always believed that something good would happen and kept the faith and now we are operating in 45+ countries and a team spread across the world. The challenging times began when COVID-19 spread and this is when we started seeing the number of rides drastically fall in countries. Hoping to prevent an economic disaster for the transportation around the world, and with a strong desire to keep everyone in our team employed throughout the pandemic we came up with the idea of launching Driver Bubble and is currently helping tens of thousands of taxi and rideshare drivers and fleets stay on the road and drive more responsibly. Again we must believe in ourselves and our capabilities of adapting to change since the person/team that is quickest to adapt has the biggest chance to thrive in life!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
– In the early morning, we would head to the beach with our surf and bodyboard and swim and surf with the dolphins in the waves. – After that, we would have lunch at Plant, Food + Wine at Abbott Kinney (or do a COVID19-take-out) – Then we would walk around Point Dume and then go into the Malibu mountains – After that a dinner at Calamigos Guest Ranch to stay close to nature and if my friend still has energy left, maybe we walk up to the Griffith Observatory in West-Hollywood and watch some stars and experience a warm Californian evening.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First of all, I feel that I am very lucky to be in the position I am currently in. Every day we work with in a large and distributed team around the world serving our current customers. I can only think of them going above and beyond themselves each day and keep trusting us as leaders of the group. I recognize and appreciate not only them but also their partners and families since everyone comes home with stories and thoughts and their partners and families are supporting them to solve their daily challenges at work and home. I feel as if I am part of a large orchestra and we all play our part, creating a wonderful harmonious relationship and bringing ripples of positivity throughout the world.

Website: https://driverbubble.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driverbubble/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/driver-bubble/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DriverBubble
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/driverbubble/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe_rZN_kDMAse2VVDAAOATg

Image Credits
Driver Bubble™